Each morning, Liberty City’s Primer Microschool kicks off with the young students singing along to the alphabet song, their voices ringing out with excitement. Teacher Apryl Shackelford leads them in a lively tune, pairing each letter with an interactive movement.
“Sometimes they struggle with phonemic awareness, and how you know the letters of the sounds and the alphabet, but we want to make it fun and creative,” Shackelford says.
Shackelford dances with her kindergarten-through-second-grade students as they eagerly repeat the vowel sounds. After the dance, they move to their desks, still singing in a hushed voice as they prepare for the day's lessons.
Micro-schools
Micro-schools, small community-based schools offering personalized learning, are growing in popularity. During the 2022-23 school year, 1 to 2 million students attended micro-schools nationwide. Florida alone boasts over 250 such programs, many of which accept state scholarships, providing families an average of $8,000 for education outside the traditional public school system.
The impact on Black children is significantly greater. Studies indicate that teacher biases can lead to disparities in academic performance and suspension rates between Black and white students. A 2022 study revealed that classrooms with a higher number of Black and Hispanic students tend to receive inferior teaching quality, highlighting historic racial issues present in education.
According to Nicole Stewart-Jones, founder of the National Association of Black Microschool Leaders (NABML), micro-schools cultivate a strong sense of belonging and identity, especially for Black students, while also promoting equity and improving educational outcomes. She says micro-schools are vital for addressing systemic issues such as low reading proficiency and declining graduation rates.
“Micro-schooling isn’t just a trend — it’s a transformative model that addresses key issues faced by marginalized students,” Jones-Stewart told The Miami Times. “It empowers students, particularly those who’ve been overlooked by traditional systems, to experience a more student-centered, flexible and impactful education.”
Primer’s model
Primer Liberty City is the latest addition to Primer, a network of micro-schools operating in Florida, Alabama and Arizona.
Primer’s teachers emphasize smaller class sizes, allowing them to cater to individual needs and make space for students to pursue passion projects outside the core curriculum.
“The traditional system often leaves children as just another number in a sea of hundreds or thousands,” explained Ryan Delk, Primer’s CEO. “We wanted to create a space where every child is known, loved and supported, where education isn’t just about test scores, but about real growth and unlocking their potential.”
The Liberty City campus, which opened in November 2024, serves 120 students across five mixed-age groups. Other Primer locations include Coconut Grove, Kendall, Miami Shores, Overtown and Fort Lauderdale, with more planned for Cutler Bay, Doral, Homestead, Miami Gardens and Plantation.
For Shackelford, who has experience working in Florida’s marginalized communities and joined Primer on its first day in Liberty City, it’s about changing how children learn.
“Not everything is paper and pencil,” she said. “We focus on kinesthetic learning, and in this smaller setting, even struggling students' hands go up because we’ve built that confidence.”
Primer also ensures that the micro-school reflects the neighborhood in which it is located. In the case of Liberty City, a predominantly Black community, Primer’s walls are adorned with images representing students’ cultures.
Many Primer students are eligible for state funding vouchers that cover tuition costs, and parents can contribute to their child’s education by serving as ambassadors. Shanlauie Drayton, a Primer ambassador and parent who moved her son Aaden Washington from a charter school to Primer, emphasizes the impact on her son's growth.
“He's more outspoken now,” she said. “His grades have never been bad, but they're better because the teachers he has are like one-on-one. Primer just gives a bit more than a public school; they're more based on the child and the family.”
Passion pursuit
At Primer, teachers go beyond the regular curriculum, strongly emphasizing passion projects where students can explore hands-on activities that spark their fancy. From creating graphic T-shirts to learning about baking and engineering, students can pursue their interests, with teachers providing guidance along the way.
“It’s like Shark Tank, but without the criticism,” said Monique Bridges, a leader at Primer overseeing students in grades 6-8. “Students bring their ideas to me, and we work together to turn them into more rigorous projects that push them to think outside the box.”
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Aaden, Drayton's son, has taken a keen interest in barbering and engineering.
“My teachers allow me to watch videos on barbering and how to build things like engineering,” he said. “Last year, in passion projects, I learned how to build a Bluetooth speaker.”
Seventh-grader Kalea Harris, passionate about baking and basketball, has also thrived at Primer.
“We're learning how to perfect our stance and how we dribble the ball,” she said. “We're experimenting with different things to make so we can get better with the way we make it, like cupcakes and cake.”
Primer’s project-based learning approach equips students with practical skills that will benefit them beyond school. Shawn Deroncelley, a sixth grader, appreciates the real-life skills he gains.
“Primer helps you in the outside world,” he says, noting his interests in basketball and designing his own shirts.
Primer further ensures academic success through innovative programs like Khan Academy, which allow students to work independently and close learning gaps at their own pace.
Students take the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Test three times a year. Primer has also developed its own platform to keep parents informed and engaged in their child's educational journey, as well as a software tool created by Delk for leaders to track each child's academic progress.
MicroLearn hub
Another Miami micro-school with an innovative approach is MicroLearn Hub, founded by long-time educator Benita Gordon. The program, which blends online learning with homeschooling, offers a personalized education where the curriculum adapts to each student’s needs.
“We meet students where they are and help them progress at their own pace,” says Gordon. For example, if a student masters fourth-grade math in four months, they can move on to fifth-grade material.
Gordon works closely with parents transitioning from public or charter schools, helping them adjust to a more personalized, mastery-based approach. She says many families need to "unlearn" the traditional focus on grades and standardized testing.
“We also have several classes on how to be engaged with a middle school and high school student in this day and time,” Gordon said. “Understanding technology, understanding the anxious child. That's one of the books that we give our parents.”
Though currently offered exclusively online, MicroLearn Hub is planning to open a physical space soon. Gordon envisions a flexible learning environment where students can choose between full-time attendance or part-time homeschooling, allowing them to balance their academic work with extracurricular activities and future career goals.
Colossal Academy
Over in Fort Lauderdale, Shiren Rattigan’s Colossal Academy is redefining the micro-school model by blending academic rigor, entrepreneurship and community engagement.
Founded by Rattigan, a fifth-generation educator, Colossal Academy offers courses in partnership with Arizona State University, providing middle and high school students with college-level instruction.
On Fridays, students participate in Surf Skate Science, learning about physics and marine biology through real-world experiences like shark tagging.
“We want our students to engage with the community and learn by doing,” says Rattigan. “They even run their own businesses, from painting services to running summer camps.”
Rattigan has worked hard to make Colossal Academy affordable. “We use Education Savings Accounts (ESA) and scholarships, with the lowest-paying families contributing just $125 a month,” she explained.
Colossal Academy also offers flexible learning options, with some families participating in a three-day program or using an online school model.
Rattigan is involved with the NABML, which unites and empowers Black educators within the micro-school movement.
“The NABML was created to unify and empower Black educators, homeschool leaders and others seeking to close the educational gaps that disproportionately affect Black students,” Jones-Stewart said.
This story was produced by The Miami Times, one of the oldest Black-owned newspapers in the country, as part of a content sharing partnership with the WLRN newsroom. Read more at miamitimesonline.com.
