An app that has a concept similar to Uber is connecting parents with specialized schools while many are fleeing the public school system.
Edefy was launched in 2021 by a family with experience in investing in private schools overseas. The app’s website explained that the software was “inspired by the rapid rise and outstanding results generated by Pod/Micro-Schooling.”
The creators of the app told Fox News Digital that this app was finalized this month after some piloting.
“We have been funding the development of the Edefy app/platform for two and a half years, and began using a very rudimentary version of our app last year for some pilot pods, but the first real version for public use was just finalized and released a few days ago. We consider this version 1, but have a robust product pipeline so will be rapidly updating it with new features each week,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“Ultimately, I was just very frustrated with public education, and wanted to break its infrastructure and logistics monopoly, and from experience saw that the Pod school model created a better system for children and teachers,” the founder of the app, who does not want their name to be disclosed, told Fox News Digital.
“In-person education requires a three-sided marketplace… essentially an Airbnb for education space, meets Uber to connect families directly with teachers. It was quite the technical challenge, which is why it took so long to build, but the implications are pretty exciting,” he added.
What are pod schools and microschools?
School choice advocate of the American Culture Project, Corey DeAngelis, told Fox News Digital that “Uber revolutionized transportation by connecting drivers with riders.”
“It lowered costs, increased quality, and improved the taxi business through competition. The concept behind Edefy is the Uber of education,” he said.
The app creators began manually coordinating families and teachers with places to meet to form “pod schools.”
“This is an emerging market so terms are still somewhat undefined, but in our view, Pod schools are when families gather together and compensate the teacher they want directly,” the founder told Fox News Digital.
Pod schools operate similarly to microschooling, which is a hybrid of homeschooling and the traditional public school setting.
These education models could be privately run or held at public institutions.
The Indiana Microschool Collaborative describes microschools as “a small learning space in your local community where each student has a personalized learning plan built around their needs, interests, and goals.”
Parents fleeing failing public schools
There has been an uptick in parents choosing to homeschool their children since the coronavirus pandemic, indicating a growing trend of parents overlooking public schools. While microschools are not a new concept, they operate similarly to homeschooling.
After Arizona launched its $800 million universal school choice program giving parents $7,000 to put toward their child’s education expenses, Tucson Unified School District is reportedly recently facing financial and enrollment struggles–citing losses of $20 million as parents overlooked the district.
Several other states followed Arizona in passing universal school choice legislation, responding to the trend of parents seeking alternative options to traditional public schools.
DeAngelis added that Edefy “could revolutionize education by connecting teachers with students while putting parents in the driver’s seat.”
“Public schools spend about $20,000 per student per year. Imagine if that money followed the child with school choice and a teacher set up a microschool with 12 students. That teacher could pull in $240,000 in revenue each year, make more money than in the public school system, and have the freedom to teach without bureaucratic red tape,” DeAngelis said.
He concluded, “This concept shakes up the entire factory model school system… Parents want alternatives to the one-size-fits-all government school system, and the best teachers are ready to jump ship, too.”
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