Programs and Services

The micro-academy is a facilitated, co-created and emergent blend of individual and group projects and studies, exploration and skill-building, in a small-group setting. It involves both online and off-line work.

Essential Details:

Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Times: 9:30a.m. to 1p.m. Eastern Time (see below for a breakdown)
Ages: 9 to 12 (this will expand in later years)

Size: Maximum 16 children per cohort, with two facilitators (you can read about the first cohort's facilitators here and here)

Enrollment: The tuition and application process is described in detail here
Location: Online

The emphasis is on deep, interdisciplinary learning about the world and one's place in it, and the development of key personal and inter-personal life skills, such as the “5 Cs” (critical thinking and problem solving; communication; collaboration; creativity and innovation; and citizenship). In addition to group work—built on solving practical, real-world challenges whenever possible—children also give monthly presentations to their peers about interest-driven individual projects they've chosen to pursue (with guidance, as needed, from the facilitators). 

A cohort is like a learning team, and the development of an intentional, supportive culture is a key priority. This creates fertile ground for valuable peer-to-peer learning, deeper engagement in general, and the development of higher-order abilities to navigate life's challenges.

The team culture extends beyond the cohort. Parents (plus extended family and friends, should they wish to get involved) are invited to share interests with the group. We're also bringing in special guests from around the world (first up: renowned software tester and author James Marcus Bach, who launched his career at age 16, talking about the importance of critical thinking and how to be a self-directed "buccaneer-scholar"). Facilitators also tap into their expansive, global networks and our growing database of volunteers to help children get questions answered directly by subject-matter experts. At the meta level, this is about more than basic knowledge acquisition; it's about helping children feel heard, valued and supported, and part of something bigger.

What Happens Outside the Micro-Academy Hours?

Outside of micro-academy hours, children are free to follow other elements of their customized learning pathways, whether that involves working individually on building core skills (with the help of on-demand resources such as Khan Academy, software apps, books, or eclectic independent studies); attending tutoring sessions; participating in The Hub's à-la-carte programming, or third-party online or offline classes; or doing other activities. The sky's the limit! Overwhelmed with options? We can help you cut through the clutter, suggest tailored ideas, and offer other guidance (as well as connect you to people with specialized knowledge about things that fall outside our own areas of expertise) via The Hub's wraparound services. 

Interactions among the children can continue outside micro-academy hours. Members of The Hub can share activity playlists on The Hub's private social network, to make it easier to identify shared interests and sign up for things together, should they wish to do so. They will also be able to socialize with each other on that platform.

This is the starting point for the micro-academy's daily flow. We will be agile and adapt the details—based on observations, feedback, and where the energy is flowing on a given day—in order to optimize the experience, while remaining true to the core principles and ideas.

9:30a.m. – 10:15a.m.: Setting the foundation

• Community building—check in, share how everyone is feeling, and share and reflect on what else everyone has done since the previous meeting.
• Targeted skill building—a mini tutorial on something that's relevant to all members of the group (e.g., watching a short video to inspire new project ideas; sharing subject-area research related to a project that's already underway, or doing an exercise to develop a meta-skill such as project management).
• Expanding horizons—monthly guest speaker presenting a “show and tell” about a job or hobby.

10:15a.m. – 10:30a.m.: Break

10:30a.m. – 11:30a.m.: Group work

• Working in groups of various sizes, on projects of their choosing (with a facilitator's guidance). These are based on meaty questions the children would like answered, and/or real-world problems they want to solve. The elements that are productive to do together are done jointly online; the children work independently on the rest, either online or offline.
• Humanities examples: Answering questions such as, “Where did my ancestors come from, and what were their lives like?” or “How can groups of people make decisions that don’t leave many people unhappy?” Solving problems such as, “Let’s write and send letters that will comfort sick residents in our communities.” 
• STEM examples: Answering questions such as, “Why are bees disappearing?” or “How are cars made?” Overcoming a challenge such as learning how to effectively light a space for recording videos. 
• Practical life-skills examples: Answering questions such as, "Why is our compost bucket smelling bad?" Solving practical challenges such as building a container for sewing supplies. 
• A learning artifact comes out of each project, whether in the form of a written document, a PowerPoint presentation, a video, a piece of art or music, etc. This further develops important communication and presentation skills, and also provides avenues for studying art and music, and engaging in creative self-expression.
• A facilitator checks in with each group, guiding children to work together to answer questions that have arisen, demonstrating how to find resources to get through bottlenecks, etc.

