Frequently Asked Questions

Microschools offer a modern and reimagined take on education—small, personalized, and community-driven. Recognizing that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for many students, microschools are designed to meet learners' diverse needs and provide a flexible, highly tailored educational experience. They are founded by passionate educators, parents, and community leaders who bring their unique vision to life.

‍

With learner-driven, outcome focused, and experiential learning in small classes, microschools can adapt to student needs, strengths, and interests to ensure learning fosters the creativity, critical thinking, and independence of every learner.

Early adolescents are curious, opinionated, observant, sometimes silly, sometimes profound individuals. They are not small high school students. Longleaf Learning Studio recognizes young adolescents' unique cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional needs. Now is the perfect time to build the knowledge and life skills that they can carry into the future.

Longleaf Learning Studio will open for the 2027–2028 school year in a safe, convenient New Bern community facility designed to support learning, connection, creativity, and exploration. The space will include the types of indoor and outdoor environments central to our vision and will be thoughtfully customized for our learners. Enrolled and prospective families will have opportunities to visit the facility through community events, open houses, and individual tours as we prepare for opening.

We seek students who are capable, curious & creative, perhaps underchallenged in some aspects or overwhelmed in others, thrive in hands-on & active learning, are motivated by connecting tasks to the real world, and socialize better in smaller environments. Our families want more personalization than traditional schools offer and seek a relationship-centered, future-focused learning community where their child feels safe, challenged, and fully seen.

‍

Longleaf Learning Studio offers homeschooling families a way to preserve the customization and flexibility they value while giving their young adolescent more structure, a consistent peer community, and engaging learning experiences—without parents having to carry the full responsibility for their child’s education.

Technology is used intentionally as a tool for learning, creation, and problem-solving—not as a substitute for thinking. We emphasize building the foundational cognitive skills to reason, write, analyze, and create independently while also learning to use digital tools and emerging technologies adeptly, responsibly, and purposefully.

While we believe that every family has the right to choose the learning environment that best fits their child, we understand that this is not the currently reality in education. Longleaf Learning Studio accepts the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship and encourages families who want more control over their child's education to enroll in this program, for which all NC families are eligible to apply. Gifts made to Longleaf Learning Studio go directly to tuition scholarships and resources for our learners. Learn more about t heOpportunity Scholarship. Contact Dr. Tahira Copland at tcopland@longleaflearningstudio.org to learn more about our discounts and affordability.