Homeschool AND public school?

Written By Manisha Snoyer (co-founder of Modulo)

Recently several parents in the Reddit /homeschool group have been asking if they can homeschool and go to public school?

One of the driving factors is that parents are concerned that children won’t learn everything they need to in a traditional school.

While this may seem like an odd question since legally parents who go to school wouldn’t register as homeschoolers, they bring up an interesting point. 

Is it necessary to fulfill all your education, social and childcare needs in one place at one time?

And is this even a good idea?  

Families who are attracted to the idea of homeschooling (especially secular homeschooling) generally like these elements of homeschooling

  • Adding in subjects not offered in their school, or not taught well or thoroughly in their school which they deem important to their child’s education.

  • Incorporating progressive/inclusive history and social studies into their child’s learning

  • Mastery-based learning and 1-1 instruction, leading to faster and deeper understanding of subjects

  • Being more involved in their child’s education

  • An eclectic education incorporating the best educational resources available: electives, mentors, internships, online and local classes, 1-1 tutoring

Benefits of school

  • 6 hours of childcare a day

  • Accountability & support from teachers (not failing their kids)

  • A guaranteed social group for kids

  • Potential friends and community for parents

  • Participation in team sports (though in many states this is also available to homeschoolers)

  • Certified and highly trained teachers

  • Special Services for students with special needs (also often available)

Benefits of homeschooling

  • Mastery Based Learning (2 sigma better outcomes)

  • More subjects sometimes not taught in school (arts, music, technology)

  • More progressive social studies and literature

  • Socializing with mixed ages

  • Opportunities for self-directed learning. 

  • Internships/mentorships/volunteering

  • Parent involvement in education

  • Taking advantage of all the great educational resources developed for homeschoolers (curriculum, digital apps, kits) 

  • Personalizing a child’s education

  • Flexible schedule

  • Inclusive community passionate about innovating education*

    *Just as in school, social groups can get cliquey and exclusive, though I’ve observed this less in the homeschooling community. I’ve found the groups that define themselves as “unschooling” groups to be the most inclusive.

Nearly every family nowadays has to plan their child’s education in some shape or way. It’s not only 3 months of summer, the time after school when they’re working, but helping them stay ahead and not fall behind through 1-1 tutors, occupational therapy and electives to assist them in diving deeper into special interests like robotics, coding, piano and dance. 


A new category

Homeschooling is a very broad category and includes a spectrum of people who do education very differently - from unschoolers to microschoolers to very structured religious homeschoolers and everything in between. Perhaps we need a new category for people who are actively and intentionally designing their child's education in a secular, progressive way and school can be (or not) part of that equation.

What if we call it “Modular Learning”?

Perhaps rather than thinking about this as homeschooling, we can think of it as choosing modules to support your child’s education, social and childcare experiences. School could be a module.

We can retain some of the items that attract parents to secular homeschooling: progressive curriculum, mastery-based learning, personalized education, socializing with mixed ages. Families could build communities around modular learning that aren’t dependent on whether or not a child is in school 

In Modular Learning, rather than thinking about education, socializing and childcare being one thing - or choosing from everything, you can mix and match experiences to create the ideal education for your family that meets your child’s needs. 

Modules could include school as a module to fill some of the childcare (or educational/social gaps). 

A list of modules

Here are some of the Modules that could comprise Modular learning

  • Homeschool Curriculum

  • Digital Apps

  • Online Classes

  • Local Classes

  • Homeschool Meetups

  • School (Public or Private)

  • Microschool, Learning Pod or Homeschool Co-ops

  • Field Trips

  • Tutors

  • Internships

  • Meetings with mentors and experts

  • Private Lessons

  • Babysitters

  • Skill Share

  • Assessments

  • Child Life Specialists

  • Babysitting Co-op

  • Museums, Libraries and other cultural institutions

As the modern work schedule changes, with the rise of entrepreneurship and shift towards remote work , the need for a 9-3 schedule is becoming increasingly irrelevant for families. This schedule is based on a 1930’s farm schedule. Every family needs a custom schedule. With overcrowded, single-aged classrooms, reduction of recess and bullying rampant everywhere, not to mention excessive homework, families are seeking better social experiences for kids.  We are becoming more knowledgeable about different ways kids learn and the importance of having different approaches to teaching them. Few parents or teachers are in favor of the standardized tests ruling our classrooms and teachers. Additionally, schools and teachers are seeing the need for the integration of subjects like coding, engineering, arts and music - and parents are having to supplement school with these topics anway. 