11:30a.m. – 11:45a.m.: Break

11:45a.m. – 12:30p.m.: Individual work

• This time is set aside to work on individual “passion projects,” with the opportunity to consult with each other and/or with a facilitator, as needed. The passion projects could be anything—learning to play guitar, learning a foreign language, learning how to code, etc. At the end of each month, the students present to their peers about what they’ve done and learned.
• Students may also choose to work on their passion projects during another part of the week, and use this time to work on some of their other à-la-carte offerings, with “office hours” access to a facilitator. 

12:30p.m. – 1p.m.: Closing circle 

• This closes out the micro-academy's formal program for the day. Students reflect on the time they spent together, what support is needed for next steps, and talking about what each student is planning for the rest of the day and until the next meeting.

1p.m.: Optional extra time for group lunch

• Children are welcome to stay and have a virtual lunch with each other. (They're also welcome to eat as needed to fuel their bodies and minds during the morning.)

In the process of doing such interdisciplinary projects, children have opportunities to develop skills in areas such as research, reading comprehension, debating, communications, and inter-personal relations. Such projects also serve as vehicles for learning about fields such as history, cultural anthropology, economics, geography, sociology, psychology, literature, civics, biology, ecology, chemistry, physics, engineering, math, and materials science.

"The kids couldn't stop talking about class today. They thoroughly enjoyed their time with you and even continued a few games of geosearch on their own."

"So fun to hear them laughing and learning!!"

The facilitators are "real gems" and have "created digital joy, which is very hard to find." 

Micro-academy enrollment comes with membership in The Hub. As members of The Hub, enrolled children and their parents also have access to the following:

Community Spaces and Events for Children and for Parents

Hub members have access to private online social lounges where they can come and go and interact with each other at any time. There will be one for the children and a separate one for the parents. There are opportunities to attend group games and other social events throughout the year, and to invite other friends and relatives to participate as guests.

Curated Resources

The Hub maintains a curated list of third-party platforms, websites, curriculum packages and events (at a range of price points) that might interest members, to help them choose how to spend their remaining time. New discoveries will be added regularly. We'll also share examples of curated pathways, showing how the micro-academy and various à-la-carte elements can be put together to form a comprehensive whole, as well as examples of portfolios to document learning. (For more in-depth and personalized guidance along these lines, members have access to additional wraparound services.)

Priority Registration for The Hub's À-La-Carte Programming

Hub members receive early notice of and advance access to new à-la-carte programming (which will begin to be rolled out during the course of the year), before registrations are opened to the general public.

Collaborations With Other Like-Minded Learning Groups: Several learning centers around the United States that share similar values have expressed interest in collaborations, such as teens visiting The Hub to offer presentations about topics of interest to them, and occasional facilitator exchanges that will expose children to additional perspectives and locales. 

Expanded Age Range: We will expand the online hub's age range to ages 9-13 in Fall 2021, and then add a teen cohort in Fall 2022. 

A Full-Week, In-Person Option: The plan is to also launch a five-day-a-week, in-person version of The Hub for residents of the Washington, D.C. area, starting in Fall 2021. The physical hub will eventually offer micro-academies for younger children too. We will aim to take advantage of cross-pollination opportunities between those enrolled in the online and in-person hubs. We will also assist individuals or groups interested in opening in-person hubs in other areas.

Get in touch if you would like to be added to a mailing list to find out more details as they are officially announced for upcoming years.