Author: VELA Education Fund
Posts by VELA Education Fund
In Charlottesville, International Neighbors Helps Make Sure All Students Receive the Support They Need
In Charlottesville, Virginia, teachers and area residents have rallied to address an additional challenge: finding a way to meet the needs of their refugee students, many of whom are new to the country, and some of whom neither speak English nor are computer literate.
How Engaged Detroit is Helping Students and Families #MeetTheMoment
When the pandemic pushed her daughter to consider dropping out of high school, Bernita Bradley launched Engaged Detroit, a homeschool co-op that serves Black families.
RELEASE: New VELA Education Fund Launches with $1M Meet the Moment Grant Program
Out-of-system models and programs include learning pods, low-cost micro-schools, homeschool cooperatives, youth-led programming and learning, online content, and more. VELA Education Fund aims to support local, regional, and national education entrepreneurs bringing their bold ideas to life.
Colearning Communities in the Cloud
Colearning communities are made up of groups of families who choose to have their children learn together in an environment where each child has a personalized learning plan and is supported by caregivers and educators. Advocates say colearning communities provide a more social and resource-rich option than homeschooling with greater flexibility than traditional schooling.
Pandemic Leads to Increased Interest in Microschools
Kelly Smith founded Prenda in January 2018 to help more students attend microschools, and they now support 1,700 students in grades K-8. Like the homeschooling model, microschools focus on student agency, autonomy, and accountability, but it’s a more communal approach.
