When Anna Gutscher graduated from homeschool in southeastern Colorado, she felt God leading her to start a microschool instead of pursuing a career in real estate.

One year later she was about to launch a school when she was told to wait another year by some of her board members.

“It was a crushing situation because I had a building set up, I had bought curriculum and I had students that I had talked to already,” Gutscher told The Lion in an interview. 

Since her plan had started in prayer, she returned to her knees to seek guidance about what was next. 

Shortly thereafter, she received a surprising phone call. 

David and Marie Hazell, founders of My Father’s World, a curriculum Gutscher had previously used, were looking to start a microschool near their headquarters in rural Missouri. Would she move there and be the teacher? 

“It was a total surprise,” Gutscher said. “I was shocked.” 

A leap of faith 

Gutscher later learned that Leah Brooks, her microschool mentor from My Father’s World, had shared her story with the Hazells, who decided to invite the then-19-year-old to launch their school. 

“She was the most organized of any of our school founders,” said Brooks, who has mentored 150 founders of “discipleship academies,” the organization’s term for microschools, over the last three years. 

“She had a list of questions every time she called that were very practical,” Brooks said.

“We based some of our trainings off of what she was asking and how we answer questions on first calls.” 

Gutscher spoke with the Hazells on a Thursday – while she was vacationing with her family. They told her about the school and invited her to join. And they needed an answer by Sunday, since it was late July and school was just weeks away from starting. 

“I took time to pray and think about it with my family, and over that weekend I decided I just knew that’s where God was leading me,” Gutscher said. 

One week later, she flew to Missouri with her father, who accompanied her in part because she was too young to rent a car for the two-hour drive from the airport. 

Smoothing out the bumps 

The plan was for Marie Hazell to mentor Gutscher in the school’s launch, but Hazell fell ill and was not available for the first six weeks of school, Brooks said, prompting David Hazell to step in. Gutscher successfully managed her first classroom experience, smoothing out bumps along the way. 

“I think the two hardest things that I’ve run into are learning classroom management when it comes to how to discipline and train the kids well, and also managing your time well in the classroom,” she said. “I’m still learning as I go, but I think on a more personal level, one of the key things that I had to learn was confidence. 

“Because I’m young, it’s easy to think that I’m not equipped enough or that I’m not ready for something like this, but I knew God was calling me,” she continued. “I knew that was a lie that I had in my head, but just learning ways to fight it and to believe the truth that, yes, God has equipped me and he’s prepared me for this purpose.” 

Now in her second year, she’s definitely getting her sea legs. 

“Am I perfect? No. Do I know everything? No. But He’s with me and He’s going to guide me. And if He’s called me to do this, then I am the one to do the work He’s planned in advance for me to do,” she said, referencing Ephesians 2:10 in the Bible: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 

Growing and multiplying impact 

Gutscher is part of Unbound, a program for My Father’s World graduates meant to equip them for life. It’s an alternative to college, Brooks said, and the courses count toward college credit. 

The first year’s goal is making the participant’s dream come true, followed by fulfilling someone else’s dream the next year – but Gutscher accomplished year two in year one by helping the Hazells launch the school. 

World Changers Discipleship Academy has grown from six students to seven, but it is also having a multiplicative impact. 

A mom who was Gutscher’s classroom aide moved to another town and started a school there – and wants to start “as many as she can,” Gutscher said. 

“Her kids were in the public school system and they homeschooled for one year,” she said. “This was the first time they put them in a microschool situation."

“I think she got courage from seeing what we were able to do with just the little we had last year, and with me being a first-year teacher and being young. I think it really inspired her and encouraged her that she could start a microschool.” 

Gutscher encourages others by sharing her story at conferences the Hazells hold every few months. She praises the curriculum for being “all planned out for you. They have a teacher’s manual with everything scheduled out for each day, so you don’t have to do a lot of prep work or planning for each day.” 

She also likes its fit with the one-room schoolhouse model, which is designed for multi-age learning. Her students this year range from age 5 to 13, yet she doesn’t have to teach lessons for different grades since students “do the same work together.” 

The youth advantage 

Although some are surprised to hear a teenager can run a classroom, Gutscher said teaching is a great fit for young people. “We’re more agile. We’re closer to the kids’ age, and we don’t have families yet that we’re caring for. 

“We are very flexible, with being able to move far, to uproot and to make new roots elsewhere. And we’re learning. We’re still in a big learning stage, so I think we’ve got a lot of advantages.” 

People back home in Colorado have heard of her success, including those who wanted her to wait to start a school. “There aren’t any hard feelings,” she said. “They’re all really excited that I’m doing what I’m doing now.” 

Her advice for anyone, young or old, who wants to follow in her footsteps? 

“Really, it just comes down to: is this something that God is placing on your heart? Is this something He’s calling you to do? Because really, He’s the one that equips us. He’s the one that prepares us. 

“Age doesn’t matter. Where you’re at doesn’t matter. Who you know doesn’t necessarily matter. It’s the God that we know and what he’s called us to do, because he’s the one that plans everything out. 

“I could not have planned this. After a year of trying to start and it didn’t work and all of the hurdles and I’m being like, ‘what? Not going to happen.’ Just trust God. God’s got it.”

The Herzog Foundation, publisher of The Lion, also helps prospective Christian school founders launch healthy schools, including microschools, hybrids, and traditional Christian schools. For more information, visit hfschoolbox.com.

The original article can be found here: https://readlion.com/18-year-old-founds-microschool-finds-success-following-gods-call/