What is a Microschool? (Part 2b): Starting One

Welcome to Hot Topics! Host Gabrielle Crichlow talks to guest Jordan Sutlick about her journey in starting a microschool in Missouri, set to open in August 2027. This episode focuses on microschools, which are small, independent schools that serve a limited number of students, emphasizing personalized learning and community involvement.

Jordan shares her reasons for starting a microschool, especially her experiences as a mother of a neurodivergent child. As the founder of Luminaire Academy, she wants to help children who often don't get the support they need in traditional schools. The school will welcome students starting from age 5 and is already a private school that uses an accredited curriculum.

We discuss how microschools allow for tailored learning experiences and the 50/50 model that includes both neurodivergent and neurotypical learners, promoting inclusivity. Luminaire Academy will have students in groups of 10, with a total of 7 groups, ensuring a supportive environment for everyone.

Jordan highlights her focus on life skills, entrepreneurship, and hands-on learning. We explore how Luminaire Academy will work with local resources and involve parents in their children's education.

Additionally, we talk about a learning approach that lets students progress at their own pace and a focus on overall development that includes nutrition and physical activity. Join us for an interesting conversation about new educational ideas and the impact of microschools in Missouri!

Who is Jordan Sutlick?
Jordan is the founder of Luminaire Academy. Luminaire Academy was born from the belief that our children aren't struggling, they're underserved. Too often, they're labeled with behavioral issues when in reality, they lack proper nutrition, movement, a nurturing environment, and a curriculum that prepares them to be future leaders. As a mother of a neurodivergent child, I saw how traditional schools overlook the needs of kids who learn differently. We're building the school we couldn't find. A place where nature, creativity, resourcefulness, faith, and personalized learning come together. Here, therapy is welcomed, not argued over. Your child's therapist is contracted during school hours. With a 50/50 classroom model for neurodivergent and neurotypical learners, we're creating a truly inclusive community where your child's learning strategy is tailored to their passions and strengths.

You can find Jordan Sutlick:
On the web: https://www.luminaire-academy.com
By Email: [e-mail]
By Phone: [phone]

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/yNl2Kz7yFwQ

Rate this episode on IMDB: TBA
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Original date of episode: July 23, 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Wow. Hello, Hello everyone, it's your girl, Gabrielle. Welcome to
a brand new episode of Hot Topics. Let me tell
you what the show is about. So, this is a
show where we like to have real talk about real teens,

(00:47):
particularly in the scope of education. As we are a
part of my tutoring company and Step Ahead Tutoring Services.
So our intention is for you to be more informed
and more knowledgeable than how you were the day before.
That's right, So we like to educate you here on

(01:12):
Hot Topics. So this ain't your celebrity Hot Topics. This
is your schooling Hot Topics. And thank you for joining
me on another episode. So today I'm looking forward to
this episode. It's a continuation of a recurring theme that

(01:35):
I've been doing as of late, and I look forward
to continuing with that theme. So let's jump right into it.
So let me tell you the topic for today. The
topic for today is what is a micro school? So
this is part two B. So my numbering is kind

(01:57):
of weird, but this is the third time that I
have brought the general topic to the show what is
a micro school? But this is the second time that
I have this narrow focus, which is starting the micro school.
So my numbering system is kind of off, but just

(02:22):
so you understand what this means. So again, this is
the third time that I have brought up micro schools
as a topic, but this narrow focus starting a micro school.
This is the second time. I hope you guys caught that.
So this is the next installment of this subsidies here

(02:43):
and I encourage you guys to check out the previous
episodes in our catalog. But yes, what is a micro school?
So we're going to be talking about starting a micro
school the journey. Maybe this will inspire you to start
your own micro school. Who knows, but we're going to
get into that today. So my guest is gonna help

(03:05):
me out. Her name is Jordan Sutlek, and let me
tell you about her. So who is she? Who is
Jordan Sutlek, Well, let me tell you so she is
the founder of Luminaire Academy. And Luminaire Academy was born
from the belief that our children aren't struggling, they're underserved.

(03:27):
So too often they're labeled with behavioral issues when in
reality they lack proper nutrition, movement, a nurturing environment, and
a curriculum that prepares them to be future leaders. As
a mother of a neurodivergent child, she saw how traditional
schools overlook the deeds of kids who learn differently. So

(03:50):
she's building the school that she couldn't find a place
where nature, creativity, resourcefulness, faith, and personalized learning come together.
At Luminary Academy, therapy is welcomed, not argued over. Her
child's therapist is contract well, your child's therapist, i should say,

(04:12):
is contracted during school hours. So with the fifty to
fifty classroom model from neurodivergent and neurotypical learners, she's creating
a truly inclusive community where your child's learning strategy is
tailored to their passions and strengths. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. All right. So,

(04:32):
without further ado, I'm gonna go ahead and bring Jordan
to the stage. Hello, Jordan, how's it going?

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Hello? Good, Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
Awesome, awesome, awesome. All right. So we are here to
talk about starting a micro school. So you are in
the journey of starting your school.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
We are, we are, we are more so on the
larger side of micro schools, I will say that we
are starting out with sixty students versus A lot of
micro schools are starting out with kind of like a
co op or anywhere from about twelve to twenty students

(05:19):
is kind of normal. But yeah, so we are on
a little bit on the larger side, but still keeping
it pretty micro. Yes, all right, so let's let's let's
jump into.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
What is it? Let's start with that first. So what
what is it? What is a micro school?

Speaker 2 (05:43):
So a micro school is any It's basic. It's a
private school. You're paying for your child to go to
a private school. We have full responsibility and freedom to
be able to pick the curriculum that the kids are using.
For us, we've chosen to partner with PRENDA, that's p

(06:07):
R E n d A. We believe that their curriculum
will suit our kids in our area that our families
can also afford. So the biggest thing is having the
freedom to be able to create your own curriculum, what
your schedule looks like each day, all of the above,

(06:31):
what you feed your kids, what the budget's going to be.
You have complete freedom of creating this learning environment that
you want your child growing up in.

