LONGWOOD, Fla. — On any day of the week, you'll see a lot of learning going on in just about every room at Lighthouse Learning Micro-School in Longwood, thanks to A+ Teacher Makenzie Oliver. 

"I was very interested in being able to teach, but also teach differently," she said. "And I'd been thinking about possibly homeschooling, but I didn't want to do it alone."

The former public school teacher says she made a major pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic — she started teaching her own children and then opened her home to teach other students as well. Now, she's the director of Lighthouse Learning Micro-School, where she is also a teacher.

"I woke up one day and I thought I'd always wanted to have my own school, but I never thought that it was possible," she said. "And I definitely didn't think that it could look like this."

"We really do believe in a small, personalized education where we can keep our environment very joyful," she added.

Oliver said the joy of learning is clear — with an assistant teacher and retired teacher volunteers, she says students are not confined to the classroom.

"We are able to go on field trips, take learning beyond school walls, and just really personalize education for each child so that we can have a high-quality experience while they're learning," Oliver said.

The students are taught a wide variety of subjects — including science, social studies, geography, math, reading and writing.

“We do all of them," Oliver said. "I want these kids to want to come to school each day — want to be here — and sometimes at the end of the day, it's hard to get them to go home because they're having so much fun."