September 11, 2026 12:14PM # Friday Feature: Lighthouse Preparatory Academy International By [Colleen Hroncich](https://www.cato.org/people/colleen-hroncich) --- SHARE Listen to this article Generated with [ ElevenLabs](https://elevenlabs.io/) AI technology. Loading the [Elevenlabs Text to Speech](https://elevenlabs.io/text-to-speech) AudioNative Player... Mikala Schreeder was working as a software developer in Silicon Valley and wanted to get involved in the local community. “I started tutoring, and I was invited by a school to build out their computer science program,” she recalls. That experience changed the way she thought about education. As she designed the program, she started by looking into ways to get high school students excited about coding and technology engineering. “It was incredible to learn all about designing projects and hands-on experiences for students,” she says. Many of them went on to study computer science engineering in college and do internships at places like Facebook and Google. “From there, I started thinking, ‘Well, what could the rest of the school day look like if we’d apply some of the lessons that we learned in building this computer science and engineering program?’” Mikala answered her own question by creating [Lighthouse Preparatory Academy International](https://lighthouseatl.org/), a K–12 microschool in Stone Mountain, Georgia, now in its fourth year. Around 20 students attend, divided among elementary, middle, and high school groups. The school sits on four acres with multiple buildings, outdoor space, a small forested area, and animals—including baby chicks, a pet rat, and two dogs. ![Lighthouse ATL science fair](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2026-09/Lighthouse%20ATL%20kids3.jpg?itok=mQ9clZTn) “We’ve completely designed everything custom so that everything is hands-on, engaging, meaningful, and thoughtful learning experiences for students,” she says. Students take weekly field trips and can participate in activities such as drone robotics and chess. The school day begins with what Mikala calls Genius Studios, which emphasizes creativity, making, and building. Activities range from outdoor nature studies to indoor artistic pursuits depending on the weather. Earlier this year, they had a two-month black history study that incorporated research projects, custom art and portraits, and a visit to Martin Luther King Jr.’s family home. Academic work is personalized through [Wild Oasis Learning](https://www.wildoasislearning.com/), a platform Mikala and her team developed. “Everyone has typical things like math, English, art, and then we do science and social studies together for elementary and middle school,” she says. “For high school, they have all their classes on the platform. And it’s designed to be a portfolio of their work and also help them know what they should be working on and what materials to go and get.” Through Wild Oasis, students can also pursue individual interests. One student, for example, is studying architecture using a course Mikala designed with input from architects and architecture teachers. “He’s able to walk through it—it’s all directed at him,” she explains. “And we just can support him in working through his projects.” The Wild Oasis platform is open to the public, and Mikala says it is already being used by competition teams, microschools, and learners in several countries. She sees a need for curriculum that works in settings where many students are learning at different levels without requiring an adult to deliver every lesson. “Wild Oasis definitely steps in and fills that gap for folks,” she says. Lighthouse Prep also embraces flexibility. Families can enroll full-time or attend one to three days a week as homeschool students. Full-time students are private school students, and Lighthouse participates in the Georgia Promise Scholarship and Special Needs Scholarship programs. Mikala estimates that 20 to 30 percent of Lighthouse families use one of those programs and thinks those families likely wouldn’t be able to attend without the scholarships. ![Lighthouse ATL field trip](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2026-09/Lighthouse%20ATL%20kids5.jpg?itok=8aDfNzVj) Not surprisingly given Mikala’s background, technology is thoughtfully woven throughout Lighthouse Prep. Students learn coding—including Scratch, Python, and web development—and older students can take an AI exploration class. Mikala says the school has ongoing conversations about plagiarism, misinformation, artists’ concerns about generative AI, and ethical use. “We have many, many long discussions about pros and cons and try to encourage them to use it in ways that feel ethically responsible,” she adds. Along with the technology content, they also have a lot of conversations about the future and how to keep learning as the world changes. “We design a lot of either mini courses or full elective courses to support them in diving deeper into content areas that tie to their interest,” Mikala says. Lighthouse kids learn how to explore their interests, build something and try it out, and move on if it doesn’t end up being a good fit, which Mikala sees as the best way to “future-proof” them. For educators considering starting something similar, Mikala’s advice—“Use Wild Oasis”—might seem funny at first, until you understand her reasoning. “Don’t reinvent the wheel. It’d really free you up to just focus on connecting with the students and working with them,” she explains. “I think more people should start microschools or learning communities. I think it’d be really powerful for everybody.” ##### Related Tags [Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom), [Friday Feature](https://www.cato.org/friday-feature) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).