Editor’s note: This story is one of five spotlights included in our latest special report, “A Taste of À La Carte Learning.”
So how’s this for a science classroom?
These students are snorkeling on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in a place called Jupiter Inlet. They’re enrolled in an à la carte learning program called Saltwater Studies.
Saltwater Studies was started in 2011 by Christa Jewett, a marine biologist who used to work for an environmental consulting firm. Now she teaches students from kindergarten to high school in South Florida’s expanding network of home-schools and micro-schools.
More than a dozen state and county parks function as their classrooms. At one, Jewett secured a state permit so her students could contribute data to a marine life monitoring project.
This is what “school” can look like in a world where entrepreneurs can leverage education choice programs to create innovative options and parents can use those programs to access them.
Until a few years ago, Jewett had to work side jobs because her immersive science lessons alone wouldn’t pay the bills. Then COVID-19 happened. Suddenly, more parents, dissatisfied with traditional schools for multiple reasons, wanted more options.
Now Jewett’s serving 200 students a month. That’s triple the number from 2020 and 20 times the number she started with in 2011.
“It’s gotten so big so fast, it’s surreal,” Jewett said. Last school year, about 15 students used ESAs to access Saltwater Studies. This year, the number is 32 and counting. Now that Florida has universal eligibility for ESAs, even more students and families will be able to access what Jewett and other entrepreneurs are creating.
“Christa’s heart and passion about what she teaches is spot on,” said Juliette Mooney, whose sons, Seven, 10, and Levi, 6, secured ESAs this year. “There’s nothing she doesn’t know about our water.”
Mooney said her boys love Saltwater Studies because they learn better outdoors. “They’re full-on boys,” she said. “When they exercise, they can focus better. We do a lot of learning like this.”
On a windy day last fall, Jewett began the day’s lessons with eight elementary-school-aged students at picnic tables near the water’s edge, beneath cabbage palms and sea grape trees. This was a good spot to see dolphins, rays, and manatees, she told them. But the wind had kicked up turbidity in the water, so visibility wouldn’t be as good as usual.
If they were lucky, though, they might still get a treat: a glimpse of two sea creatures in a symbiotic relationship—a little fish called a goby and a nearly blind little crustacean called a snapping shrimp. Jewett explained that the pair share burrows and protect each other from predators.
“They’re right here!” Jewett told them, pointing to a line of wake-breaking rocks 100 yards away.
Jewett’s instruction was a digestible mix of facts and concepts. Her delivery was infectious. The students couldn’t wait to put on their snorkels and see for themselves.
“So often in the public school system, you’re told this is what you have to teach. Because of the size of the system, they have to be regimented,” Jewett said. “The bigger it gets, the more boundaries they have to put in place.”
“But I have flexibility,” Jewett continued. “That’s what makes this class exciting.”
On the Saltwater Studies website, Jewett explains why she switched careers. From the beginning, the goal was to offer a biblical perspective on the wonders of marine environments. Given the demand, Jewett offers classes with a biblical or secular perspective, depending on what parents prefer. The split is about 60/40. Either way, students gain a deeper understanding of the diversity and amazingness of life on Earth.
“Saltwater Studies is the coolest thing ever,” said Jackie Sickels, whose son, Dash, 11, uses an ESA for students with special needs. “It’s a lot more fun way of learning.”
Dash was previously enrolled in public school, but distance learning during COVID-19 was “pointless,” Sickels said. She and some of her cousins decided to home-school their children together, and it turned out to be a positive experience. They learned about Saltwater Studies at a home-school showcase sponsored by a local church.
Jewett’s program turned out to be even better than expected. Dash has learned about everything from manatees to pink moon jellyfish to sea slugs called nudibranchs, all with real-life examples.
Jewett’s approach “checks all the boxes: visual, auditory, hands-on,” Sickels said.
Karina Scarlett’s daughter, Kaylee, 8, has been attending Saltwater Studies for three years. She also uses an ESA for students with special needs.
Jewett is “applying all these science components—measurements and tools and concepts—while they’re working hands-on,” Scarlett said.
On one outing, Kaylee caught an elusive ghost crab. With Jewett’s help, they identified the crab as female, then measured and released it.
Scarlett uses the term “eclectic learning” to describe the home education program she has curated for Kaylee using the ESA. Having the ability to pick and choose exactly what works for her daughter, including providers like Saltwater Studies, is “wonderful,” she said.
“It’s freedom.”
