Outschool Frequently Asked Questions

What is Outschool?

Outschool is a platform that allows you teach classes for children up to age 18 on any subject on which you have some expertise. You control the content, when you offer the classes, how many students you want in the class, how much you charge for the class, and more.

They market your class to their parents, handle sign-ups, communication, and securely collect the fees.

What do you teach?

You can teach on anything in which you have expertise. The classes must be secular and objective. They are for children up to age 18 and can be for range of ages, usually about a 5 year range works best.

You can scroll through their class lists and see what kind of classes are being offered. Even if you see something similar to what you want to teach, that’s fine. These are small classes so there is a demand for multiple teachers teaching the same thing at different times and in different ways. I’ve seen classes on everything from computer coding to how to tie your shoes!

These are a couple of classes I am offering to start with.

Your classes can be for any time frame, 15-90 minutes each.

There are several types of classes:
One-Time Classes – One-Time Classes meet once in a video chat session. You can teach the same class over and over to different students.
Short Courses – Short courses meet 1 or more times each week for 2-7 weeks. Each class builds on the previous class and parents sign up for the entire series of classes.
Camp Courses – Camps are multi-day classes that meet two or more times within the same week. Summer camp classes may be over 2 weeks.
Semester Courses – Semester courses meet 1 or more times each week for 8 or more weeks.  
Ongoing Classes – Ongoing classes meet weekly without a set end date. Parents are charged for ongoing classes weekly as a subscription (on Sunday mornings). This class type works well for art classes, book clubs, music lessons, and other topics that can always use further study. Each class is unique and is not dependent on the previous classes. The students can drop in and out of the series of lessons.
Flexible Schedule Classes – in these classes, you record the teaching portion and the students watch on their own time frame. There is still a lot of interaction within the class, assignments with due dates, discussion, evaluation, etc. These are a minimum of 4 weeks.

What are the qualifications?

You do not need a degree to teach for Outschool but must be 18 years old, live in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, or New Zealand. They must be able to do a background check on you since you are working with children.

You must have some expertise in the subject that you want to teach. You must follow their policies for class listings, act professionally, and communicate well with parents.

How are classes taught?

Classes are taught through Zoom and you use their Zoom account. You don’t have to have your own paid subscription to Zoom. You can teach from a computer or tablet.

How much can you make?

When you create a new class, you choose what to charge per class and per student. They recommend $10-15 per hour of instruction per student but you might be able to charge more. If you are doing a series of classes, you set the price for the entire series of lessons.

Outschool collects the funds from parents and then pays you 70% of what you charge. You are paid through Paypal 7-10 days after your class starts. Some teachers have reported making $1500 in 2 weeks! It just depends on how many classes you schedule and how many sign-ups you get.

What is the Outschool hiring process?

1. Click this link to apply to teach with Outschool. https://outschool.com/teach?signup=true&usid=xkKbJhYm&utm_campaign=share_invite_link&teacherReferral=true. This link also gives you a $20 credit for your own children (grandchildren, friends, niece, nephew, etc.) to take classes on Outschool.
2. Fill out the application to teach. Be sure to give them detailed information about your teaching experience, your expertise in the topics you would like to teach, and what you will bring to the platform! You will need to tell them about yourself and record a short, introductory video. Make your video to showcase your personality and teaching style. It is short, only about 90 seconds so teach one simple concept.

3. Submit your information for a background check.

4. Once your application and background check are approved, you will complete your teacher profile that parents will see. You will also make a short video for the parents. Then, you can begin designing your first class. Describe what you will teach, decide what ages it will be for, decide on the number of students you want in each class, how much you will charge for the class, and choose a good picture to promote it. You can also add a short video teaser for your class. Your class could be offered as a one-time class, an ongoing class that covers a new related topic in each class, a series of classes, or even a summer camp format with several classes over a 1 or 2 week period. You then add sections for the class, times that you will offer it. These are ideally starting 2 weeks out or more to give lots of time for parents to find it even though they often sign up at the last minute. Once you complete your class plan, request for it to be listed. It will take a couple of days for it to be approved. After that first class is approved, design as many other classes as you want. Each class has to be approved by Outschool.

5. The classes are then listed by Outschool and parents can sign up for them. You can also promote them yourself on your own social media or in groups that might have similar interests. Want to teach about horses, post it in a kid’s horseriding group. Homeschool groups, community groups, parent groups, etc.

Learn more about Outschool and let’s share in this new journey together in mu Facebook group: Outschool Teachers Wanted.

Ready to apply? Click here!