Indiana only
How it works
Redbud Pods is a marketplace. It is not a school. It is not an employer. We do not vet teachers. Families form small groups, invite other parents, and hire a teacher if they want one. Launch geography is Indiana only.
Why use Redbud
Redbud 1.0 is how Indiana families find each other, form a pod, hire a teacher, collect the posted tuition, and optionally run the group with classroom tools. The pod stays the school.
- Find Indiana parents who want a similar approach, form a pod, vote as families, and hire a teacher.
- Collect the posted tuition and pay the teacher out. The teacher is independent — not an employee, not a paycheck, not a W-2. Families hire and pay; Redbud does not put teachers on payroll.
- Optional classroom tools so the group is easy to run. Use is not required. The pod stays the school.
Redbud is not a school and not an employer. We do not vet teachers. We do not process ESA / INESA money. Indiana has no required homeschool curriculum list. Parents still owe equivalent instruction (IC 20-33-2-28); that duty stays with the parent. We do not keep the Indiana 180-day attendance book.
Why pods
- Small group (usually 4–10), not a 25-kid classroom.
- Parents stay in charge: they pick the families, the teacher, the rate, and the approach tag. Tags are labels, not a catalog — what families mean by each.
- A real adult teacher, hired by the families. Redbud does not employ teachers and does not vet them.
- Fit first: unanimous yes, one no rejects. You are not assigned together.
- Indiana families run the group. We are the marketplace, not the school, not an attendance book.
Form a pod
A parent starts a pod in forming status: name, age band, zip, size, and a short description. After you create it, copy the invite link and send it to families you want in the group.
Other families apply
A family applies with an intro plus the child’s first name, age, and zip. Current parent members all vote yes. For the first family, the creator votes alone. One no rejects everyone on that application.
Hire a teacher
The lead posts a teacher role with a pay range. Teachers apply. Parent members take the same unanimous yes vote, at the posted rate. The teacher does not vote. Joining a pod that already hired means you accept that teacher and that rate.
Public listing vs Inside
Anyone can see a public listing (name, tags, location, whether a role is open). Inside is members only: adult display names, child name / age / zip, hired teacher and rate, pending applies and votes. Strangers do not see it.
Notes live on that application
Adults can leave notes on that application. That is not a group chat. A view-only child login, if a household adult creates one, cannot use Messages.
Families run the group
Parents hire and run the group. Redbud does not keep your 180-day attendance book. Optional family-owned marks and a presence log are family records, not a school.
FAQ
- No. Redbud is a marketplace. Families run their own groups.
- The families. Redbud is not the employer.
- The application is rejected. One no is enough.
- Only if a household adult creates a view-only login. The child may see their own marks, presence log, and homework list. Not a student of Redbud, not a transcript, not IDOE, not a COPPA-compliance claim. No self-signup, no kid email, no DMs, no submit.
- Not yet. Families and the teacher handle pay off-platform for now.
- We do not vet. Profiles and applications are user-submitted. Families decide.