Speaker 1 (06:45):
Okay, so you said it's a private school. So are
you in the process of getting it accredited.

Speaker 2 (06:55):
We are we are a nonprofit that is done for
anyone if you want to be a nonprofit. It's a
very easy procedure to go through. Now, the accreditation process
is a bit tougher. It can take it could be short,

(07:16):
it can take a few years. It's the same as zoning.
Zoning could take you know, up to a year. It
could take up to five years. It's a process.

Speaker 1 (07:28):
So all right, so tell okay, So let's let's start
from the very beginning. So what made you decide to
start your micro school my son?

Speaker 2 (07:43):
So my son, this is public knowledge on our website,
but our son was diagnosed with severe apraxia and something
that the public school system does not have specialists in.
If you're lucky, you're going to get a therapist and

(08:03):
then it's been working with kids with a praxia for
several years and he or she's going to have a
ton of experience in that. But it would be extremely
rare for that to happen. The other thing was is
that his hours of therapy. This isn't something that toddlers
are just dealing with. He will have to work on

(08:29):
the apraxia for many, many years. So with that being said,
we didn't want him to be having to choose therapy
or extracurricular after school, and that's in all honestly, what
would have to happen. We would have to choose. You know,
our son comes up as like mom and dad, I

(08:52):
really want to play soccer. I'm gonna try out for
the soccer team. Well I can't do that because we
have therapy that we have to go to after school
and that's just the hours that they're open. So I
knew I needed to find something that was different. And
then my son also has some food allergies, and with

(09:15):
neurodivergent kids, there's the dies that really spark behavior issues.
So there's there's the food aspect that is a problem
within the school system. Everybody knows that the schools want
to do better. It's not a hit on the public

(09:36):
school system, it's just the funds aren't there. So also,
a therapy needs costs money. Therapy is really really expensive
and a lot of families the best that they can
do is send their kid to public school because they
can't afford anything more than that. And we all know

(09:58):
public schools free. So that's a hard thing that we
had to work around. As well of where we're starting
the school, which state has the best financial benefits to
the family to help them out with their kids with
therapy needs. Are they going to get reimbursed for or
get tax credits for sending their kids to private school.

(10:22):
We're really creating a school around the entire family as
a whole, what can work out with the family with
their finances, while also creating the school that a child
like this would thrive them.

Speaker 1 (10:39):
So there's a lot of factors that you for sure
are you know that you kind of you built a
school around. So it's and then it's it's a reaction
to what you went through with your own family. And

(11:00):
you know, and I hear it a lot in terms
of neurodivergent kids, neurotypical kids, the traditional school system is
not really serving their child, right, you know, being neurotypical,
it's published the traditional schooling. I will say, it is

(11:20):
very kind of one size of it all. And you know,
you have a child with unique needs, right, and so
you had to find your own way to adjust those needs.

Speaker 2 (11:34):
And for sure, it's pretty common, actually it really is.
And there's so many kids and that maybe they don't
need a whole lot of therapy, but they are being labeled.
I see this happen with boys all the time, that
they're being labeled with ADD or ADHD, and the teachers

(11:56):
are advising the parents to take into the doctor and
get put on vacation and then they'll be on medication
for so many Most are on the medication past college.
So it's insane and there's so many, so many side
effects to that as well. Parents of these kids know that.

(12:18):
And really all the kid needed was to burn off
some steam. He needed more time outside, he needed more
a different way of learning, he needed more hands on
approach to learning things with a different type of curriculum,
just moving the body while learning, which as we all know,

(12:41):
it is so difficult for public school system these ies.
I went to school for teaching, and you graduate college
and you just think you have this mentality that you're
you're out here to change the world, like you can
help change these kids, and you're out there make the
world a better place all these things, and then you

(13:03):
get there and there are so many rules that you
have to follow that you can't. You have so many
students that you have to tend to, all of them
having so many different needs and it becomes impossible to
tend to all of that, to have the resources, to
have the environment to teach them that type of method,

(13:28):
it's very very difficult. So I forever applaud teachers that
are doing everything in their power to be creative and
jump through hoops for the kids that need it taught
a little bit differently. But yeah, this will Basically we're

(13:49):
hoping that this is going to change those labels and
get these kids off the medication and they won't need
it anymore if they're fed a proper diet, which we
have the recent resources for. We've partnered with many local
farmers that are doing all of their planning for our food.

(14:10):
We'll be doing permaculture on land, teaching these kids how
to grow their own food. We have a lot of
different ways that we're teaching them of how to feed
their bodies, to fuel their brains, and then also just
giving them that different curriculum, more hands on to where
they're not labeled with that either.

Speaker 1 (14:29):
So yeah, and that's and that's another common thing as well,
especially when it comes to neuro divergent kids, is the
diet and the types of foods that they eat. And
it's interesting to me that neural divergent kids can't eat

(14:55):
certain foods because triggers certain times. So that's that's fine,
that's kind of interesting to me. But but that's something
that you factored into your school, is a particular diet
having not I guess not being so structured. It sounds

(15:17):
like more outdoor learning, movement, exercising.

Speaker 2 (15:23):
Start. We start the day off with a lot of
movement for the first hour. We start what you would
call traditionally pe, but it's outside. We're starting with stretching,
We start with morning affirmations, really get the body moving,

(15:43):
and then we we do our two hour we're calling
it to our learning. Two hour learning is actually there
is a curriculum called two hour Learning from McKinsey. Price
is actually the owner and creator of down in Texas,
but we are not using her curriculum right now. I

(16:04):
think it's a little too expensive for the majority of
our families with therapy needs, which is really unfortunate. But
we do feel like PRENDA is going to come in
and fill those holes that we need, and we have
the main power behind it to fill in the gaps
of that as well. So but yeah, after that, we

(16:28):
focus on life skills for the rest of the day.
So we'll have I could have a middle schooler who
loves to work on cars and that's his or her thing,
and we actually have a mechanic that comes in and
works with them on things and teaches them things. We

(16:49):
have entrepreneur program. We've got kids that would build a
program or a business in middle school and high school,
and it the sky's a limit. It's life skills. We're
learning financial literacy, they're learning entrepreneurship, they're getting involved with
their community food trucks. There's just there's a lot of

(17:14):
community involvement that, like I said, the sky's a limit
on the life skills, but they learned what they need
to in order to master. We also are curriculums a
mastery curriculum. It's not a you passed with the C plus,
let's move you on to the next the next grade
level on that we'll be moving. We could have kids

(17:37):
that are coming to us at a fourth grade age,
but they have a first grade reading level, and they
might be a sixth grade science level and a fourth
grade math level. We're going to be teaching them each
at those levels and there to master that stage before
they can move on to the next grade level. So

(17:59):
but yeah, yeah, it is. We are structured, but at
the same time we are life skills piece is it's
not set in stone. It's based on the kids interest.

