Microschooling institutions are growing in Indiana and are projected to expand within the state because parents are “upset” with the public school options in their school district, Gov. Mike Braun told Fox News Digital.

“I see it happening because while I’m here, we’re going to make sure parents are in the driver’s seat of their own kids’ education,” Braun said. 

Braun held a signing ceremony on Tuesday, celebrating education bills that boosted teacher pay and bolstered universal school choice in his state.

“Those are the parents most upset with the current offerings you got out there, but they may not want to do it themselves,” Braun added.

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An Indiana official sent Fox News Digital a report showing that there are an estimated 140 micro-schools in Indiana.

Microschooling is a hybrid of homeschooling and the traditional school model that 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.”

An example of this is Purdue Polytechnic High School Lab School — a private school in Indianapolis, which has about 20 students in either ninth or 10th grade, offering customized education. The Lab’s classes are conducted in a Lutheran church in Indianapolis. 

“The Lab School opened in the fall of 2023 with a model that school leaders describe as part one-room schoolhouse, part all-day advisory period,” ChalkBeat Indiana reported.

Microschooling institutions are growing in Indiana and are projected to expand within the state because parents are “upset” with the public school options in their school district, Governor Mike Braun told Fox News Digital. (Getty Images)

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Nature Gifts Microschool, based in Indiana, will operate as a public charter school accepting students on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Charter schools are taxpayer-funded like public schools, yet independently run, allowing for innovation and new education models. 

Since Nature Gifts is a charter school, the taxpayer dollars will go directly to the students in microschools because of their administration model and smaller class sizes.

Braun added that Indiana has been at the forefront of providing parents variety, options and competition in the education marketplace. “Microschools, to me, are just an innovation that says, ‘Hey, I’m not happy with that public school system. Don’t maybe like that charter option. We’re going to put our own microschool together,’” Braun said.

Rural families have been taking advantage of microschools since they have limited options. 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.

Corey DeAngelis of the American Culture Project. (Fox News Digital)

Microschools are not only growing in Indiana, but also across the country. Some reporting shows an uptick in parents choosing this form of schooling since 2024.

An Indiana official sent Fox News Digital an additional report showing that Indiana has the third-most microschools, behind Arizona and Florida.

Corey DeAngelis of the American Culture Project told Fox News Digital that the growth of microschools is emblematic of a growing trend of states giving parents more options outside their neighborhood public school and parents being fed up with the traditional public school setting.

“When the government schools closed their doors and left families hanging, families tried to figure out homeschooling, and one way that they were able to economize on the process of homeschooling, was that they had to get five to ten children together in a household,” DeAngelis said.

Making it rain one last time.

A Detroit man’s dying wish to have thousands of dollars fall from the sky by helicopter as his “last blessing” to his community was honored by his family last month.

Darrell “Plant” Thomas, a 58-year-old car wash owner in East Detroit known for his generosity, died after a battle with Alzheimer’s on June 15, and wanted to have a dramatic send–off.

At his funeral on June 27, his sons organized a helicopter to drop $5,000 and rose petals on unsuspecting mourners as they honored their father at the event held on Gratiot Avenue and Connor Street.

“This was a final expression of love from him to the community because he was a giver,” Thomas’s niece, Crystal Perry, told the Detroit Free Press.

“Yesterday was simply a farewell tribute to an Eastside legend.”

Footage from the event shows a helicopter hovering in a clear blue sky, while petals and money rain down, causing people to scream with excitement and rush to catch them on the ground.

In other videos, people are seen happily scooping up bills from the street, bending down to grab handfuls of cash as it floated across the pavement.

Traffic along the six-lane road of Gratiot Avenue came to a standstill for several minutes as funeral goers and onlookers rushed to grab some of the cash.

However, instead of turning into mayhem with people trying to fill their pockets, the crowd remained calm as they went for the money.

“Everybody got a little bit,” Lisa Knife, an employee at the nearby Airport Express Lube & Service, told the Detroit News of the surreal scene.

Knife said she didn’t rush to grab the money, but took the moment to admire how the gesture brought members of the Motor City community together.

“There was no fighting, none of that. It was really beautiful,” Knife said.

One of Thomas’s sons, Dante — better known as “Smoke” — told Fox 2 Detroit that he added some of his own cash and that the gesture was the least they could do to honor a man so beloved in his community.

“Detroit, y’all might not know who my father was, but he was a great father,” Smoke said.

“Among his community he was a legend, and he blessed everyone and that was his last blessing to everyone. That’s all it was. Many blessings to everyone and long live Plant. Long live Plant that’s it.”

The Detroit Police Department briefly closed off traffic to allow the crowd to enjoy Thomas’s final send-off safely. They were aware of the rose petals — but said they were surprised by the money.

Police said they are not investigating the incident. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation.

Thomas owned Showroom Shine Express, a business he poured his heart into for decades, and was known to many as a passionate professional race car driver with the National Hot Rod Association.

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Amazon Prime Day lasted a whole week this year, and other retailers like Walmart and The Home Depot jumped in with some super-aggressive discounts to try and win some customers back. Today, HD’s doing one last push with super-low prices on some power tools from Milwaukee and DeWalt.

If you run Milwaukee batteries already, this tire inflator could be an extremely helpful tool in your arsenal for garage use or bringing to the track.

If you’re just a fan of red tools in general, these cool earbuds are on the most aggressive discount I’ve seen yet.

This mid-torque impact driver comes with two 6Ah batteries and a charger.

Or if you’d rather run yellow tools, here’s a similar setup from DeWalt:

Here are a few more super-hot deals on power tools at The Home Depot right now:

Milwaukee M18 FUEL 18V HACKZALL Reciprocating Saw + Two 6.0 Ah Batteries & Charger for $279 (was $468)

Milwaukee M12 FUEL 12V Hammer Drill + Impact Driver + Compact Spot Blower Combo for $199 (was $325)

Milwaukee M12 FUEL 12V Hammer Drill + Impact Driver + M12 3/8 in. Ratchet Combo for $199 (was $369)

 

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