Whether or not you’re pro or anti-homeschool, a more modular approach to education could benefit families and enhance a child’s social and educational experience. 

Benefits of Modular Learning

  • Greater parent involvement in education

  • More personalized learning

  • Custom flexible childcare that better suits the needs of each working family

  • An eclectic education incorporating multiple subjects

  • A more healthy, vibrant social life and more time for kids to play

With more and more families dropping out of school and the workforce changing, it’s time to think about adopting a modular approach to education, both by school districts and individual families. 

School could be just as flexible as remote work and that could lead to more efficient and focused learning, just as flexible, remote work has led to more productivity in many cases. It would also better prepare kids for future jobs where they will benefit from having developed their executive functioning skills, being more self-organized and autonomous.

Maybe it’s also time to stop thinking about school as the main form of education, and afterschool and summer as the secondary form of education.  I know many families, for example, whose kids learn more in a summer camp at CTY or via an afterschool writing program than a year in school. 

Likewise, many homeschooling families tend to try to replicate school. This is especially the case when families are leaving out a negative reason that is compelling to them, rather than a desire to innovate. Imagine if those families used a modular approach instead, ideally customizing their curriculum and schedule to fit their child’s needs. 

Nearly every family, either in school or out of school is compelled to supplement their child’s education and childcare in some way. 

If families thought about their child’s education as modular learning and not school vs homeschool, it would allow them to be more intentional about how they designed their child’s education drawing on the exceptional resources available to them, often school included as one of those resources, and sometimes not. And see how all those pieces or modules fit together to make up the ideal education for your child and the best childcare situation for you. You’d have more opportunity to create a better social life for your child and connect with families who share your interests and values around education. You’d be able to curate a truly diverse community for yourself and your child. 

If you’re thinking about taking a modular approach to education, and are in school or homeschooling, Modulo can help get you started. You can use our platform to

Manisha Snoyer (co-founder of Modulo)

For the last 20 years, I’ve taught over 2000 children in 3 countries (of all socio-economic backgrounds). I pioneered an English language program in a conflict region in the Middle East. I’ve worked as a bilingual public school teacher at some of the highest and lowest performing public schools and in all five boroughs of NYC. I’ve tutored 18 subjects in three languages to some of the wealthiest families in NYC, San Francisco and Paris to make up for shortcomings in private schools they were paying up to $60,000 a year to attend.

Since 2015, I’ve helped hundreds of parents start microschools (way before this was a household buzzword). I founded CottageClass, the first marketplace for microschools and learning pods that was part of the Techstars 2018 class. In 2019, I created a virtual learning program to help families through the pandemic, a free online math tutoring program (masteryhour.org), and schoolclosures.org, a hotline developed in collaboration with Twilio and 80 other partners including Khan Academy, Revolution Foods and the Crisis Text Line, that served 100,000 families impacted by school closures.

I’ve climbed trees with children in forest schools in San Francisco, and tested new digital apps with kids in seven countries.

I’ve also coached dozens of families at different stages in their homeschooling journey. Most recently, I founded Modulo with homeschooling dad, best-selling author and tech entrepreneur Eric Ries, to help families curate their children’s education, social and childcare experiences drawing from a diverse array of in-person and online resources.


During the last three years, I’ve devoted much of my time to reviewing and testing secular homeschooling curriculum and other resource. I’ve spent the last three years talking to thousands of secular homeschooling families, and poring over tens of thousands of secular curriculum reviews and testing physical curriculum and digital apps for with hundreds of students to find the highest quality, most engaging, personalized learning materials for every type of learner.

I’ve spoken about homeschooling and modular learning at multiple venues including SXSW EDU, NY Tech Meetup, and on the LiberatedEd podcast.

In 2022, Modulo was one of 8 organizations who were awarded the Bridge Grant from the Vela Education Fund to expand access to homeschooling and modular learning to under-resourced communities.

My experience in education and homeschooling has led me to believe that there is no perfect education for every child, but families have an extraordinary amount of wisdom they can apply to building the perfect education for their individual child.

My goal with Modulo is to make it possible for any family to easily build a customized education that their child will love, and that will empower the whole family to thrive, taking into account, social, emotional and academic needs.

I love to answer questions from parents and receive feedback on how we can improve Modulo, so feel free to reach out anytime! I personally answer all the questions and comments readers leave on my blogs.

In my free time, I like hiking, traveling the world, tasting ceremonial grade matcha, enjoying dark chocolate.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Brandeis University with highest honors, with a double degree in French Literature and American Studies and minors in Environmental Studies and Peace & Conflict Studies.

And I love to learn!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-snoyer-5042298/
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