Primer, a network of K-8 micro schools with campuses in Florida, Arizona and Alabama, are moving into Texas through way of San Antonio.
Micro schools, a growing education movement, are usually defined as the “midpoint” between traditional schooling and homeschooling. Using a one-room schoolhouse model, class sizes tend to be fewer than 15 and students vary in age.
The model tends to attract families who want smaller learning environments and more individualized attention for students.
Primer’s tagline is “We take kids seriously.”
“We’re trying to position kids to get on level content that they’re ready for as much of this school day as possible,” said Brian Sparks, the school’s San Antonio market manager.
Sparks, a 20-year long educator, joined Primer in December. Before that, he worked at different charter networks and school districts in teaching and administrative roles, including Compass Rose Public Schools, the Gathering Place and San Antonio Independent School District.
“The main reason why I came to Primer is I believe in choice, and I think that it is our responsibility to provide as many viable choices for parents to look at,” Sparks said.
Set to open this fall for the 2026-27 school year, Primer is currently recruiting families to enroll at each of its three campuses.
- Live Oak: 13250 Judson Road
- University Heights: 6506 W. Hausman Road
- Potranco: 8710 Potranco Road
The Live Oak and Potranco locations are currently being built from the ground up, and the University Heights campus is undergoing renovations after it formerly housed a private Montessori school.
The Primer model
Initially founded as an online learning alternative, Primer pivoted to micro schools in 2022.
Sparks said each campus will have between three and six mixed-aged classrooms, green spaces and fencing around the campus.
While there are hybrid central Primer staff, campuses and schools are entirely teacher-led, and Primer’s largest footprint is in Florida. Interested teachers can apply for a months-long fellowship program to be trained in the Primer model.
At Primer, one classroom is considered a “school.” The network has about 48 schools across roughly 20 locations, and teachers lead each cohort with the help of “studio guides” or teaching assistants.
Students are divided by grade clusters, meaning one cohort could serve kindergarten through second grade, then third through fifth grade and finally sixth through seventh grade. The model helps building community and connectivity between students and teachers, Sparks said.
“You’re with one group of kids and one or two staff members for the for the entire day,” he said.
School days are split between instruction focused on math and literacy and project-based learning blocks where students get more creative control of what they’re learning — Primer calls them “pursuits.”
Ahmad Newton, 7, is a second grader at one of Primer’s Florida locations. He’s been with Primer since kindergarten.
Darielle Newton, his mom, says her son’s pursuits currently include gardening, learning how plants grow and learning about what police officers and firefighters do.
Newton likes that Primer doesn’t use as much standardized testing as traditional public schools.
Primer issues MAP tests, a benchmark used nationally to measure academic growth in math and reading, three times a year to get a sense of where students are.
Cost and school vouchers
The Florida-based network moves into San Antonio as Texas debuts a school voucher program, set to give participating families state dollars to cover tuition, textbooks and other education-related costs.
Florida, Arizona and Alabama have their own versions of a voucher program — Primer builds its tuition around them.
In Texas, state officials say participating families will receive about $10,500 on average during the first year of the program, also known as Texas Education Freedom Accounts or TEFAs.
TEFA applications open Feb. 4, with the first notifications to families set to come out in March. Supervised by the state comptroller’s office, the voucher program already has a website and initial lists of private schools opting in to accept TEFAs as payment.
To be able to accept TEFA dollars, private schools have to have be in “good standing” and operating for at least two years inside or outside of Texas.
Primer, which founded in 2019, expects most of its families to be TEFA recipients. Families who aren’t granted a voucher for the 2026-27 cycle can expect Primer to cover the cost through scholarships from its own philanthropic foundation.
“Tuition to books to computer — really everything other than uniform cost. And then we have an after school program that comes with a small cost,” he said.
Micro schooling in San Antonio
Founder and CEO Ryan Delk said Primer chose San Antonio as its gateway into Texas because there was a lot of interest from families and educators.
“Parents and educators have been asking us to come to San Antonio for years, but since being in the community this year as we prepare to open, we’ve been blown away by the response,” Delk said in an email.
San Antonio has a small but burgeoning micro schooling landscape, according to Inga Cotton, founder and executive director of the School Discovery Network, a group that helps San Antonio families learn about the area’s many education options.
There’s some homeschool co-ops in San Antonio, where families support each other through issues with harder subject material, college application processes and socialization. Sometimes, these co-opts grow into more formal micro schools, Cotton explained.
Cotton, a former homeschooler, said micro schools tend to attract homeschooling families and families with children who may have special needs.
“One thing that draws people to things like homeschooling or micro schools is the feeling that you have a kid who’s atypical in some way,” Cotton said.
Newton agrees. She said her son tends to be easily distracted, so he needs a teacher who can give him more attention and focus.
“My son is not the easiest child to teach,” Newton said, but his current second-grade teacher, who’s been with him since kinder, genuinely cares and meets his needs.
Cotton added that families might also be attracted by a micro school’s smallness — smaller campuses and fewer students — which can feel safer for parents concerned about campus security.
Primer doesn’t have a strict application deadline and enrollment is rolling and based on availability. Interested families can meet with Primer officials at several info sessions held from the end of January through March.
