Blog
When Traditional Accreditation Threatens Your Model: How one school unlocked ESA funding while preserving its learner-driven studios
When Tennessee passed ESA scholarship legislation requiring accreditation, Acton Academy Johnson City faced a real threat: most accrediting bodies assumed traditional staffing and pedagogy. MSA's microschool pathway helped founder Sarah Fagerburg formalize her model without abandoning it. The result: projected 3x revenue and a doubled waitlist, with guides still coaching, not lecturing.
“I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know”: How One Indiana Founder Turned a Scrappy Microschool into Something Built to Last
She had a vision, a community, and zero roadmap. Starting a microschool means making decisions you don't yet know how to make. Here's how one Indiana founder turned that uncertainty into a school built to last.
Permission to Be Who We Are: How The Mission Academy Unlocked Choose Act Funding Without Changing Its Model
Every time a new family walked through the door at The Mission Academy, the first question was the same: "Are you accredited?" For three years, Tiffany Jones had to piece together an answer. Now she has three words: "Yes, we are."
Support Without Strings: How Lighthouse Christian Academy Earned Accreditation and Kept Its Identity
They needed accreditation but feared what it might cost them. Lighthouse Christian Academy didn't want a credential that required them to become a different school. Turns out, they didn't have to.
When Thinking becomes the Work: Excellence in Learning at American School of Milan
The school had strong outcomes — but couldn't always articulate what was driving them. Through the accreditation process, American School of Milan found language for what they were already doing well, and clarity on what to do next.
Fifteen schools. One Shared Purpose: Reimagining What Learning Can Look Like
In November, the Middle States Association accredited 15 microschools as part of our Next Generation Accreditation pilot. These schools might not have fit within a traditional accreditation model, yet they meet every one of MSA’s existing standards.
How? Through innovative models, adaptable practices, and deep purpose.
Back in October, I visited five of them across Tennessee. Here’s what I saw:
Spotlight on Innovation: VHS Learning’s MSA Accreditation Journey
Middle States helped VHS become an accredited Learning Service Provider (LSP). LSPs represent a growing number of non-traditional educational organizations committed to quality, innovation, and continuous improvement. The VHS journey offers valuable takeaways for schools navigating partnerships and program expansion:
Notes From The Field
As a professional peer reviewer, you will see the entire system of a school in just three days. That is because Middle States standards and indicators map to every aspect of school operations—from daily classroom practices to long-term planning to foundational documents.
Notes From The Field
No other form of professional learning can enable you—in 3 short days!—to “see the system” of a school, and certainly not while embedding you in real time. It’s like high intensity cross-training. You may come to the team with experience in teaching and learning, but you’ll also learn about governance, finance, facilities, and other foundational elements of running a school. I wish I had participated on more visiting teams before I had become a Head of School the first time—nothing would have been better preparation.