Speaker 1 (18:16):
Okay. So okay, so it's very so it's it's diverse.
It sounds very so the mechanic, you know, having a
mechanic come in is really cool.

Speaker 2 (18:33):
That's just an example. You could have a you could
have someone that's really into photography, and we will bring
in professional photographers to work with them and teach them things.
We also have the resources. Part of what the parents
are paying for is their child's interest, so we do

(18:58):
have call it like cash stacked stashed away so that
we can pull that. If their child wants to use
a photographer, we could bring We can either bring in
a photographer or we can use as we all know,
there are tons of programs. We could have their kid
be learning that program during their life skills segment part

(19:21):
of the day where they're sitting down with their camera
and their laptop and they're watching the course and we
can guide them and help them through those things if
they have any questions. To the best of our.

Speaker 1 (19:35):
Knowledge, Okay, it sounds like you have a full yeah,
A well rounded, well rounded Yeah, what's the word. I
guess structure for learning. You can cover a lot of
different areas. So now do you So you brought up

(19:59):
the cricthum times. Is there a certain type of curriculum
that you follow?

Speaker 2 (20:05):
Prenda Freenda will be our curriculum.

Speaker 1 (20:09):
Partner and tell us more about Prenda. How does that work?

Speaker 2 (20:15):
So Prenda is its own company. It's a smaller company,
but they are growing. They they are giving you the
resources to help your students as well as helping your teachers.
There's trainings, there's we can go. I could take my

(20:41):
staff and we could go meet them on I wouldn't
necessarily call it a retreat, it's a it's a learning trip.
It's continued education. So we go there, we'll get certified
in certain teaching methods, that kind of thing. But it
is an online source, so our students will log into

(21:04):
their own profile and they'll be able to move forward
with that with their curriculum.

Speaker 1 (21:11):
Okay, So it's not like so you're using So you
have a smaller company coming in and doing the teaching.

Speaker 2 (21:21):
It sounds like yes, And then we have teachers. We
do have teachers like physical teachers, but they will. We
are not like a in front of the class model
teaching model. We are definitely using some AI, We're using

(21:43):
teaching methods kind of all all around what you're seeing.
We will still have a teacher walking around and helping
the child with things. There could be hands on experiments
going on. Obviously we're going to need a teacher for that,
so keep the kids safe. So yeah, we were kind

(22:03):
of intertwining a lot. Like I said, with micro schools,
you have the freedom to be able to really mix
what you're using for a curriculum.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
Hm hmm. So what is what made you choose because
there's so many different curriculums that you could have chosen, right,
So what made you choose Prenda? What was you.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
Need about Brenda? For me personally, after lots and lots
of research, of course, I was dead set onto hour Learning.
I really was with McKinsey price down in Texas, but
the numbers just weren't there for the families that are

(22:48):
in our area. And maybe one day that'll work out,
but I needed the next best thing, and I wanted
our kids testing out at least in the top ten
percent of the US and that was really important to
me as well finding them a curriculum that could deliver

(23:08):
those kind of results that prepare them, and also giving
them a curriculum that is not to be accredited, and
to also make sure we're still following in the guidelines
if they want to go to Princeton, if whatever school
that they're wanting to go to, they could still have

(23:31):
a chance of getting into those schools. So that's also
really important. When you're picking out your curriculum. You still
need to depending on what the family's looking for their child,
if you don't want to take any opportunities away from them.
That's a big thing of picking out the curriculum. You
still have to make sure that you're following those guidelines

(23:53):
that those big schools are looking for. So yes, hereditation
does help with that, but we also the curriculum that
you use if you're using an accredited curriculum. That also
was very important to me with starting because you could

(24:18):
also say that to your families, Like the school itself,
we are not accredited yet, we were working on it,
but we the curriculum that your kids are getting taught
that is accredited. So another piece was that I wanted
the big thing about the two hour learning. I really

(24:40):
wanted to ben that with Prenda as well, with the
teaching the kids at different stages for different subjects. So
the same thing as I was telling you, they come in,
for an example, at a fourth grade reading level or
fourth grade age, and there coming in a first grade

(25:01):
reading level where they you know, they're all over the
place in their subjects. I wanted to be able to
teach them at a mastery level for each different one
until they got to where they needed to be. That
was really really important to me. So I wanted to
find a curriculum that would help me as a resource

(25:21):
be able to deliver that to the kids.

Speaker 1 (25:26):
That's wonderful. So now, can you can a child really
learn in two hours?

Speaker 2 (25:32):
Absolutely? You If you pack in what these kids, what
these kids are learning in the public school system, in
the time that they're actually sitting down and focused, you're
only getting about two hours of good focused time with them. Anyway.

(25:53):
They've got art, they've got library time, they've got lunch time,
they've got snack time, they've got the time, music time,
like all of these things that are not involving them
actually sitting down at their desk and they're not going
through every single subject every single day. A lot of

(26:14):
the Chinese teachers are breaking it up of we do
math on Tuesday Thursday, or we only do it for
thirty minutes every single you know, Monday through Friday, you
could do science is only a Tuesday thing. So things
like that. They're already doing that. And if anything that

(26:39):
I've learned from the studies so far of what two
hour learning is doing down in Texas, they're already creating
the top two percent of testers in the United States.
They've got kids selling businesses before they even graduate high school.
It's it's phenomenal the work that these they're doing in

(27:01):
just that two hour segment time. So so yes, it
is absolutely achievable of what they need to do in
order to pass map tests. And they're they're they're doing it,
so we already have proof of that.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
Okay, so you brought up testing and you want to
you want to use whatever you're doing, you want it
applicable to like colleges, and you know what they look for.
So how does it work with assessments? Do you give
assessments testing? Do you outsource something?

