Friday Feature: Teacher Let Your Light Shine

Colleen HroncichFrom award ‐​winning public school teacher to microschool founder, teacher, and consultant, Makenzie Oliver has had quite a journey.Makenzie spent 7 years as a teacher in Missouri, where she was honored with a “Heartland ’s Best Teacher” award in 2013. After her family moved to Florida, she taught 5 years and then became an instructional coach. She won another “teacher of the year” award in Florida. While she loved teaching, she often felt that her hands were tied. Over the years, she began to realize that education could look very different than what she was able to do in her classroom each day.She considered homeschooling, but she didn ’t want to do it alone. Having a little school in her backyard was a dream that seemed unrealistic. Then COVID hit, and Makenzie didn ’t want to deal with the unknowns, stress, and mandates as a teacher. And she wanted to ensure her daughters had a great educational experience. She did some research and found out she could homeschool other children and give them a unique and personalized education without starting a private school.Makenzie started Lighthouse Learning microschool in August 2020 in her home. She purposely keeps it small so she can customize each child ’s education. “We don’t use a set curriculum, ” she says. “For each child, we see where they are and create personalized learning plans for them.”Students at Lighthouse Learni...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs