You seem to be really on top of it. You would be a great resource in Maine and the states around it. Maybe you already are involved in starting new schools in churches. This one is enough for me to support after seeing what all was involved. But it's worthwhile and an interesting topic so please keep us updated on how it goes starting one or more in Maine.
I have been involved but I am 73 years old and no longer involved. I am aware of churches that have started schools in their building, and am familiar with much of what it takes to do so here, in Texas, and even in liberal Michigan.
I wasn't referring to single mothers or single dads. I was wondering why the volunteers couldn't be men? Your idea sounds more like daycare than an actual school. Don't you believe that teachers should have some sort of curriculum and credentials? It's more than a volunteer "opportunity" to take on the responsibility of educating children. And speaking of church daycare, when my sons were small they attended a Presbyterian Church day care and kindergarten. I chose that place because it was clean, well organized, and provided a safe space for my children at a reasonable cost. It did not sway me one way or another to consider joining the church.
For a smaller church without a great deal of disposable income, I would suggest beginning with a homeschooling model or using one of the several pre-made Christian curricula that are available to get started, with the goal of hiring a teacher later. For a small group, one teacher could teach multiple grades, like in some small public schools even today, while other teachers could be hired later. Otherwise, it can be so complicated that no one would ever get started.
I agree that churches could be support centers for homeschoolers. It may not bring many more people into the church, but it could be used to strengthen the church family even in very large churches/mosques/synagogues. Many states have laws against church-based private schools that were born in the post-WWII anti-Catholic movement when people were afraid that the Catholic Church would take over education as so many non-Catholic families were enrolling their kids in parochial schools. Homeschooling has face the same issues now as the education system continues to rapidly deteriorate. Those laws are what is stopping the passage of the voucher system for school choice in many areas including Alaska where anti-Catholic language was included in the state constitution. As I have said before, we were something of a pioneer family in the homeschool movement when we started 40 years ago encouraged by a group of public school teachers. When we started, we purchased curricula from Calvert in Baltimore, Maryland, a Christian boarding school that developed a system for the children of missionaries stationed in other countries. I think Calvert has changed, but there are many companies that offer curricula including one developed by Bill Bennett, a former Secretary of Education that could be used in a church-based school program if real teachers are not available. When we started, we formed a "community" of mostly moms who met and discussed the issues they were facing, and who hired "experts", usually certified teachers, to teach classes in subjects that the home educators were not comfortable teaching. These were usually sciences and math, but sometimes included foreign languages and other subjects. This could all be supported by a church-based homeschool with a purchased curriculum or one developed within the church. There were some functions under state law (in Georgia then) that required supervision by someone with a Bachelor's degree or higher, and I supplied that sometimes, but it also was supplied by others or hired teachers if they were available. I think a church-based "homeschool" program would be a great way to go and would be paid for by those families whose children were enrolled. The church pastor, at least in mainstream churches, could supply the oversight if that is required in a particular state.