National outlet highlights NABML as the first organization dedicated to unifying, resourcing, and amplifying Black microschool founders across the country.
BlackNews.com — one of the most-visited Black news platforms in the country — covered the official launch of the National Association of Black Microschool Leaders (NABML), calling it a direct response to a pivotal and underserved moment in American education. The article frames NABML’s founding not as a startup story, but as the arrival of long-overdue national infrastructure for a movement that has been building from the ground up.
“Black families are the fastest-growing demographic in alternative education, yet Black microschool founders have had no national home — no unified voice, no shared resources, no collective power. We founded NABML to change that. We’re building the infrastructure so that Black-led microschools don’t just survive — they thrive for generations.”
— Nicole Stewart, Founder & Executive Director, NABML
What the Article Covers
The BlackNews.com feature situates NABML’s launch within a rapidly shifting national landscape. The article points to striking data that underscores both the urgency and the opportunity: an estimated 1.5 million students are now learning in approximately 95,000 microschools across the country. Black educators currently make up 13% of microschool leaders — but 27% of prospective microschool founders are Black, according to the National Microschooling Center. The pipeline is there. What has been missing is the support system to move those founders from aspiration to action.
The article also notes that Black families homeschooled at nearly five times their pre-pandemic rate during COVID-19 — the largest jump of any demographic group — as they sought learning environments that center their children’s cultural identity and academic potential. That momentum has not receded. It has transformed into a sustained demand for Black-led educational alternatives, of which microschools are the fastest-growing.
BlackNews.com highlights that NABML is already building on that momentum with concrete infrastructure — including the nation’s first comprehensive Black Microschool Directory, developed with support from an EdChoice grant, designed to connect Black families with Black-led learning environments and give founders the visibility and community they need to grow.
“Black families are seeking educational options that see and celebrate their children. Black educators are answering that call. NABML exists to ensure they don’t have to do it alone.”
— Alissa Jacques Saint-Pierre, Board Chair, NABML
Why This Coverage Matters
BlackNews.com reaches a readership that is at the very heart of NABML’s mission: Black families, Black educators, and Black community leaders who are actively searching for alternatives, solutions, and one another. Coverage here does something no mainstream outlet can fully replicate — it puts NABML directly in front of the people who need it most.
For prospective founders, this article is a signal: there is now a national organization built specifically for you. For Black families weighing their options, it is a door opening. For funders and policy advocates, it is evidence of a movement organized enough to be taken seriously at scale.
NABML’s four-year vision — positioning itself as the nation’s hub for Black-led microschool innovation through funding pathways, professional development, shared infrastructure, and a powerful national network — is documented here in one of the most-read Black media outlets in America.
