Choose your own education adventure: Florida town showcases multiple learning options

As Laura Felker works in the data and artificial intelligence (AI) industry, she’s planning for her son’s education to be anything but ordinary.

“I wanted some kind of meet-in-the-middle microschool,” she told Kerry McDonald, host of the LiberatED podcast who published a recent commentary in The 74. “It’s kind of like choose your own education adventure.”

Felker found her wish in Florida’s Babcock Ranch – a master-planned community of about 15,000 residents begun in 2018, known as the nation’s first solar-powered town, according to the article.

“As this future-focused community grows, its K-12 education landscape is expanding alongside it, shaped by the same spirit of innovation,” McDonald writes. “With a rising assortment of public schooling, homeschooling and micro-schooling options, Babcock Ranch offers a distinct snapshot of today’s evolving education offerings and the families who choose them.”

Emphasis on hands-on learning

Like Felker, many parents today are searching for “a school that would blend the flexibility of homeschooling with the structure of traditional schooling, while prioritizing hands-on, project-based learning,” McDonald explains.

Felker believes she’s found the perfect solution in Primer, a private school network founded by Ryan Delk in 2019.

“When Primer came, I think I was one of the first people to reach out because this is the exact thing that I’m looking for,” said Felker, who cited the company’s emphasis on creative, project-based learning alongside core academics.

Other parents such as Amanda Pacheco praise the “large and vibrant homeschooling community” in Babcock Ranch.

“It’s like a little homeschool village here. I love it,” she said.

Pacheco’s daughter, Bella, had formerly attended public school until fifth grade. However, once the family moved to Babcock Ranch in 2024, Pacheco began homeschooling her.

“I always felt like the public school wasn’t the best fit,” she recalled, noting its focus on standardized testing and how it caused anxiety for Bella. “It’s like a one size fits all, but that’s not how people are.”

‘Modern-day village’

Ultimately, McDonald credits the town’s intentional design as a “modern-day village, where community life is intentionally built,” for its variety of educational options.

“From project-based charter schools to homeschooling to emerging models like Primer, families have a growing array of learning options to consider,” she writes.

Felker also believes future generations will benefit from more hands-on learning, based on her experience working in a Silicon Valley-based company.

“There is a lot of educational opportunity here, and it just keeps evolving for every layer of education,” she said. “It’s cool to see that type of vibrancy.”