Considerations and Instructions for Microschool Guides
There are key differences between an ESA-funded microschool or familyschool and a partner-funded microschool or familyschool. A microschool has students from at least two different families, whereas a familyschool is a parent guiding only their children. Prenda guides need to understand these funding differences before deciding to switch to the ESA-exclusive model.
In this article, you’ll learn
- Differences between partner-funded and ESA-funded microschools
- Important considerations before transitioning to ESA-exclusive funding
- Practical insights and recommendations if choosing to go ESA-exclusive
Understanding the differences in an ESA-exclusive model
Guides of ESA-exclusive microschools still have access to many of the components of a partner-funded microschool, PLUS:
- Freedom to use outside curriculum
- Flexibility in daily schedule and yearly calendar
- Increased payment potential
- Choice in student makeup (except for race and color)
- Payment processing and parent billing, with Prenda acting as the paying agent enabling the exchange of ESA funds
- Opportunities for guides to actualize their ideal microschool vision
Guides of ESA-exclusive microschools do not have requirements for:
- State testing, grading, attendance, and minimum instructional hours
- Curriculum - there are no restrictions on the types of curriculum used (including religious)
- Student maximum capacity limits
- Site restrictions and inspections
- Visitor logs
- Annual credential requirements aside from an annual background check
Important note: unless your school consists of ESA students exclusively, all partner requirements apply. If you have even one student with partner funding, you have a mixed microschool. You do not have an ESA-exclusive microschool or the exclusive components that come with it. A detailed breakdown: ESA-exclusive vs partner-funded (or mixed) microschools
|
Component |
ESA-Exclusive Microschool |
Partner/Mixed-Funded Microschool |
|
Guide Pay |
Guide decides the per-student rate (i.e. “guide fee”) and Prenda is the paying agent to transfer funds from parent to guide using ClassWallet as required by AZED. Prenda does not collect guide bank account information. Prenda receives $2,199 per 1st-8th grade student, per year and $1,499 per Kindergarten student per year. Rates cannot vary between students in the same microschool (kindergarten is the only exception). Guides are not independent contractors. Their microschool is a completely independent business from Prenda. |
Pay is per student, grade-based, and determined largely by partner contracted rates. For tax purposes, guides are independent contractors. Prenda collects IRS W-9 forms and issues 1099s. Pay is direct deposited to the guide bank account. |
|
Attendance |
Attendance reporting is not required. |
Attendance reporting and excused/unexcused designations are required. |
|
Student |
Two students minimum, |
Between three and ten students per microschool. |
|
Multi-Family Makeup |
Required; students in a microschool must consist of at least two different families. |
Required; students in a microschool must consist of at least two different families. |
|
Truancy Reporting |
Not required. |
Required. |
|
Minimum Hours |
Not required. |
Required and based on grade. |
|
Bonus Time |
Not required. |
Required in order to meet minimum hours. |
|
Testing and Screeners |
Optional benchmarking tests only (i-Ready). |
Required as determined by partner and state law. |
|
Grades |
Not required. |
Required. |
|
Curriculum and Learning Tools |
Prenda-provided curriculum and learning tool licenses with open curriculum discretion. |
State standards-aligned curriculum and learning tool licenses. No religious curriculum. |
|
Student Makeup Discretion |
Can accept or not accept students provided the decision is not based on race or color considerations. |
Guides must accept all students. |
|
IEP Services |
Not provided to students by Prenda, the guide, or a public school entity. Parents are responsible for obtaining private services. |
Provided through Prenda and the partner. |
|
Chromebooks |
Not provided to students. Parents are responsible for providing based on the guide device preference discretion. |
Provided to students. |
|
On-Demand Math Tutors |
Available to students. |
Not available to students. |
|
Prenda Support |
Available to all guides. |
Available to all guides. |
|
Access to Prenda Community |
Available to all guides. |
Available to all guides. |
|
Learning and Development |
Optionable for all guides. |
Provided to all guides, required at year-end. |
|
Safety Standards |
Annual background checks are required and parents are encouraged to do their own due diligence. |
Background checks, site inspections, CPR certification, first aid, IVP fingerprint cards, fire extinguishers, first aid kit, mandatory training, partner-specific policy training, and agreements are required. |
|
Liability Insurance |
Not included. |
Included. |
This list is not exhaustive but covers the major components. Some of these components do not apply to familyschool guides. If you have additional questions about what is and is not included, contact us at support@prenda.co or schedule a 1:1 Zoom meeting with a Prenda ESA Specialist below:
“Schedule a 1:1 meeting with Prenda”
Considerations
Less structure and more freedom come with increased accountability on the part of the guide. ESA-exclusive guides have the freedom to empower students in more ways while instilling confidence in parents that their children are receiving a remarkable and effective learning experience.
ESA-exclusive microschools provide this freedom, in part, because they are not affiliated with public partners for funding. Additionally, insurance-imposed (and some Prenda-imposed) requirements are lifted in ESA-exclusive models.
