8:30 am – 9:00 am
Arrival and morning meeting
Reece Crandall · Front room
Ages 6 to 12
A microschool in Berea, Kentucky
A small room on weekdays, in an old farmhouse
Fourteen students aged 6 to 12 share two rooms and a yard with two guides. Families who have taught at home choose three, four or five days a week.
A day at Colophon
From the first car to the last
The day has the same shape every time, so students know what comes next.
- 8:30
Step 1: Arrival
A guide stands at the door. Backpacks go on the hooks, and wet shoes stay on the mat.
- 9:00
Step 2: Morning work
Reading, writing and math at the long tables. Younger and older students work on different pages while a guide moves between them.
- 12:00
Step 3: Lunch on the porch
Families send lunch. We eat together at the long tables when the weather lets us.
- 12:30
Step 4: Garden and yard
Time outdoors in the garden beds, the yard and the field behind the house.
- 1:00
Step 5: Project afternoon
One project runs through the week: clay, wood, a map or a small experiment. Younger and older students share the table.
- 3:00
Step 6: Pickup
Families wait on the porch or by the drive. A guide walks each student out and checks the name on the pickup list.
The week
Mornings stay the same, afternoons change
Every day starts at the door and ends at the porch. The afternoons are for projects, the garden and the long walk.
A week in the school year
Monday
9:00 am – 11:00 am
Reading and writing, in two groups
Reece Crandall · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1211:00 am – 12:00 pm
Math, in two groups
Kassidy Bassett · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1212:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch and yard time
Kassidy Bassett · Porch and yard
Ages 6 to 121:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Making: wood, clay and cloth
Reece Crandall · Front room
Ages 6 to 12
Tuesday
8:30 am – 9:00 am
Arrival and morning meeting
Reece Crandall · Front room
Ages 6 to 129:00 am – 11:00 am
Reading and writing, in two groups
Reece Crandall · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1211:00 am – 12:00 pm
Math, in two groups
Kassidy Bassett · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1212:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch and yard time
Kassidy Bassett · Porch and yard
Ages 6 to 121:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Garden and kitchen
Kassidy Bassett · Garden and back room
Ages 6 to 12
Wednesday
8:30 am – 9:00 am
Arrival and morning meeting
Reece Crandall · Front room
Ages 6 to 129:00 am – 11:00 am
Reading and writing, in two groups
Reece Crandall · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1211:00 am – 12:00 pm
Math, in two groups
Kassidy Bassett · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1212:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch and yard time
Kassidy Bassett · Porch and yard
Ages 6 to 121:00 pm – 2:45 pm
The long walk and a nature notebook
Reece Crandall and Kassidy Bassett · The ridge trail
Ages 6 to 12
Thursday
8:30 am – 9:00 am
Arrival and morning meeting
Reece Crandall · Front room
Ages 6 to 129:00 am – 11:00 am
Reading and writing, in two groups
Reece Crandall · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1211:00 am – 12:00 pm
Math, in two groups
Kassidy Bassett · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1212:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch and yard time
Kassidy Bassett · Porch and yard
Ages 6 to 121:00 pm – 2:45 pm
Maps, timelines and stories
Reece Crandall · Back room
Ages 6 to 12
Friday
8:30 am – 9:00 am
Arrival and morning meeting
Reece Crandall · Front room
Ages 6 to 129:00 am – 11:00 am
Reading and writing, in two groups
Reece Crandall · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1211:00 am – 12:00 pm
Math, in two groups
Kassidy Bassett · Front room and back room
Ages 6 to 1212:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch on the porch, then home
Kassidy Bassett · Porch
Ages 6 to 12
Sample classes.
Friday is a short day and ends after lunch.
The place
Two rooms, a porch and a yard
The school is the ground floor of an old farmhouse on a quiet road outside Berea. The front room holds the long tables, and the back room holds the shelves, the reading loft and a quiet corner.
Outside are a garden, a gravel drive and a field. Families see all of it on a visit day.
A front room for tables and projects
A back room for reading and quiet
A porch for lunch
A garden, a yard and a field
The guides
Two guides, one farmhouse
Reece and Kassidy teach every student, every day the school is open.
Reece Crandall
Founding guide
Started Colophon and leads reading, writing and the afternoon projects. Most mornings he is at the door when the first family arrives.
Kassidy Bassett
Guide
Leads math, the garden and the long walk on Wednesdays, and writes the Friday note that goes home to every family.
The year at a glance
When to visit, apply and start
Families visit in the fall and spring, apply when the fall is a few months away and hear back within weeks of a visit day.
This school year
Open houses
October and April · Both rooms open, with the guides at the door.
Visit days
Wednesdays, September to May · A morning with the students, then a talk with a guide.
Applications open
January · For the fall a few months away.
Decisions
Within two weeks of a visit day · By letter and by phone.
First day
Late August · Families come to the porch for a short meeting.
Fall break
October
Winter break
December
Spring break
March
Sample dates.
How tuition and aid work
What sets tuition, how a place is held and how to ask about aid, in plain words.
What sets tuition
Tuition depends on how many days a week a student comes, three, four or five, and it is set for the school year. The guides go through the figures with you at a visit.
How many days a week a student comes
Whether a student starts in August or partway through the year
Extras such as materials and field trips, listed on their own
Registration
A one-time registration goes with the application. It covers reading the application and starting a student's file, and it is due when a family applies. Enrollment is a separate step that holds a place once an offer is accepted.
Holding a place
When a place is offered, a family has two weeks to answer. A signed enrollment agreement and a first payment hold the place, and that payment counts toward tuition. If every place is taken, a family can join the waitlist, and offers go out in the order families joined.
Billing
Tuition is billed monthly across the school year, with autopay set up through the family portal. A family who would rather pay by the term can ask at the visit.
Help with tuition
Financial aid is available. Here is how to apply: after the application, a family fills in a short aid form and talks with a guide about what the family can manage. Decisions go out with the offer. Ask us at a visit whether a state education savings program applies to your family.
Siblings
A second child in the same family is handled differently from the first. Ask at the visit and the office will explain how it works for your family.
Withdrawing
We ask for a month's notice in writing before a student leaves. What happens to a month in progress is in the enrollment agreement.
Visit
Book a visit day
A visit day is a morning at the farmhouse. Sit in on the lessons, eat lunch on the porch and talk with Reece and Kassidy about your family. Children come along.
Phone(859) 555-0105
School hoursMonday to Friday, 8:30 am to 3:00 pm