Speaker 2 (27:39):
Yes, we will follow them. Maps testing is what we
will be doing.

Speaker 1 (27:44):
Maps testing. What is that?

Speaker 2 (27:47):
So that's your state, the state testing, at least for
our state, that's what we're using, and that's what our
public school system even used. So we'll be sticking with
that test as the broadcast to get through state assessments.

Speaker 1 (28:04):
Ah okay, okay, and where are you just so we
have context.

Speaker 2 (28:09):
Yeah, we're in the Midwest. We're in the Kansas City area,
so we're right there on the cusp of the border
of Missouri and Kansas. We are in least Summit on
the Missouri side. However, we are also going to be
launching on the Kansas side as well.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
Awesome, awesome, awesome. So now tell us about the setup
of your school. How many students do you have at
one time? I know you have multiple teachers. Well, I
mean your credit it's almost assuming you have your own building.
So I guess how does it work in terms of

(28:49):
how many kids you have at one time? Tell us
more about how it's a setup.

Speaker 2 (28:55):
We have a ten to one teacher to student ratio.
So I wanted to keep our class is really small
because of the kids that are neurodivergent in the way
that they learn. That was something that we really needed,
was smaller class sizes. So we are starting with five
to six teachers with a fifty to sixty enrollment ratio.

Speaker 1 (29:22):
Okay, fifty to sixty enrollment okay, So then your goal
is to have about five or six teachers, yes, okay, okay,
And what is your what is the age range of
grade range that you serve.

Speaker 2 (29:40):
Yeah, we are starting at ages five through thirteen. We
do plan to launch our secondary program in year twenty
twenty nine, so we our secondary program will be for
obviously ages fourteen through high school graduation. It's just going

(30:01):
to look a lot different and it's probably going to
be on a different property as well. I'm all for
kids communicating with different age groups as well, So your
next question might be the age groups of each class.

(30:21):
We are actually mixing them, so we will not have
just five year olds with five year olds. The five
year olds might be with seven year olds and eight
year olds, and they're all going to be together, learning together.
But like I said, each kid is learning at an
individualized plan, so that's why our class sizes are smaller,

(30:48):
but the gist of their day, in the structure of
the day will be the same.

Speaker 1 (30:54):
Interesting, So you're doing your groups according to not so
much not really age, but according to their level. So
if you have so let's say math, you may have.
If someone's on I'm just trying to think like a

(31:16):
like a fourth grade level math. You know, it's not
so much only like like eight and nine year olds, right,
you may.

Speaker 2 (31:27):
Have, so not necessarily. So the way that works is
each kid has our own laptop, so you're not standing
in front of the classroom and you're teaching them the
same subject matter. They are all learning different things at
different times, so they will be learning off of the

(31:50):
screen depending on what it is, depending on If they're
a kid that learns math better on a screen, they're
going to be doing it that way. If they're a
kid that learns math better by measuring things, building things
more applicable math, they're going to be learning it that way.

(32:15):
So it's not necessarily putting them. Our classrooms are urts,
so it's not like we would have the kids walk
into a yurt that's going to say, all right, these
are all my fourth grade math level kids. And doesn't
matter what age you are, you're sitting in here and
you're going to learn fourth grade like this. This is

(32:36):
our lesson today. They'll be learning with their own personal laptop.
That's definitely individualized to what where they're at right now.

Speaker 1 (32:49):
Oh okay, So so I'm thinking it like a group classroom.
So you're thinking it's not a group classroom. Oh okay,
so it's one on one bait, but it's many how
many kids? But okay, So trying.

Speaker 2 (33:09):
To brain around.

Speaker 1 (33:12):
So there's ten kids to a teacher. M hm, So
where are those ten kids? Are they all in one room?

Speaker 2 (33:21):
Yes? So they're in a yurt is what they would
be in. So we have what is a yurt is like,
it's like a tent kind of it's more of campus
material or canvas material. We are either we're going back

(33:44):
and forth. We have a partner, and we also have
a geodome partner, and a geodome is like the same thing.
Both of them are insulated, both of them have fireplaces
inside of them, both of them have their own flooring.
But they're individualized classrooms across a large spread of acreage.
So for every single class break, they're having to get

(34:09):
outside and move to the next yurt. So we have
a tech yurt, which our tech yart is for. It
has a lot more things that tend for those kids.
We've got more experimental things in those yurts that they

(34:29):
can use more hand that's more of our hands on place,
our science, more of our science lessons and experiments that
has it's actually a green house, and then it has
like a sensory spot on the side of it to
where on the outside that's attached to it. It's very

(34:50):
unconventional schooling, which a lot of us have not seen,
but it allows basically what we we had in a school,
in a public school, but we're putting it outside. So
we had to go away creative ways of doing this
and keeping it affordable, and that's that's the route we went.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
Oh so I just so now I'm picturing like this
huge outdoor space with all these different tens. So how
does it work in terms of weather conditions? What if
it's raining, what if it's snowing, what if it's.

Speaker 2 (35:29):
These both of them will hold up to one hundred
pounds of snow, so we're good. We're in the Midwest,
so we definitely don't get like New York snow, but
we in ice and rain it they're good. They're good
for the weather. We are not open during the summer
and that was something that I was worried about was

(35:51):
the heat, because they do hold more heat. They're really
really good at holding heat. They're not so great at
holding out the ice or not so good at keeping
it nice and cool when it's blistering hot, which we

(36:12):
do worry about that in the Midwest. So, yeah, we
will not be open during the summer. We will have,
you know, all the rest of the things, whether permitting
that we they'll be in the yurts for in as
far as running and you know, burning that energy. We
are currently in the works and I can't actually give

(36:36):
that partner out because it's we don't have anything in
writing with them yet, but we are currently in the
works with a building structure to where we can go
in and basically have kind of like a membership pass.
We'll have buses that we take the kids to that
location for our pe time. Call it.

