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There’s a moment every educator remembers—the one that changes everything.
For me, it wasn’t a single day, but a slow awakening.
After nearly three decades in education, I had seen brilliance dimmed by systems that didn’t fit the students they were designed to serve. I had worked with incredible children—curious, imaginative, capable—but often misunderstood because their minds didn’t conform to standardized timelines. I saw the sparkle of learning fade when joy gave way to pressure, and potential became a statistic.
At some point, I realized I wasn’t just witnessing the problem.
I was being called to build the solution.
Microschooling began as a whisper in my spirit—a reminder that education was never meant to be industrial. Learning is human, relational, alive. It thrives in environments where children are seen, heard, and allowed to move at the pace of their curiosity.
I wanted to create a place where a student could explore the why behind numbers, where reading wasn’t a race but a journey toward connection and meaning. I wanted children to understand that mastery isn’t perfection—it’s persistence, reflection, and discovery.
And so, the Westmoreland Institute for Lifelong Learning was born—a microschool built on the belief that every learner deserves a flexible, nurturing environment that meets them where they are and takes them where they’re meant to go.
At WILL, learning looks different.
It sounds like laughter in a community garden and the rhythm of pencils sketching blueprints for sustainable projects. It feels like confidence returning to a child who once dreaded math but now understands the why behind it.
Our students learn to read, write, calculate, and reason through hands-on experiences that connect to the world around them. They explore environmental science, entrepreneurship, and creative expression, discovering how academic skills come alive in real life.
Each day, I see what happens when we let curiosity lead—it ignites something powerful: ownership, confidence, and joy.
Becoming a school founder wasn’t just about creating a school.
It was about creating space—for students to rediscover their voice, for teachers to reclaim their artistry, and for families to see what learning can look like when it’s rooted in care and purpose.
Microschools are more than an alternative. They are a return—to community, to connection, to the belief that learning is not a system to be managed but a flame to be tended.
This work is both personal and universal. It’s about igniting the kind of learning that lasts a lifetime—learning that transforms not just the mind, but the whole person.
At WILL, we’re doing more than educating children. We’re nurturing possibility—one learner, one moment, one spark at a time.
✳️ About the Author
Ruby Brock is the Founder and Executive Director of the Westmoreland Institute for Lifelong Learning (WILL), a growing network of microschools designed to ignite curiosity, mastery, and purpose in every learner. With nearly 30 years of experience in special education and literacy instruction, Ruby’s work bridges neuroscience, project-based learning, and community-centered education to help students thrive in both skill and spirit.