KaiPod Learning Blog

We recently connected with Jourdan Simmang,KaiPod Catalyst participant, and founder ofSpyrja Academy of New Braunfels, Texas. Jourdan has always felt the world of education was in dire need of a stirring, so through the Catalyst program he launched his very own microschool. Throughout his years of teaching, he's found monumental success in student achievement through blended learning that addresses the unique needs of each learner. With the help of KaiPod Catalyst, Spyrja Academy currently serves students in the New Braunfels region who are seeking a more personalized approach to education. 

In this blog post, Jourdan speaks with KaiPod to provide additional insight regarding how he acquired his microschool location (with the KaiPod Catalyst team’s help), his approach to evaluating how to best serve the community, and his experience working with KaiPod Catalyst in order to serve as many families as possible.

We recently connected with Alexandra Batista,KaiPod Catalyst participant, and founder ofSteps Learning Center in Orlando, FL, a school founded to empower students in the ESE population and give them the tools to achieve their maximum potential and lead the most independent adult life possible.

Founders have a clear understanding of their target demographic, what their community can afford to pay, and available alternate sources of funding. Armed with this information, you can design a strategy and financial model to get to financial sustainability.

We spoke to Mercedes Grant, KaiPod Catalyst participant, and founder of Path of Life Learning. She has vast experience with different curricula and resources from her years in education. We asked her about her approach to selecting and using curriculum resources at her microschool, and here is what she said.

One of the first things you'll need to decide as the founder of a new microschool is what curriculum options you're going to use to support the needs of your students. There are a multitude of different resources to incorporate into your learning model, and you can mix and match to find the best fit for you and your students.