Speaker 1 (37:00):
Okay, okay, I mean you may want to implement some
kind of summer program.

Speaker 2 (37:08):
And we have our biggest thing. The partners that we've had,
most of them have summer programs, So it's kind of
been a it works well for both of us because
they don't use the property during the school year. They
only use it for camps during the summer, so they

(37:30):
have freedom to our resources. So any like say they
wanted to upgrade their campsite, say they just have like
kind of looking like a shock almost that had cots
in it that these kids left in during the summer
for overnight. And we've upgraded their land to have geodomes
where they can look out the ceiling and see the stars.

(37:51):
They can look out and be more at one with nature,
more connected, and they're sleeping on nicer things. They have
better installation. They've there's which is a better it's a
nice little upgrade. They basically get access to all of
the things that we put on their property. And then

(38:14):
so it's kind of like we're trading each other's resources
for the time of the year that we need it.

Speaker 1 (38:20):
Ah okay, So it's like networking in a way, so
you connect with the other, you know, other local businesses,
small businesses and.

Speaker 2 (38:29):
Crs to get started. Honestly, I think this is the
best way that we have been able to come about it.
Because if you're looking at something from a buying perspective
and you're starting a micro school and you come in
and you're like, if I go to my spouse and
I say, honey, we're buying twenty acres out it so

(38:54):
and so placed, and then we're going to build our
house there and we're going to build our school there,
and it's all be great. Well, there's a lot of
zoning requirements there, there's special use permits, and you don't
even know as a micro school what the need is
of that area yet you're at your beginning stages. So

(39:16):
that would be a horrible decision financially to go in
as as a business owner and make a huge It's
not just starting a business, you're you're diving into buying land,
so it's completely different ballgame. So what we're doing is
it's basically testing it out. We're testing out an area

(39:40):
for a certain amount of time and if our wait
list gets long enough, then we can stick within the
same area, but use that time to find the proper
location to actually buy land and make our school like
a permanent location. And who knows if that least partnership

(40:00):
works and it just that's where we end up being.
We can redrop some contracts and be co owners of
that property as well. It just anyone that's starting in
micro school that would be my best advice of how
you were to go about the location piece, because yeah,
you definitely need to test your product. That's with anything

(40:23):
if you're creating a product, obviously you want to test
your ICP before before you make any huge financial moves.

Speaker 1 (40:36):
Absolutely absolutely, So now do you so the space that
you have right now, you don't own it. It's more
like you're renting it. Okay, So it's like a public space, correct. Okay,
Well yeah.

Speaker 2 (40:52):
Because you're not public not public, but they're nonprofit as well.
They hold camps, so they technically own it and you
can apply to be a camp member and you know,

(41:12):
go through that whole process for the summer. But no,
it's not something that you could I mean, it's still
private property. You can't just go out onto the camp
during the year and use their stuff. It's not that
kind of place.

Speaker 1 (41:26):
Okay, So you are so it's so you are renting
from them, right, Okay, I got it. And I mean
I mean you're starting your school, right so you're gonna
you know, don't You don't want to jump to purchasing
right away right that. You want to build your you

(41:46):
want to build your brand first, you.

Speaker 2 (41:48):
Want to correct. Another thing is yeah, and especially with
how most micro schools are going to be very they're
going to be very differ from conventional learning. So you
need to really figure out how many families do you
have in that area that are in need of something
like that, and from what the research you could start

(42:12):
out for us, I was starting out with all of
our therapy centers that are around us. How many of
those families do they have that that, What kind of
insurance are they on? Is it insurance covering their therapy needs?
Are they how many people do they have paying out
of pocket? How many of the how many kids do

(42:34):
they have that they truly don't believe have that kind
of issue, but the school might be the answer answer
for that family. So and then you talk to the
schools that are state funded but are in more of
a special needs kind of type of school. How many

(42:56):
kids that they have wood forsh and this kind ofronment,
same kind of thing, because a lot of these schools
they don't they don't take the kids all the way up.
So then as families, you're also worrying about my kid
is has been used to this school from K through five?

(43:17):
And then now I'm going to have to uproot my
kid and go to a completely different learning model and
that they're not going to be used to. It's a
huge it's a huge decision. So we just we want
to make sure that the waiting list, the need is
there before we pull the plug and make the jump

(43:42):
on buying a huge piece of land to continue.

Speaker 1 (43:49):
Absolutely right, and it's you should well you want to
save your money of course, until you can you can
purchase it. You gotta start small and then.

Speaker 2 (44:02):
Exactly, thank you, thank ba.

Speaker 1 (44:05):
So now where well, I didn't ask you, so you
said you do you focus on ages five to thirteen? Why?

Speaker 2 (44:15):
Why?

Speaker 1 (44:15):
Why that? Because you're avoiding the zero to five right,
So why what made you select that age?

Speaker 2 (44:25):
Mine personally was that there are already so many, so
many early childhood education places that are around us that
will tend to do these kind of things. You could
find a co op, you could find there's a lot
of options out there as far as if you want

(44:47):
your kid learning in a different kind of way, and
you could already have your therapists come to your house
during the day, and that's an option too. We do
it both ways. My son has four to five therapy
sessions a week between the school that it goes to.
Between occupational therapy. Occupational therapy we have to drive to

(45:11):
that specialist. But then are apraxia therapy. We have language
therapy and speech therapy. Our speech therapy is and are
trying to play therapy and that comes she comes to
our house. So I guess the reasons why I chose

(45:31):
the age the age group that I did was because
there wasn't anything for that age group. Five and under
sky you have so many options out here of at
least where I'm at, where you can do that. You
can get your child the environment, the learning environment. There

(45:51):
are outdoor schools here, there's farm schools, there's you go
deeper into Kansas City and you've got art schools and
tons of monesssory and there. There's so many options that
you could already do, but there weren't any After they

(46:12):
get to that age of going into the public school system,
that's just what everyone does. Everyone relies on that or
a private school of where you're going to send your kid,
and we just didn't have this option for a private.

