Erika Wimmer has been an educator in the public school system for 14 years. She has taught every grade level in elementary education and has been an instructional coach and interventionist. Erika has two children – a 20-year-old and a 6-year-old. Both of her children have been in the public school setting, but her 6-year-old has not had a great experience.
Erika was growing unhappy with the public school system and began to hear about the Hope Scholarship and micro-schools. She decided that it would be the perfect time to start her own school. She acquired a $10,000 grant and got a place in a local recreation center to start her school. That same day, the Hope Scholarship was revoked. Seven students plus her son were set to start with her school, all with Hope Scholarships.
The revocation of the Hope scholarship caused all seven of the prospective students to withdraw plans to attend Erika’s school. In order to make the income needed, she would now have to take 20 students at half of the tuition she originally planned to charge. Unfortunately, this would take away from the personalized education experience that she had dreamed of offering in her school.
Join us in this week’s episode as we learn more about micro-schools and the effect the revocation of the Hope Scholarship is having on these schools and in the lives of the families counting on it.
Episode Highlights:
- Erika’s educational background & Achievements
- What is a Micro-school?
- HOPE Scholarship revoked and what that means for her
More on Love Your School/Links Mentioned in Episode:
