Elizabeth City, NC, Launches Its First Microschool 

Courtesy of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools

Elizabeth City is known for its rich history, scenic waterfront location and warm hospitality. And most recently, it has gained attention for its commitment to cutting edge education, especially its interest in microschools.

An emerging concept in education, microschools are typically smaller than traditional schools and include children of varying ages receiving personalized instruction. Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools launched its first microschool during the 2025-26 school year.

Courtesy of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools

Transforming Schools 

District Superintendent Dr. Keith Parker has been in his job since 2022. Among his priorities was boosting the area’s low performing schools to meet North Carolina’s growth targets and increase student achievement. 

“Our end goal is transforming the public schools in Elizabeth City to fundamentally change how they work and feel because we believe that public schools are the central part of our community,” Parker says. “But in their traditional form, they don’t work for kids, so it’s going to take a transformation of how the school day looks and feels to meet the needs of kids today.” 

In 2023, Parker and his team began researching some of the country’s highest-performing schools and discovered several of the most noteworthy were microschools where kids were thriving. They knew they wanted to create a microschool in Elizabeth City.

Courtesy of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools

Partnering With Local Businesses 

The local business community has been nothing but enthusiastic about his efforts to bring a microschool to the area, Parker says. While the goal, he says, is to have “sort of an à la carte big choice of experiences, where students can really engage in the community,” the district’s microschool will have partnerships with different businesses. Experiences like these allow kids to get a better feel for certain careers. 

One example of a partnership is with Heather Sawyer of Water Street Real Estate Group, who owns Airbnb properties she’s renovating. The idea is for one of her Airbnbs to function as the microschool. 

“The kids may be able to partner with the business so that they learn about management,” he says. “They learn about accounting. The concepts and curriculum around math they’re learning in a real-world application in their community with a business partner is a phenomenal example of how kids can use hands-on experiences to learn real-world things.” 

Ken Tart Photography

Taking Ownership 

The microschool’s principal, Colina Bartlett, is also inspired about the launch of the microschool in Elizabeth City. Having also explored microschools outside the state, she says she’s excited by how students are able to take ownership of their learning and guide their own educational experiences. 

One of the most innovative ways she sees this being accomplished: Students work on community challenges where businesses and organizations come to them seeking solutions to their problems, “and they work collaboratively to develop solutions,” she says. 

Courtesy of Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools

A Sample School Day 

A sample day, she says, begins with social-emotional learning, followed by math and ELA personalized core. 

“That’s the time period where they get math and reading on their own level,” she says. “So not everybody will be working on the same thing on the same day at the same time.” 

At 10 a.m., students start working on what Bartlett calls “career connected project-based learning,” where the students work with different business partners on issues they are experiencing. 

“Then, we have lunchtime, which is also a time for students to be students and have recess and free play,” she says. “We want to let kids be kids.” 

After lunch is when the real fun begins, Bartlett says. That’s when the kids descend upon the Airbnb microschool, a historic downtown building that’s being restored. Here, she says, students learn all about the business and marketing sides of operating an Airbnb, making it particularly beneficial for students interested in things like entrepreneurship, art and math. 

The day ends as it began, with social and emotional learning, where students reflect on the day and the lessons they learned. 

“One of our goals is to make sure our students are emotionally intelligent,” Bartlett says, “so our lessons will be geared toward helping create resilient leaders.”