Nicole Stewart-Jones and the National Association of Black Microschool Leaders recognized in national coverage of America’s fastest-growing education trend.
Forbes contributor and education journalist Kerry McDonald spotlighted NABML Founder Nicole Stewart-Jones in a January 2025 feature examining why a new wave of private schools is fundamentally different from anything that has come before. The article — “4 Reasons Why Today’s New Private Schools Are Different”— profiles a cohort of education entrepreneurs who are building affordable, innovative, small, and rapidly growing learning environments across the country. Stewart-Jones and NABML are featured as a defining example of the movement’s reach and purpose.
“I believe that microschools have a very specific purpose. I believe that the very nature of microschools addresses some of the reading deficits that Black children have. Just the very fact that microschools are small — the very fact that there is a lot of personalized attention — that is what is needed to fill those holes. And it’s something that other school types cannot do as well.”
— Nicole Stewart-Jones, NABML Founder, as quoted in Forbes
What the Article Says
McDonald’s reporting centers on a national shift in K-12 education: a new generation of private schools and microschools that are radically more affordable, more personalized, and more attuned to the communities they serve than the elite private schools of past decades. Her four-part framework — affordable, innovative, small and personalized, and gaining popularity — captures the very principles that NABML was built to advance.
Under the “Small and Personalized” section, McDonald turns to Stewart-Jones and her faith-based microschool, Legacy Prep Christian Academy, launched in Lakeland, Florida. After years of frustration with the standardized, test-driven culture of conventional schooling, Stewart-Jones opened her own microschool and went further: she founded NABML to ensure that Black educators and community leaders across the country could do the same.
The article also documents the broader momentum behind the movement. According to a January 2025 parent survey cited by McDonald, interest in microschools and hybrid options more than tripled between 2022–2024 and 2025 — rising from 5% to 16% of parents surveyed. Interest in homeschooling climbed 39%, while consideration of private or faith-based schools grew 24%. The data reflects a decisive shift in how American families — and particularly Black families — are thinking about education.
Why This Coverage Matters
Being recognized in Forbes — one of the most-read business and leadership publications in the world — affirms what NABML has known from the start: that Black-led microschooling is not a niche experiment. It is a leading edge of the most significant transformation in American K-12 education in a generation.
For prospective microschool founders, this coverage serves as validation: the model works, the demand is there, and national voices are paying attention. For families searching for something better, it is a signal that the movement has arrived. And for funders and partners, it is evidence that investing in Black-led microschooling means investing in the future of education itself.
