Coding, science, math, writing, personal finance, art, music … if your child is interested in a subject, chances are you’ll find it at Outschool.

Founded in 2015, Outschool is an online platform that allows teachers to offer live, interactive classes for kids ages 3–18. The platform provides teachers with online class listings, secure online payments, and an integrated video chat platform. Teachers create their own classes and determine the fee; Outschool receives a 30% fee from enrollments.

Outschool was growing steadily through 2019. Then COVID-19 struck and schools around the country—and even the world—shut their doors. Suddenly interest in Outschool exploded. Pre-pandemic, around 1,000 teachers offered around 10,000 classes through Outschool. By March 2022, there were 10,000 teachers involved and more than 140,000 classes available.

Some teachers are pretty casual in their use of Outschool. But others are making a full-time income on their own schedule. For example, Michigan mom Melanie Pauli earns around $5,000 a month teaching piano lessons to students throughout the world. Hundreds of teachers earn six figures a year.

Desperate parents initially turned to Outschool in droves after schools closed, but many have stuck with it after seeing how engaged their children are. For some kids, having a chance to learn a non-typical subject—like medieval alchemy or hip hop dance—can unlock an interest in learning more traditional academic subjects. Others enjoy the chance to look at topics in a deeper way or from a different perspective.

Outschool’s co-founder and CEO, Amir Nathoo, doesn’t look at the platform as a replacement for in-person learning. “I don’t see the future of education as being online. I see it as being hybrid,” he says. He also sees plenty of room for growth, noting, “We’ve served a million kids total, but there’s 1.3 billion kids in K‑12 internationally.”

As more online options like Outschool become available, the opportunity to learn becomes almost limitless. This also means more chances for teachers to set their own schedules, work environments, and even pay. And with public policy trending toward student-centered models—like funding students through education savings accounts—families will increasingly be able to take advantage of these exciting opportunities.

More options for students and teachers. This, it seems, is the future of education.