Speaker 1 (46:31):
School because you are looking for something very specific.

Speaker 2 (46:39):
My biggest thing was that I didn't want my kid
his confidence to be taken away from him. I didn't
want him to feel any different from the rest of
the kids. And whether he goes to a public school
or a big private school, that's not going to change.

(47:00):
He was still going to get pulled out of class
in front of everybody to go work on his go
to specials or whatever you're going to call it. And
I didn't want that for it. I didn't want him
getting labeled that way because you see these these kids
that are neurodivergent, and do they actually they see all

(47:28):
of that, they pick up on it socially. It's not
that they're incapable of picking up on those things socially.
And all these kids, some kids they don't notice it
at all, they really don't. But these kids that might
have a speech problem, you know, something like that, that's

(47:50):
a very minor in comparison, and they they will get targeted.
It's more of a social thing, targeting the kids for
social relationships. And that was really big to me. I
didn't have anywhere that was going to make him feel.

(48:13):
I didn't want him feeling like it was like he
was labeled by his disability. I and there's a lot
of that in the school system too. Some kids that
I meet him all the time, they're like, Hi, my
name is SO and so I have and they tell
me their disability. Some people are completely fine with that,

(48:37):
and it's a much easier way to go about it socially,
of like versus, what's going on with that kid? I
don't really know. I'm trying to figure it out, you
know that kind of thing. Do I want to be
friends with that kid? I don't really know. I don't
really know that kid. I don't know what's going on
with that kid. He's different from me. So this way,

(48:58):
I wanted to create an environment where these kids don't
feel that, and that was really really important to me
as well. Basically not having a light shined on them
while they're working through their therapy needs. It gives them
a place where they can still have their confidence. They
don't feel any different, and if they want to go

(49:21):
and play in extracurricular sports or join chess club or
whatever it might be, with the public school system, they
can still do that. At least in our states, they
can do that. Our public school system allows that if
you homeschool your kid, you can do the exact same thing.
So these kids, when our students go into a say, soccer, baseball,

(49:48):
whatever it might be. They might even not even realize
that they have something going on, Like they don't even know.
And that's great for these kids that are going through
things that want that to be personal to them. They
don't they don't want to broadcast it that I have

(50:09):
this and I'm labeled with this and you know, so
basically the school gives them that privacy, that that area
to be able to work through their things the way
that they want to work through it and not be
bullied or anything through sports teams or anything like that.
There was that big factor as well, So hopefully that

(50:33):
answers that question right.

Speaker 1 (50:36):
It's it's like, you don't want your kids to feel
you don't want your kids to be otherwise. You don't
want your kids to the HM the odd one out
right if you because the kids that's you know, special needs,
they get pulled out of the classroom, they go into

(50:58):
a special room. Uh you know, they may have a
para as compared to other students. So you didn't want
your child to be singled out right.

Speaker 2 (51:11):
And I say a lot of I think a lot
of our parents, I mean a lot of parents don't
want their kids to be singled out right, Like we
all want our kids to make friends, we want them
to be able to have that confidence as an adult.
And that's our biggest thing, at least for me as

(51:31):
an adult. I want my kid to have the confidence
to go and talk to anybody the way that you
typically typically would and not have this social anxiety around
talking to someone because they feel like someone is talking
about what's going on with them or even though that

(51:52):
it's not a thing. But from a lot of the
kids that we've been around with our praxy of groups
and special needs groups in general, they already think about
themselves that way. So they need a place where that
confidence isn't getting pulled out of them, a place where

(52:16):
they can truly shine and believe in themselves and not
feel like they're different in a bad way, but different
in an amazing way. And and some kids they don't
want to feel different. They just want to blend in
with all the rest of the kids. They just want

(52:36):
to fit in, and this gives them the prime opportunity
to be able to do that.

Speaker 1 (52:44):
So then that's what you incorporate in your micro school.
So all the kids in your school, are they not divergent.

Speaker 2 (52:54):
No, we have a fifty to fifty model, so we
have neurotypical and you're divergent, and they have the kids
that Now, granted we are still in launching mode, so
this is all hearsay, but this is what we're envisioning.

(53:19):
So we will have students that even are neurotypical students,
they will have people that are coming into the school
that are working with them on their passions and things
like that. During life skills part of the day. This
is also the time of the day where the therapists
come in and work with kids that are neurodivergent that
have those therapy needs. So they really won't be able

(53:41):
to know much different and they will still have their
own areas. There's not a specific place just like this
is the therapy room. Our occupational therapists could be coming
out and working with them physically on who knows. The
kin might be thinking that, oh, they're working on soccer

(54:06):
like that, whatever it might be. They're working with a trainer,
you know, something like that. They won't know any different.
They might eventually, but it's not going to be. It's
also going to be something that we work into our
curriculum with affirmations and things like that to where we
accept everybody, we show kindness. We are faith based, so

(54:31):
there's gonna be things there that we read from scripture
of acceptance, and so I think I think there's going
to be hopefully we have a very rounded kindness environment
for these kids.

Speaker 1 (54:52):
So they're more So I think I confused it to
between neurotypical and neuro divergent. But but so it's going
to be, well, it's going to be smaller classes, but
also it's is it is a fifty to fifty tense
that the child will be more like them, and so

(55:15):
it's not so I guess, not so different. I mean
because you want to because you want to expose your
child to different types of different types of neuro divergent. Yeah, yeah,

(55:35):
different types of people.

Speaker 3 (55:36):
Yeah, but don't all the There are a lot of
things that the neuro divergent kids could learn from the
narotypical kids and vice versa.

Speaker 2 (55:48):
So I definitely didn't want them to feel secluded.

Speaker 1 (55:55):
To just.

Speaker 2 (55:58):
How they are similarly, if that makes sense, right.

