You took the leap.
This is how you land.
Next Generation Accreditation
Accreditation built from scratch for Microschool Founders.
Next Generation Accreditation by MSA is designed for the purpose of growth and improvement — not a pass-fail exam.
You're here because your families need access to funding. We get it. In 30+ states, accreditation is the key to ESA dollars, and every semester without it costs your families thousands.
But the founders who go through this process don't just come out accredited.
They come out confident.
Confident in their school’s identity. Confident they're building something that holds up.
That's the part they weren't expecting.
And that's the part they can't stop talking about.
Two Founders. Two Stories.
Neither of them became more traditional. Both of them became more themselves.
Sarah needed accreditation to unlock ESA funding in Tennessee. The problem was her guides. They weren't certified teachers. They were coaches, facilitators, people with real-world experience who knew how to step back and let students lead. Other accreditors saw that as a disqualifier. MSA helped her turn it into a strength. She came out with clear standards for what great guides look like in her model, stronger training, tighter safety policies, and a school that families were lining up to get into.
"It felt more like having a running partner than an examiner."
— Sarah Fagerburg, Founder, Acton Academy Johnson City, TN
Emma left public school to start Lighthouse Christian Academy. Two students. No operations background. No accreditation. Her families were stuck at roughly $2,000 a year in state support when they could have accessed over $10,000. MSA's process gave her the credential and the operational foundation, without asking her to change the school families were lining up for. Enrollment grew from 2 to 15 in year one.
"The process helped me see the school as a real business, not just a passion project."
— Emma Rodriguez, Founder, Lighthouse Christian Academy, TX
The Investment
For microschools with annual revenue under $400K: $1,200 one-time accreditation fee + $700 annual dues.
But here's what matters: you pay $100 to start.
Everything else only after you've received accreditation.
Most accreditors charge you upfront because they're selling a process.
We charge you after because we're selling a result.
For schools above $400K, payment options are available here.
How Does The Process Work
This is a growth process, not a pass-fail exam.
Most microschools finish in 6 to 9 months!
If something comes up along the way, your MSA liaison works with you to address it.
No surprises. No gotchas. The whole thing is designed for a team of one.
Your Questions, Answered
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No. Your teachers need to be qualified, but you define what qualified means in your model. The process helps you articulate that and build the systems to back it up.
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No. We don't prescribe seat time. Your learning model is yours.
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We ask that students encounter some form of external assessment at some point in their journey, but we're flexible about what that means. State testing, national exams, or even built-in assessments from a third-party curriculum you already use all count. You choose the tool. You decide how to use the results.
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No. We have an accreditation pathway designed specifically for schools that haven’t opened yet.
What Our Microschools Members Are Saying
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"Going through the MSA accreditation process helped us to refine our microschool’s operational and academic framework. The support shown by the MSA team, especially in valuing our flexible, alternative approach, was outstanding.
—Jill Haskins, Founder & Director,
Kainos Microschool, Indiana
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"Because MSA’s process was simultaneously rigorous, holistic, and constructive, our team emerged more confident in our work and clearer on our priorities.
—Susan Haws, Executive Director
Insight CoLearning Center, North Carolina
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" MSA’s process gave us the clarity and structure we needed to design a truly Montessori-inspired, learner-centered ecosystem. The team was supportive, reflective, and aligned with our mission to nurture independence, belonging, and real-world learning.
—Genevieve Hinnant, Founder & Director,
Arbor Learning Lab, Tennessee
Ready to Get Started?
All schools that submit an application in March 2026 are on track for accreditation in November 2026.
Book the call. Twenty minutes. We'll show you the path for your school.