By Stephen Smoot
As the West Virginia State Legislature turns toward the 2026 session, Republicans prepare to man the ramparts against a political full court press against the HOPE Scholarship. Meanwhile, West Virginia Treasurer Larry Pack, whose office administers the popular program, vowed last week that he “vows to work against any effort that limits access to the program” and support expanding it “to universal eligibility for the 2026-27 school year.”
As traditional schools operating under county systems continue to both lose enrollment while also encountering unprecedented levels of students experiencing out of school dysfunction, some officials share that the West Virginia Department of Education should look for ways to partner with non traditional education rather than battling it.
Much attention focuses on homeschooling and charter schools, but “microschools” have started surging in popularity with the support of the Hope Scholarship.
Just outside of Ripley in Jackson County, the Pathfinder Institute has quickly established itself as an attractive option for those looking outside of traditional schools.
Kala Dick, who leads the school, shared that she had little interest in homeschooling, but that she and her husband struggled to find the right kind of format. She explained that “my husband had experience with private schools” and expressed the worry that “they’ll take everyone because of funding.” Dick also stated that she and her husband wanted to make sure that their children learned values at school that closely matched those taught at home.
At a certain point, she opted to start taking charge of her own family’s education
She started tutoring her own children and others, a total of eight, but soon “we needed more space.” Then, “HOPE came and the idea of a microschool began to come into fruition.”
Two years ago Don Soifer, head of the National Microschooling Center, told Education Week that microschools “are innovative, small learning environments.” He explained that “they are being created in permissionless ways outside of education systems and their rate of growth has become a powerful storyline in American education.”
“Many people feel microschooling derives its potential from the ability to be created around the needs of the particular learners they serve,” he shared. That focus could be on certain specific subjects. A microschool could also specialize in serving one or more categories of “neurodivergent” children who may have certain conditions like autism, but are still functional and could be expected to live a fulfilling independent adult life if given proper supports.
Dick explained that at Pathfinder Institute, the student body includes a number of children with different learning challenges. “We do different things, take different approaches” to personalize the instruction and attention because one size never fits all, especially in education.
Children who bring personal histories of trauma and abuse to school, or suffer from bullying and antagonisms at the school often find supportive environments in microschools or other formats. State Senator Patricia Rucker (R-Jefferson), whose landmark legislation transformed West Virginia from one of the most to one of the least restrictive environments for alternative education, shared a story from the campaign trail.
“I was doorknocking in Gerrardstown on the last day of the campaign,” she opened. At the last door she planned to hit, when those inside heard her name, a senior woman ran from the house screaming in joy and hugged the Senator.
“You saved my granddaughter!” the woman shared.
Senator Rucker explained that the woman had taken in her grandchild due to family problems, but that child faced brutal levels of bullying in school to the point where she was suicidal and “they had no choice to homeschool, but HOPE got her into a good Christian private school in Martinsburg.” The grandmother told the Senator that “her life completely turned around.”
In West Virginia, another growing problem lies in the children of remote communities left behind by school consolidation.
For example Pickens School in Randolph County serves 34 students in all grade levels. Though granted a reprieve this year, it still faces the possibility of closure. Pickens is a 45 minute drive from Tygarts Valley’s middle and high schools and over an hour from Elkins. Should Pickens School close, its students would face spending at least two and a half or more hours on the school bus per day.
Pathfinder Institute currently serves 10 more students than Pickens and is considered large for a microschool. It has a 10 to one teacher ratio currently.
Dick explained some of the advantages of the microschool environment, saying one of the major differences lies in the 180 day mandate imposed on the traditional schools. “We do 180 days worth of curriculum in four day weeks,” she stated, then added “we do it and we excel at it.”
Work is all done at school and teaching focuses on the creation of portfolios, as opposed to standardized testing. “Children need to be educated, but they need a home life too,” she explained. Portfolios show progress and growth through the school year. “Parents see what they’ve gone through, especially with peer to peer interaction.”
Another reason for the no homework policy is that many parents who are educated and successful in their fields may lack the knowledge to help with homework or the skills to help properly. This is especially true with Pathfinder’s “STEM” or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, focus. Pathfinder has found more success in keeping the academic activity in the school setting.
Dick explained that her new students have to “detox” from the habits and procedures learned in the traditional system. At Pathfinder, when teachers instruct and wish to ask a question, they grab a popsicle stick with a student name on it. She says this ensures that all students have the ability, but also the responsibility, to participate.
They also use the teaching format of “read, retell, write” in appropriate parts of portfolio creation and classwork. Skills get taught three times in three ways, helping to reinforce the lesson while also teaching different means of communication. This has led to an outcome where“most kids are above grade level” and “quite a few have leapt an entire grade” by making their way through the material at their own pace.
Pathfinder Institute also eschews grades because, as Dick shared, “grades don’t push kids to be their greatest, but to be as great as the person beside them.” Students make their way through education tasks and do not move on to the next step until they show that they have mastered the previous one.
Even though Dick has established a values-based school, she emphasized that the school does not identify as “Christian.” She wants students of all faiths to feel similarly welcomed, while ensuring that they learn values such as a strong work ethic, respect for others, and a love of learning. Students will not experience situations that religious people of any faith would tend to oppose in schools.
Non traditional education has produced improving outcomes since 2014. Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes conducted a five-year study covering 6,200 students in 29 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia from 2014 to 2019. Education Week called it “a turning point in the understanding of charter school performance.” It showed for the first time charter students outperforming peers in traditional environments with 83 percent performing better in reading and 75 percent scored better in math.
Not only students derive benefit from alternative formats, but teachers as well. Senator Rucker lauded “edupreneurs,” such as Dick, who create “tons of new businesses to cater to the needs of kids” seeking non traditional education. They don’t follow templates but establish learner and parent centered opportunities, from charter schools to microschools, homeschooling, education cooperatives, and more.
Dick stated that at Pathfinder “I have to give the teachers the freedom to do what they need to do.” She explained that she had two teachers teaching two separate kindergarten classes and “they couldn’t be more different than each other.” One class was generally more calm and sedate, the other energetic. With the small class sizes “teachers adapt to kids and vice versa.”
Within these widely varying facilities and formats, teaching innovation has thrived. Senator Rucker stated “that’s one of the fringe benefits I was hoping for.”. Students with learning challenges, trauma from abuse or family dysfunction, and other issues often struggle mightily in large buildings packed with kids, stimulation, and triggers. Innovative means of reaching these students have emerged on the front lines of education unencumbered by federal, state, and local rules and regulations.
Senator Rucker stated that “a receptive (state) Education Department could help” in terms of creating partnerships that could create a win-win for both. She said “microschools operate extremely efficiently, hiring just who they need, and giving personalized services and attention to their exact student population.” Any possible partnership, however, needs to recognize that the State must allow microschools to “give the personalized, small class instruction that helps special needs students, especially, thrive.”