The Hybrid School Market

One of the biggest benefits of hybrid schooling is that it meets many different people’s needs. It is still, however, a bit of a niche  market. 

What kinds of families are attracted to a hybrid school?

• Families who do not want to use their local public schools for any number of reasons (or have tried and it has not worked well for them), and cannot afford private schools and cannot (or do not want to!) home-school. One parent often works part-time or has flexible work, while the other works full-time. 

• Families who want a particular philosophy of education. These families may be looking at full-time schools and not finding a clear and articulate philosophy of learning of any kind (classical, Waldorf, Charlotte Mason, play-based, outdoor, whatever!), much less the one they are looking for.

  •  Some of these families will end up homeschooling and some will end up just choosing a school. A hybrid school with a clear philosophy and mission can draw from both of these groups.

•  Families who home-school (or want to) but who find doing it full-time to be too difficult or intimidating with toddlers or jobs or for other very valid reasons.

• Families who home-school (or want to), but  who want their children in a very regular community outside of home. Many want their kids to experience classrooms and teachers, recess and lunch, friends and independence, but still want the flexibility and customization of home-schooling.

Who is not usually attracted to hybrid school?

• Parents who both work full-time conventional hours. It isn’t impossible, of course, but these parents usually need the full-time care and instruction of schools.

• Home-schoolers on tight budgets. Co-ops are much cheaper than hybrid schools and usually meet the needs of this market.

• Homeschoolers who are very dedicated to only homeschooling philosophically or just really enjoy it and it works very well for them.

Assessing the market

Population Density and Economy

When assessing the market in your community, make note of a few demographics such as how populated your area is, what the economy is like, and what the culture is like.

A fairly populated area with a good economy is likely to have a bit of everybody in close proximity. Even if there are good public schools and a variety of other schools, a hybrid school can often tap into the in-between and there are enough people to support all the offerings. A program that meets 2 full days a week, or  even 3 or 4 half-days  can work well in such a place. People may not be commuting as far and may have the income for a moderate tuition.

 An area where people are very spread out or the average income is low is less likely to find a robust market for a moderate tuition number and several days a week. A place like this may want to start with a 1 day or 1-2 day program. If people are driving further or have less disposable income, they are more willing to do 1 or 2 (second optional?) days with tuition falling on the lower end.

Other schools

Another useful study would be to make sure you know what other options are available in the school market. Are there a lot of charter schools or private schools?  Do they offer alternative methods of education? Are they successful and have waiting lists?  (This can be good for you, because it means people want alternatives!). Or do they struggle to get students? Can you find out why? (They could be very expensive, poorly run, or not faithful to their mission, among other things.) Finding this out can help you know if there are people at these places who would happily come to a hybrid school.

Home-schoolers

Are there a lot of home-schoolers and co-operatives? What do those co-ops look like? A hybrid school is different than a co-op, so do not be intimidated by successful co-ops! Some of those people may be there because it is as close as they can get to the hybrid school you are envisioning and it doesn't exist yet.

Gather Information

You can ask your friends, hold an interest meeting, and send out a survey on social media to help you assess what people want. Make note of strong trends. 

But don’t take results TOO seriously!

Sometimes your market doesn’t know they want you until you are there! So do not get overwhelmed or discouraged by answers that are all over the place. If you have a clear vision, chances are good that people will come as long as you are within reasonable parameters of time and money.

In fact, the more clear and concrete you are with your plan and vision, the more people will trust you know what you are doing and will give them a quality program. Plan well and keep your standards high!

What is a Hybrid School?

One of the easiest ways to describe a hybrid school is as a part-time private school. Except… it is not actually a school…except when it is. Make sense? 

A hybrid school LOOKS like a school that only runs part-time. It’s got all the core pieces of a school: a director, a building and classrooms, a set schedule and curriculum, tuition, and trained teachers.. However, it only runs a few days a week. 

So is it a school or not?!

This depends on the legal set-up. Often families are actually legal home-schoolers and the hybrid school is legally a supplemental educational service. Parents are responsible to comply with home-school law, and the ‘school’ is able to offer what they would like to as an educational organization. This set-up can offer a lot of leeway to the program because it does not need to hire teachers by state requirements, offer state required curricula, and follow the other laws that would govern a school. It is of much benefit if the program directors do their homework, no pun intended, and know what home-school law is in their state and how to help families comply. Parent compliance is NOT the program’s job, but is a very helpful service to offer.

Some programs will license as an actual school in their state. In this case, home is a ‘satellite campus’ and parents do NOT home-school. The legal set-up is quite different as are which set of laws are governing the program (a legal school must comply with state requirements under the Department of Education and is responsible for student attendance, testing, curricula requirements, etc. ) This set-up has the advantage of offering families the ability to just follow along and the school takes care of the rest. The responsibility rests with the school to fulfill legal requirements.

Another occasional misunderstanding (understandably brought about likely by the prevalence of homeschool ‘co-ops’) is that a hybrid school is a form of co-op. A co-op is cooperative because everyone has to pitch in and provide a significant service of some sort in exchange for the other members offerings. This works great for a lot of people, but a hybrid school is not cooperative. Tuition money replaces time and prep commitments. Parents are able to drop their kids off, and on those school days, the staff takes care of everything. Frequency is also usually different. A co-op often only meets once every week or two, or even once a month. A hybrid school usually meets a couple days a week.

And yes, a hybrid school generally costs considerably more than a co-op! 

How much does a hybrid school cost?

Because curriculum, supplies, rent, insurances, bookkeeping, taxes,  and competitively paid and trained teachers, aides, and directors all apply, tuition is significantly more than a co-op’s fees and is often  equivalent to a preschool tuition or a proportional fraction of private school tuition. If local Christian schools are charging $9,000  per year and preschools around $2,500, tuition at a hybrid school might run between $2,000-$4,000 (depending on region and hours per week).  A full-time school generally runs about 180 days a year. If a hybrid program runs for 60 days a year (1/3 of full-time), tuition might run right around $3,000 a year, roughly.

How often does a hybrid school meet?

The schedule can vary from one or two full days per week, to three or four shorter days. It is important that the state requirements for homeschoolers be understood. If there are limitations on how many hours or days can be ‘outsourced’ before the schooling is not considered homeschooling any more, this must be considered when choosing a schedule and calendar. Many states have very few requirements for homeschoolers, so a program can offer a significant amount of instruction in a few days a week, parents can fill in at home on the other days (either with recommendations from the program or on their own), and legally homeschool quite effectively, but with quite a bit of support. If the program is a legal school, days at home will be governed by the school, but the school can often still operate on a variety of schedules, as long as it complies with the laws governing schools.

The more hours a program meets, the higher tuition will have to be. More teacher hours will mean higher salaries, and more days at a building might mean higher rent and more supplies.

A few ideas would be a schedule that:

• Meets four half days for three hours and teaches reading, math, and a rotation of other subjects for elementary students and then gives recommendations (requirements if a legal school) for afternoons and the fifth day for home. 

• Meets two full days and covers some reading and math basics or practice and focuses on science, history, literature, play, nature study, and other subjects, and then gives recommendations and even pacing for home days. (Again, requirements if the school is a legal school. 

• Two full days and then a half day of enrichment or core classes or perhaps an optional third day of enrichments or ‘specials’ classes.

Summary

A hybrid school can offer a wonderful alternative that meets many people right in the middle both with the model, the price, and even the philosophy of education. (A later post will talk more about why it can be very, very beneficial to have a specific and articulate vision for a philosophy of education.)

The model is not for everyone, and that is ok. A hybrid school can fill a very significant market gap. The next post will explore more what sorts of people often finds hybrid schooling to be a sweet spot.