District-Operated Microschools: Boutique Public Options to Win Back Families
Microschools are reshaping family expectations about personalized, meaningful K–12 learning. This session shows how school districts can build boutique public microschools—a school-within-a-school model designed to reclaim families, fill empty classrooms, and expand district choice with verifiable academic impact. Learn a step-by-step approach to designing a Certified Microschool for Deeper Learning that pairs high-engagement instructional design with practical marketing, recruitment, and workforce development so your program launches quickly and scales intentionally. Through concrete examples, research-informed evaluation strategies, and ready-to-use tools, participants will leave with a blueprint for creating highly personalized microschool experiences that attract families and demonstrate measurable student growth.
Michael D. Toth
Michael D. Toth is founder and CEO of Instructional Empowerment (IE) and leads IE’s Applied Research Center. He is the author of The Power of Student Teams: Achieving Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Learning in Every Classroom Through Academic Teaming with David Sousa; author of Who Moved My Standards? Joyful Teaching in an Age of Change; and co-author with Dr. Robert J. Marzano of The Essentials of a Standards-Driven Classroom, School Leadership for Results, and Teacher Evaluation that Makes a Difference.
Toth was formerly the president of the National Center for the Profession of Teaching, a university faculty member, and director of research and development grants. He is an expert in research-based school improvement models, shifting instructional methodologies, root causes analysis for school issues, and building 21st-century skills in students; he gives public presentations and advises education leaders on these issues.
Dr. Michael Grego
Dr. Michael Grego, Ed.D., is an innovative leader who served in public education in Florida for 42 years, with the last ten of his career as superintendent of Pinellas County Schools. Under his leadership, the district achieved record-high graduation rates, narrowed achievement gaps, and expanded its magnet and STEM programs. He was recognized as the 2018 Florida Superintendent of the Year and served as the 2020-2021 president of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.
Session Details
Topics:
- Designing District-Operated Microschools
- Personalized Deeper Learning in Public Microschools
- Recruitment & Growth Strategies for Boutique Microschools
Audience: District leaders, choice & enrollment directors, principals, curriculum specialists, and anyone responsible for program innovation, facility utilization, or family engagement.