Story 7a: Homeschool Network
Vertical: Personal / Small Community
Priority: 🔴 Flagship — Write First
The People
- Sarah, a homeschool mom coordinating a network of 40 families
- Parents who teach specialized subjects (music, science, languages)
- A retired teacher who evaluates student progress
- A local community center that hosts weekly meetups
The Old Way
- Sarah maintains a massive spreadsheet of who teaches what
- Parent credentials verified by… asking around
- Background checks stored in a filing cabinet (or not at all)
- Event sign-ups via email chains and Facebook groups
- “Who’s responsible for the kids?” answered by whoever shows up
The Breaking Point
- A parent claims credentials they don’t have
- Liability questions arise after a field trip incident
- Sarah burns out trying to verify everything manually
- New families don’t know who to trust
- The network grows beyond personal relationships
The New Pattern
- Each parent holds their own verifiable credentials (teaching certs, background checks)
- Parents selectively disclose only what’s needed for each role
- Event organizers can verify qualifications without central database
- Authority to supervise children is explicitly delegated, not assumed
- New families can verify the network’s structure themselves
What Changed
- Sarah coordinates, but doesn’t gatekeep
- Verification happens peer-to-peer
- No single point of failure (or burnout)
- Trust is explicit, not implied
- The network can grow without centralizing
This pattern is enabled by KERI.
TODO: Write full narrative