Students sit on comfortable couches learning about electricity. Later they might go out and gather eggs or plant some vegetables while integrating math or reading into the process. It is all part of the new
microschool that opened on a 2.5-acre farm in Golden Gate Estates. The classrooms at Naples Microschools are in a home environment set on a rural farm with cows, goats, chickens, roosters, and lots of room for outdoor learning.
The students arrived from a variety of schools and situations. Some were homeschooled but wanted the comradery of classmates. Others were in traditional schools but wanted to leave the testing stress, bullying, distractions, and other challenges behind.
Dee Philippi, known as Dr. Dee, combined her vast and varied educational knowledge to create an educational plan that makes learning engaging for the students.
“This is for all kids – for kids that have the wiggles, for kids that like to be outside, for kids that want hands-on,” Philippi said.
Seventh grader Addison Herring feels happier at this school than in the past.
“It is not stressful at all,” Addison said. “There is no testing and no competition, and everybody goes at their own pace. You can be yourself.”
Her sister Aubree Herring, a fifth grader, agrees.
“We get to go on the couch whenever we want when we are working, and it is comfy so we can think better,” she explained.
The students take monthly field trips, visiting places like the Naples Botanical Garden and Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers. In the spring, they will be planting vegetables. But there is also classroom learning and while there are desks, most students prefer sitting on the couch to learn. Students are divided into three groups, each with a teacher: kindergarten through second grade; third and fourth grade; and fifth through eighth grade.
Philippi’s own children are also students at Naples Microschools.
“They were in public school and they were doing really well, but if you can do something better, then you should,” she said. “They love being outside, and they hate the long school day. Middle school has hardly any field trips and no recess. If they don’t have PE in their schedule, then they have no activity at all.”
Fifth grader Bella Barry likes the freedom to move around during the school day. She just started at Naples Microschools in January after previously attending Veterans Memorial Elementary.
“I like that you can sit on the couch and you can take your shoes off,” Bella said. “You can do your work anywhere you are comfortable, and it helps me because I am not in a hard seat at a desk all the time.”
Harmony Moleon, a seventh grader, has been homeschooled and was a student at Mason Classical Academy in Naples in the past, but she likes Naples Microschools the best.
“It just makes me feel comfortable, and it is like home,” Harmony said.
For James Barry, a fourth grader, Naples Microschools is a place where he finally feels safe.
“I had a bunch of bullies at VME,” he said. “Then I switched to another school and they had bullies too, and then my parents found this, and it is perfect.”
Third grader Bella Hernandez agrees. She was previously at Mike Davis Elementary.
“I like it better here,” she said. “There are not so many kids and there is not too much noise, and there are no bullies here.”
Ace Greiner, a third grader, said Naples Microschools is the best fit for him. He was homeschooled and previously attended Naples Classical Academy. Homeschooling was too lonely, and the more traditional school was too rigid.
“I like this school and the teachers,” Ace said.
His mother, Catherine Greiner, said it aligned with her educational beliefs.
“I like that it is small,” she began. “I like that it incorporates farming and bringing livestock into their everyday lives. I like that it is homey. It is not your regular school where you drop off and don’t have interaction with the teachers.”
The school also accepts children with special needs. Diana Guerrero’s son Simon is a first grader who has some developmental delays and ADHD.
Guerrero said Simon would cry when he had to go to his previous school.
“Before, most school days were nightmares,” she described. “He would say
‘everything is too hard for me there’. Children are children just once. They have to enjoy childhood and he was suffering going to school.”
That all changed when Simon started Naples Microschools.
“Yesterday, he told me he was so excited to go to school and that never happened before,” she described. “He wants to come and learn. We are so happy to be here with all this nature and the way they teach. There is no pressure. They learn at their own pace. It has been a blessing finding this place.”
“I like how it is set up,” added Rosemary Moreno, Bella Hernandez’s mother.
“Bella has ADHD and when she was in regular school, she had a tough time sitting still. This helps so much not to be yelled at all the time. She hated school before, and now she loves it.”
Philippi said it is all about creating an environment that helps engage a child in learning. She brings a lot of experience and confidence to her new endeavor. She taught at Phoenix Naples, Lely High School, Palmetto High School, and Golden Gate Middle School. She also taught at Big Cypress Wilderness Institute (an alternative school), and was the principal of BridgePrep Academy in Naples. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in education and is a Florida certified educator.
Naples Microschools currently has 31 students, though some are part time. Students attend school Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the kindergarten through second graders leave at 1:30 p.m. While the school day and week are shorter, students are able to get through all their lessons because there are fewer interruptions.
Tuition is $8,400 a year, but most families use Step Up, a government grant, and so have little or no out-of-pocket costs. Part-time students pay less. After-school care is available.
Nikki Steele pulled her two children out of public school this fall and enrolled them in Naples Microschools. She said it is the perfect fit for her third-grade son and kindergarten daughter.
“We love the specialized care and how they have the freedom to explore topics that they are really interested in. We appreciate the natural approach, the outdoor activities, sunlight, and fresh air, and a relaxed structure where the kids can thrive and explore,” she explained. “I genuinely feel our kids will get what they need. I cried tears of joy when I found this school. I feel like we found our home.”
OTHER INNOVATIVE LEARNING
New, innovative educational models are giving parents and students choices to help make learning a more individualized path. Hybrid schools and homeschool alternatives are now blooming in new creative ways in Southwest Florida and around the country. The National Microschooling Center estimates that there were 95,000 microschools and homeschooling “pods” in the U.S. during the 2023–24 school year. There are 134 microschools in Florida, though most are on the east coast or near Tampa. Locally, there is also an innovative model for high school students called The Freedom Institute of Collier County. It opened last year with about two dozen students and now has 100 students and a long waiting list. The school recently was named a semi-finalist for the YASS prize, which came with a $200,000 award, and also received a $1 million grant to put AI into the school. The Freedom Institute offers a place for homeschooled high schoolers to get help from teachers, experience comradery with other students, and utilize programs curtailed to each individual student. Tuition is $9,400 a year, but most parents have the bill paid for by Step Up and a Quest scholarship. Chris Marker, CEO, plans to add teachers and increase capacity to 120 students next year but says there is already a waiting list for that, too. Marker says there are many reasons why The Freedom Institute is so popular.
“I think a part of it is we are using educational expertise to cater to students’ needs and wants,” Marker explained. “You just can’t duplicate that in the warehouse of a high school. Here, we take ownership of the kids as part of our family. The experience the kids have here is they are loved and respected, and their strengths are rewarded, instead of being beaten down for their weaknesses. Our stories are just tear jerkers of how we are changing people’s lives.”