Speaker 1 (56:03):
You don't want too similar, right, you want you want
some difference, right. I think having the small I mean,
it's still a lot of kids in your open space,
but especially when you want fifty to sixty kids. But

(56:24):
in each year is ten kids at a time, right,
So it's still similar to how public school works. Like
you're still right, you're walking around like you're bumping into
sixty other kids, but in terms of you're each year
is ten kids at a time. So yeah, and you're

(56:46):
exposed at different types of learning styles, different types of people.

Speaker 2 (56:50):
They all eat at the same time. They'll eat at
the same time. We have reading time is all at
the same time. We'll have spaces that our older kids
that can read themselves, they can go to and you know,
find a hammock to read in underneath a tree, or

(57:14):
lay out like a blanket in a out in the
field and read their book, or you know, whatever it
might be. They're soaking in that vitamin D that their
body needs and while they're also getting that quiet time
that they're able to separate from or they could meet
up with their friends and go find a spot to
read whatever whatever suits them, whatever they're feeling that day.

(57:38):
But yeah, there's plenty of space for them to meet.
Everybody that's in the school. Multiple opportunities a day for
all sixty kids to intertine with one another in some
shape or form.

Speaker 1 (57:51):
Absolutely absolutely, well, listen, this is This has been a
very enlightening experience. But I'm going to start to wind things. Yeah,
So on my show Hot Topics, I like to ask
my guests to share words of wisdom with our audience. So, Jordan,

(58:12):
do you have any words of wisdom you'd like to share?

Speaker 2 (58:18):
I would say the school system is changing. We're seeing
it change across the entire United States. There are micro
schools popping up everywhere, So use your resources. We have
everything as parents at our fingertips now, it's not like

(58:40):
it used to be. Take responsibility for your child's learning.
Don't be lazy and just saying I didn't know any
I didn't know any better. Go to chat GPT. It's free.
There are so many things that you could use to
try and help you brainstorm the questions that you need

(59:05):
to answer for your kids future. How you're going to
financially pay for it, How disguise the limit. We have
so many resources at our fingertips now, So my words
of wisdom would be to take responsibility for your child's education.

(59:26):
Figure out what they're learning in the school system. If
it doesn't align with how you're raising your child, your
belief systems, how the people that you want your kids around,
that you want them learning with, the families that you
want your kids around. Everything. It comes down to culture,

(59:51):
It comes down, It comes down to so many things.
So just really take action, take responsibility for your kids futures.
And this is a huge way of doing that. There's
so many options.

Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
Now, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. All right, Well, Jordan's thank you
for coming on Hot Topics and and sharing your story
and giving your life lessons. Thank you for coming on
on the show.

Speaker 2 (01:00:20):
Yeah, thanks for having me. Have a great risk of
your day.

Speaker 1 (01:00:23):
Hell on, we got to do your promotion for.

Speaker 2 (01:00:27):
All the goodies.

Speaker 1 (01:00:29):
Yeah, we got to boost your business. All right. So's
Jordan's like, she not a lot of contact and folk,
but that's okay, you know, but you can still reach her.

Speaker 2 (01:00:40):
Are launching, so I didn't want to give you guys
too much.

Speaker 1 (01:00:45):
Yeah, she's you know, she's getting ready to start. But
if you want to learn more about her micro school
or micro schools in general, or maybe you want to
get in on that school, right, it's when it's ready
to launch, and to go to her website. It is
www dot Luminare hyphen Academy dot com. You can also

(01:01:08):
email her at Luminare dot Outdoor Academy at gmail dot com.
You can also call her. Her phone number is nine
to one three six two zero two zero nine eight.
So if you want your child in a micro school,
you want to get into her micro school? When is

(01:01:29):
it launching? When is the school?

Speaker 2 (01:01:31):
When? We are launching August of twenty twenty seven and
enrollment begins this upcoming January.

Speaker 1 (01:01:38):
Okay, there you go. So if you want to get
in on that website again www dot Luminare hyphen Academy
dot com. You could also email her Luminare dot Outdoor
Academy at gmail dot com, and you can also call
her nine one three six two zero two zero nine eight.

(01:02:01):
So make sure you guys take advantage of that reach
out to her if you have any questions you want
to get get in on that yourself. And it's Kansas, right.

Speaker 2 (01:02:12):
We are currently in Missouri, but we are It's Kansas City.
Kings City is like right there on that line of
Kansas and Missouri, so we are planning. I have a
ton of family right on the Kansas side, so we
are we have a huge community over there. We are
planning on that second location to be there. We are

(01:02:36):
just trying to get this one up and going on
the Missouri side first.

Speaker 1 (01:02:40):
Okay, so Kansas City, Missouri, all right, so listen, we
have people everywhere, right, We have listeners and audience everywhere.
So those of you you're hearing this right now and
you are in Kansas City, Missouri, and you want to
get it on this micro school, you know, reach out
to Jordan. Information is on your screen right now if

(01:03:04):
you happen to be watching this on video, but if
you are listening to this on a podcast, the information
is in the description, so make sure you make sure
you check it out. Is there anything else? Oh yes,
and you'll have some goodies that you'd like to share.

Speaker 2 (01:03:22):
Yeah that If you guys are wondering if your kid
would be a good bet, I have created a GPT
that will help you guys. I'm placing that on our
website today. So if you guys have any questions on
that and really want to dive deep into kind of
what I was telling you asking the questions, I have

(01:03:48):
trained it. I've got all of our information in there,
and there's a lot of scientifically proven things that are
within it that it will give you guys some really
really good advice on what kind of school would best
for your kid right now. And then I'll also give
you a bunch of locations. If it's not our school,
if you're not close to us, it'll give you a
lot of different locations of schools, of private schools, micro

(01:04:12):
schools that would fit your kids's needs. So that's a
great resource for you guys.

Speaker 1 (01:04:19):
And where can they find those resource?

Speaker 2 (01:04:22):
This will be on our website Luminair dash academy dot com.
You guys can just scroll down. I believe it's in
like the second or third hero section. But I can
also send it to Gabrielle and I will link it
so that you guys can have that as well.

