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When Christa Hayes' kids shut down their public schools in 2020, the Montana math professor started hearing from parents seeking help for their children's schoolwork and wanting to find a way for them to meet in person while working through their remote public school curriculum.
So Hayes, who had been a mathematics professor at Montana State University for more than a decade, resigned her job and founded Peak Academy in 2021 as a nonprofit private school.
"My life is so much happier and richer now," Hayes tells Education Week, which visited Peak Academy earlier this week.
Peak Academy is a microschool, or small school that's typically less expensive and more individualized than a traditional private school.
It's currently home to 16 middle school students who spend their days learning academics, doing projects, and enjoying frequent field study with two full-time teachers, in addition to Hayes and other part-time instructors from the community.
Many of Peak Academy's students attend the nearby Bozeman Field School, one of the area's first schools to focus on project-based, outside experiential learning along with high-quality academic instruction.
"When we came here, I knew we weren't going to go to public school, and there were no outdoor, nature-based, academic-focused, academic
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