Not included in an ESA-exclusive model:
- Liability insurance is not provided or required by Prenda.
- Chromebooks for students are not provided or required by Prenda.
- IEP or intervention services for students are not provided either by Prenda or a public partner. See the section below if you have special needs children in your microschool or familyschool.
Special consideration for special needs children
Before switching funding sources and the microschool model, it’s vital to consider students with IEPs and special needs who are currently being served in your microschool through a public partner.
Students who are ESA-funded will not have access to services provided by Prenda or charter partners. Parents must find outside private providers to meet these needs for their children. Guides are encouraged to think about each family in their microschool and the needs they have.
For students receiving special education services, guides could move to a mixed-funded microschool for the remainder of the school year. This would allow those students who need services to continue through partner funding, and other students could move to ESA funding. Reach out to support@prenda.co or schedule a 1:1 Zoom meeting with a Prenda ESA Specialist below:
Schedule a 1:1 meeting with Prenda
Helpful insights when going ESA-exclusive
This section includes insights from guides who made the transition smoothly. Only initiate the switch to the ESA model if you fully understand the components and have discussed the transition with parents, especially parents with children who have special needs.
Focus on the value
Before you talk to parents, understand what may encourage them to change their child’s funding to ESA. While the process itself is simple, there is some ongoing dependency on parents to manage ESA funds. For busy parents, this may seem burdensome. You may find some delay initially.
Inspire parents by focusing on the value and opportunity ESA may provide their children. Some parents find valuable the freedom from partner requirements like testing and attendance, while others are interested in the guide’s opportunities to be creative with time, space, and learning. If you’re a parent yourself, it may be helpful for you to consider what you value the most in ESA.
“Ultimately, when you are excited about what ESA means to you as a guide, your parents see that excitement and passion. And it almost makes them want to be a part of the new opportunities. I went through the steps first so that I could be their go-to for questions. We were shocked at how easy the process was!”
-Dezirea Contreras , AZ
Talk to parents
Parents are the funding decision-makers. It is especially important to let parents of students with IEPs know that, if they change their funding type, they will no longer receive services from a public partner or Prenda.
It’s also important for all parents to understand any changes in their children’s learning experience. Schedule changes and the new curriculum you wish to integrate into your ESA-exclusive microschool should be made explicitly known to both current and future families.
“I offered an ESA information night co-hosted by a parent that had experience with the ESA program. Every parent was free to ask questions and we were available to address concerns in person. Afterward, I provided the parents with a list of helpful websites and links to facilitate their application to ESA and change of funding with Prenda.”
-Denise Lever, Eager, AZ
Determine your guide fee
Most guides set their guide fee between $2,600 and $5,000 per student per year. Consider the annual income you would like or need to make, divide that by the number of students you have, and factor in the Prenda fee.
Example: $2,199 Prenda fee + $3,500 guide fee = $5,199 total fee for parents
Sometimes it helps parents understand the total fee on a monthly or even daily basis so they can better understand and compare the fee with the cost of similar options.
Example: If the total fee is $6,000 and your microschool operates 10 months out of the year, that’s $600 a month. If your school operates 20 out of the 30 days of the month, that works out to about $30 per day.
Here’s how one Guide determined her guide fee for the 22/23 school year by factoring in overhead costs:
Total guide pay = $3,400 a year or $850 quarterly:
Breakdown of a quarterly fee (one quarter = 36 days)
$20 per kid per day guide fee x 36 days = $720 per quarter
- $30 per quarter for rent
- $40 per quarter for electricity
- $10 per quarter for insurance
- $50 per quarter for supplies = $850 per quarter
-Kassi Jensen, Eager, AZ
Consider timing
It takes AZED some time to fund an ESA account. The application approval process takes AZED approximately 14 days and the funding of the ESA account can take 6-12 weeks, depending on volume. Factor in this information when speaking to parents and considering a start date for your ESA microschool.
Help parents switch funding
This section outlines the operational process to switch to an ESA-exclusive model. Send your parents this article on switching to ESA. If parents are struggling to complete the application, consider some of these tactics:
💡Go through the process yourself (as best you can if you do not have children funded through ESA) and review the linked article so you can better inform parents about the process.
💡Have a computer open to the AZED website at your microschool and ask parents to pick up or drop off early so they can complete the application then and there.
💡Send parents these resources from AZED and ClassWallet (and review them yourself) to further understand the funding, funding management process, and tools: AZED ESA Parent Handbook, AZED 22/23 ESA Funding Amounts, AZED ESA FAQs, and ClassWallet FAQs.
The choice is yours–and your student's parents
The ESA expansion is important because more families now have the choice to select the best learning experience for their children. Prenda supports the choices of guides and families, whatever that choice might be. Whether you are partner-funded, mixed-funded, or exclusively ESA-funded, Prenda is here to help all guides and support all students.
Contact support@prenda.com if you have more questions. Or schedule a 1:1 Zoom meeting with a Prenda ESA Specialist below:
Schedule a 1:1 meeting with Prenda