As America began to open back up after “shelter in place,” new terms started to float around describing how families and friends were restricting the number of people they were socializing with. “Quarateam,” “Corona bubble,” and “pandemic pod” all creeped into popular vocabulary.

But now, the term “pandemic pod” has morphed into an education term  as many families across the US leave traditional schooling behind to gather one or two other families to “pod up” with and run microschools from their homes. The formula seems to look different for everyone, but most families seem to be using one of three strategies 1) sharing teaching duties between the parents, 2) hiring a teacher out of pocket, or 3) hiring a company to match them with a qualified teacher either in person or virtually.

For parents, these groups mean more safety, more relational connection with instructors, and more control over a consistent learning environment that won’t constantly waiver between opening and closing.

For teachers, pandemic pods often mean more consistent classrooms, more personal safety, and sometimes even more money.

This phenomenon has already begun to fundamentally reshape how families, teachers, and policymakers think about education. Microschooling is suddenly front and center in a lot of conversations. This week, we wanted to connect you to the new conversations happening around pods, and NEXT week, readers will hear directly from a public school teacher who left his teaching job to build a new company to intentionally connect teachers and families.

So, here are some of the conversations and articles happening around Pandemic Pods. Get to know this new education phenomenon, and join us next week to hear one educator’s perspective:

• How are Pods Fundamentally Reshaping K-12?

• Will Federal Aid Be Passed to Help Families Pay for Different Education?

• Pandemic Pods, Inevitable and Inequitable?

• Can Parents Solve the Education Crisis on Their Own?