Unexpected Lessons through Accreditation

When Kainos Microschool began pursuing accreditation through the Middle States Association, we knew what we hoped it would mean for our students and families.

Accreditation would provide external validation of the quality of our program. It would strengthen the credibility of our transcripts and academic practices. It would require us to take a close look at our policies, procedures, student wellness, curriculum, assessment, governance, and long-term sustainability.

What I didn't fully anticipate was what accreditation would do for me as a microschool leader.

Running a microschool can be an incredibly rewarding experience. It can also be a lonely one.

Many microschool founders don't have a district office down the road. We don't necessarily have a superintendent to call, a large administrative team to troubleshoot with, or even a board to help us think through difficult decisions.

Often, the buck stops with us.

Accreditation has given me something I didn't realize I needed quite so much: access to other classrooms, experienced partners, a stronger voice for microschooling, and a community of people who understand the work.

1. Accreditation Opened the Door to Other Micorschool Classrooms

One of the most valuable parts of my accreditation experience has actually happened after Kainos earned accreditation.

Through Middle States, I have had opportunities to participate on visiting teams for other microschools who are pursuing accreditation all across the country.

There is something incredibly valuable about getting to step inside another school and see how it actually works.

Websites, social media posts, and elevator pitches don't always portray the actual work being done in these schools. It’s hard to fully understand how microschools function without actually stepping foot into those microschools.

Participating in an accreditation visit provides a peek into the real thing.

You get to see how another school organizes its day, supports its students, documents learning, builds its culture, solves problems, communicates with families, and turns its educational philosophy into actual systems and practices. You get to hear from their families, their staff and their students about the things that make it unique and why they chose that option for their family.

Every time I enter another learning environment, I find myself asking questions.

• What are they doing that we could learn from?

• What systems have they created that might make something at Kainos stronger?

• What challenges are they experiencing that look a lot like ours?

• What are they doing differently and why?

Accreditation hasn't forced Kainos to become more like a traditional school. Instead, it has given me opportunities to learn from peers while becoming more intentional about what makes our school work.

That kind of professional learning is hard to replicate.

2. Accreditation Showed Me That I Am Not Alone

Microschool founders wear an absurd number of hats.

On any given day, we might be thinking about curriculum, student needs, enrollment, fundraising, staffing, insurance, facilities, legal compliance, strategic planning, finances. In addition, we are the plumber, the janitor, the IT support and we need to know whether anyone remembered to buy more toilet paper (because sometimes we forget to do that!).

Some of those decisions are relatively simple and others aren't.

One of the greatest benefits of our relationship with Middle States has been knowing that when I encounter something I don't know how to navigate, I have people I can call.

That has mattered as Kainos has faced real-world challenges involving fundraising, enrollment, operations, growth, legal questions, facilities, and long-term planning.

And the support doesn't feel like pulling an answer from a generic handbook.

The conversations are specific to our school, our circumstances, and our goals.

Instead of canned responses, I have received thoughtful questions, ideas, resources, strategic guidance, and help thinking through possible next steps.

For an independent school leader, that is enormously valuable.

Sometimes I need an answer.

Sometimes I need a resource.

And sometimes I simply need someone with experience to say, "Here are a few ways other schools have approached this. Let's think through what makes sense for Kainos."

Accreditation gave us accountability, but it also gave us partnership.

3. Accreditation Created Community

This may be the part I value most.

Microschool leadership can be strangely isolating.

You can spend your entire day surrounded by students, staff, parents, and community members and still feel very alone in leadership.

Many microschool leaders don't have a board. We don't have a district. Some of us don't even have a boss.

There isn't always someone sitting in the office next door who understands the weight of the decisions we are making.

Through accreditation, I have found a broader community of educators and school leaders who understand that weight. There is camaraderie in sitting around a table (even if it’s a virtual table) with other people who are also trying to build excellent schools.

There is reassurance in discovering that other leaders wrestle with some of the same questions.

There is humility in seeing another school do something exceptionally well.

And there is encouragement in realizing that none of us has to figure out every part of this work entirely on our own.

For me, accreditation has become much more than a seal we can place on our website.

It has become a network of people, ideas, resources, accountability, and support.

4. Accreditation Has Helped Us Tell the Microschool Story

Another unexpected benefit of accreditation has been the opportunity it has created to help others better understand microschooling.

Even as microschools continue to grow across the country, there are still many educators, professionals, community organizations, and families who aren't quite sure what a microschool actually is.

Is it a homeschool co-op? Is it tutoring? Is it a private school? Is it a group of kids sitting around someone's kitchen table?

The reality is that microschools are incredibly diverse. This can make the movement difficult to explain to people who have spent their entire lives thinking about education within more traditional categories.

Accreditation has given us another bridge for those conversations.

It provides a familiar framework that allows people outside the microschool movement to better understand how a small, highly personalized school like Kainos approaches academics, student progress, policies, safety, governance, continuous improvement, and accountability.

At the same time, our participation in the accreditation community gives us opportunities to help other educators and professionals understand microschools from the inside.

We get to explain why mixed-age learning can work, why personalization doesn't mean a lack of academic rigor, Why a school doesn't need hundreds of students or dozens of administrators to have thoughtful systems and strong outcomes.

We have the opportunity to show how microschools may look different from traditional schools while still taking the responsibility of educating children incredibly seriously.

Those conversations matter.

Microschooling is still unfamiliar to many people. The more opportunities we have to invite others into the conversation, answer questions, challenge misconceptions, and demonstrate what high-quality microschooling can look like, the stronger the broader movement becomes.

Accreditation has given Kainos another opportunity to be part of that work.

More Than a Credential

When people hear the word accreditation, they often think about standards, documentation, policies, and evaluations.

And yes, all of those things are part of it.

But our experience has taught me that good accreditation should do more than verify what a school is already doing. Accreditation should:

• make the school stronger.

• cause leaders to reflect.

• expose weaknesses before they become bigger problems.

• connect schools to expertise they don't have internally.

• create opportunities to learn from other educators.

• create bridges between emerging educational models and the broader education community.

• remind independent school leaders that independence doesn't have to mean isolation.

Kainos is still growing. We are still learning. We are still refining systems, solving problems, and occasionally figuring things out as we go.

But now, we aren't doing all of that alone.

And that may be one of the most valuable things accreditation has given us.