What is a hybrid school anyway?

Hybrid schools are private* programs that combine part-time school attendance with part-time homeschooling. Unlike the homeschool cooperatives of the last few decades which require volunteer time exchange and have low fees, hybrids employ teachers and a typical school staff and parents pay with tuition instead of their time. 

Many hybrid programs run two days a week with three days spent at home, but they can run one or three days, full days or shorter days. They can run for an average full school year of 36 weeks or a longer or shorter school year. Assignments may or may not be required for home days and all academic subjects may or may not be covered at school. 

There are no rules!

However, good business sense says that  it behooves a founder to have a good read on what support families are looking for and what they can afford as far as both money and time. A founder who has a good handle on what homeschool law requires in his or her state as well, can craft a program that serves the local community with a quality program.

I have seen more and more young families whom I am dubbing  functional ‘hybrid schoolers’, not ‘homeschoolers’, despite the fact that they are legally homeschooling. Many of these families want the program to be the driver and guide of their child’s education because they want alternatives, but do not necessarily want to homeschool. For this reason, programs serving young families may want to build a robust program that gives at least the option of thorough guidance in all required subjects. 

In any case, a founder wants to build a program that fits his or her own vision and passion, but also takes into account the local market. Some geographic areas may support a three-day program, while others may only support one or two days. More hours will cost more, so socioeconomic averages and population density should both be considered when crafting a plan. 

Next time, we will discuss some different options for a hybrid school schedule.

*While theoretically a hybrid could be licensed with the state as a legal school with home as a satellite campus, grassroots founders generally organize as an LLC or Nonprofit and offer their service as a supplement to  families that are legally homeschooling and this is how I am defining hybrid schools.