Speaker 1 (01:04:42):
Yes, yes, please so I can put that link directly
in the absolutely absolutely but yeah, so make sure you
guys get in on that again if you want that
fabulous resource, if you want to learn about micro schools
in general, if you want to get into her school
or get your child into her school. I should say so,

(01:05:06):
I'm just gonna say the website one more time. Www.
Dot luminaire dash Academy dot com. All right, yes, please
come and visit. All right, Well, Jordan, thank you again
for coming on Hot Topics.

Speaker 2 (01:05:25):
Yeah, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (01:05:27):
All right, I will place you off camera now, all right,
you guys, so that is fabulous. We love giving you
resources and connections and information and resources you know, so
we love giving you all that information here on on

(01:05:48):
Hot Topics, and that's what we're all about. As we know,
you guys are all over the United States and we
even have some in other countries as well. But that's
what we're all about, giving you resources and connections so
you can make a better decision for yourself and your family.

(01:06:09):
So please take advantage of all of these resources that
we give you on our podcast, so there really is
no excuse for you not to do anything. We give
you all of this information, we give you these resources,
and it is up to you to take advantage of it.
So I encourage you guys to take advantage of all

(01:06:29):
of these resources that we give you. It is at
your fingertips. All right. Well, thank you again for joining me,
Gabrielle on another episode of Hot Topics. So let me
just tell you about the forces that are behind Hot Topics,

(01:06:55):
and those forces are my company, So my company is
a step ahead tutoring services. So we are a tutoring
company and the way that we work is we have
so we okay, so we do in person tutoring, so

(01:07:17):
our tutors come out to you, but it's only for
our local area, which is the five boroughs of New
York City and NASA County of Long Island, So we
don't do Suffolk County right now, sorry you guys, but
for those of you that are in Suffolk County, so

(01:07:38):
we I encourage you to take advantage of our virtual
tutoring services. But for those of you in NASA County
or in New York City, we do. We have in
person and virtual right so we have both options. So
if you are interested in our tutoring services, so we

(01:07:59):
let me just get into this. So we serve from
third to twelfth grade and college as well, but more
of early college years. So we do math, we do reading,
language arts, we do writing as well, some science, some history,
so that's kind of the general scope of the subjects

(01:08:20):
that we tutor. And we also offer test prep as well,
so we do SA T A C T G ED,
the s H S A T for our New Yorkers,
and we also do regions prep as well, which is
for our New Yorkers and the state the New York
State tests as well, So a lot of a lot

(01:08:42):
of New York testing. But we do, like I said,
but we have virtual services that extend throughout the United States,
so we do you know, if you have state tests
that are specific to your states, we can help you
with that as well. So we're not limited to New York.
So our virtual services allow us to go nationwide. But

(01:09:05):
you know, I'm just kind of putting it out there
that we are based in New York State. But all
that to say, if you are interested in those tutoring services,
whether you are within the state of New York or
outside of New York State, we have the services to
help your child, let me tell you that information. To

(01:09:28):
that information, I'll start off with the website. It is
www dot a Step Ahead Tutoring Services dot com. You
can learn all about what we have to offer on
the website and you can also learn about it on
our social media as well. So we're on Facebook, we're
on Instagram, we're on x We're on LinkedIn, TikTok. Did

(01:09:55):
I say YouTube, But we're on YouTube as well, So
I encourage you guys to learn more about how we
work on our social media and also to follow us,
so like, subscribe, follow, whatever the call to action is.
I encourage you to I encourage you to do just that.
We're also on event right as well as we do

(01:10:15):
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Ahead Tutoring Services, so follow us on social media as well,
and again you can learn about all that we have
to offer. But the most the best place to get

(01:10:37):
most of the information is our website, which is I'll
say it again www dot a Step Ahead Tutoring Services
dot com. So that information is scrolling below in the
marquee at the bottom. Again, if you are watching this
on a video platform, but if you are listening to

(01:11:01):
this on a podcast platform, that information is in the description,
So one way or another, this information is at your fingertips.
I also encourage you I'm throwing a lot of information out,
but I also encourage you to follow me personally on
social media, so you could follow me. My name is
Gabrielle Critchlow. You can follow me on Facebook, on Instagram

(01:11:26):
it is Gabrielle dot Critchlow, and you can also follow
me on LinkedIn as well. Personally it is Gabrielle dash Critchlow.
So make sure you pay attention to those subtle punctuation differences.
But I encourage you to follow me personally as well.
So follow me personally, follow me professionally, but stay in

(01:11:47):
touch with me on social media as well. All right,
and before I run away, I want to encourage you,
guys to however you are taking in the set of
my voice, however you are consuming me right now, I
encourage you to leave your feedback about today's episode. Leave

(01:12:10):
it in the comment section, in the common thread, drop
a rating, you know, whatever the call to action is,
I encourage you to do just that. So the more
feedback that you give us, the more that this episode
will circulate on social media, the more that it will

(01:12:30):
circulate on the interwebs. So I encourage you, guys to
leave your feedback somewhere. Leave it somewhere, leave it down below,
in the comment section or in the common thread. Did
you love it? Did you hate it? Do you have
questions about micro schools? Maybe you want to start your

(01:12:53):
own micro school, you know, whatever, whatever feedback that you
want to leave. I encourage you to leave your feedback
about this episode, even if you're listening on a podcast.
Depending on the platform, there are places where you can
leave your comments, so like Apple Podcasts is the big ones.

(01:13:14):
You could do it on Spotify, Podchaser, good pods. So
leave your comments, leave your feedback. So the more you leave,
the more that this episode will circulate and the more
that people will learn about it. So that is how
the algorithm works on the internet. So please, I implore

(01:13:35):
you to hashtag feed the robots, feed the robots by
circulating our episode on the web. All right, and that
is where is it? That is it? So that is
it for today's episode. Thank you for joining me on
Hot Topics. I look forward to you joining me on

(01:13:58):
the next episode. And now I am fighting off byes