Homeschooling continues to rise nationwide for reasons ‘as varied as homeschoolers themselves,’ Newsweek reports

NYC mom Kymberly Kent founded a homeschool program in 2017 to help other parents provide a customized, quality education much like the one she gave her eldest daughter, Samantha.

“None of the programs we looked at (in 2003) would challenge her, as she was an early reader,” Kent said in a recent Newsweek article.

Today Kent continues to homeschool her youngest child after successfully graduating Samantha and five other children – all while mentoring “countless students and families” through her program, eXtend Homeschool Tutorial.

“They are looking for programs utilizing culturally sensitive and affirming curriculum,” she said. “Still other families choose to homeschool based on family values and/or sincerely held personal beliefs that may not necessarily align with what they are experiencing in the public setting. Truly, the reasons for homeschooling are as varied as homeschoolers themselves.”

As previously reported by The Lion, the numbers and demographics of homeschooling families have expanded substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic – crossing ethnic, socioeconomic and political lines nationwide.

“While the pandemic sparked a surge in the number of households homeschooling their children, research shows that many families are choosing to keep homeschooling years on, driven in part by the desire to tailor their children’s education,” Newsweek concluded.

‘Concern about the school environment’ tops list for homeschooling

While reasons for homeschooling differ across families, “the most common reason cited was concern about the school environment, including safety, drug exposure, or negative peer pressure, with 83 percent of parents saying it was a factor,” according to Newsweek.

“Dissatisfaction with academic instruction at schools was also a top concern, cited by 72 percent. About half of parents said the desire to provide religious instruction and to provide a nontraditional approach to their children’s education were factors.”

Many of these reasons factored into the decision to homeschool for the Mccray family, whose mother, Lola, worked as a schoolteacher. 

“From sunup to sundown, every day was a rush, and dinner was always late as we scrambled with the kids to get homework done,” wrote Joshua Mccray, Lola’s husband, in a Business Insider commentary. 

“Our mornings started at 5:30 a.m. Waking our four children up — now 6, 9, 11, and 14 — an hour before the sun rose was becoming a daunting task. It felt like we were becoming robots.” 

The family explored before- and after-care options but couldn’t find anything viable in their area, Mccray observed. 

“It was nearly $200 each month for the three of our children who were attending school at the time,” he recalled. “None of it felt sustainable.” 

The situation improved only when his wife told him “she was ready to resign and teach our own children” as the 2022-23 school year began, Mccray wrote. 

One change led to another as both parents explored work-life options and eventually settled for life in a recreational vehicle, exchanging “work hours for wages and an RV site” through work camping. 

“I was thrilled with our new arrangement,” Mccray explained. “Our kids weren’t sure about it at first. They were worried about leaving their school friends behind, and though they kept in touch with their school friends the first year, they’ve since made plenty of new connections. 

“Now that we have traveled to 31 states in our RV, our children have friends across the country, as well as in Germany and the United Kingdom.” 

‘They definitely do not miss out on socialization’ 

Jackie Hill, another homeschooler interviewed by Newsweek, also took issue with the stereotype of homeschoolers as socially isolated from their peers. 

“My kids are seeing the same group of kids at least three days a week. Some of them they have classes with,” she said, describing the homeschooling co-op her family attends in Connecticut. “In my opinion, they definitely do not miss out on socialization.” 

Unlike the Mccrays, Hill never enrolled her children in public school but decided to homeschool after seeing the academic progress in her oldest son, who is now 8. 

“He taught himself to read by the time he was three,” she said. “He figured out phonics without any explicit instruction.” 

Once the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, Hill decided to homeschool her son instead of waiting for the local preschool in Canada to reopen. 

“I have no issues with whatever they might be teaching in schools,” she said. “We’re really just looking to support our kids’ individual needs and how they learn.” 

Hill’s family also needed the flexibility homeschooling provided because of her son’s cancer treatment, which resulted in sustained hearing loss, according to Newsweek. 

“I wasn’t sure that that traditional schooling could meet his needs or at least as easily as I could here at home,” she said, “because I can give him whatever he needs.” 

Homeschooling ‘best way to go’ for higher education 

This flexibility extends into higher education, as Kent’s family demonstrates. 

Samantha, now 27 and Kent’s first homeschool graduate, describes homeschooling as “the best way to go” in getting accepted for a full scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. 

“I was reading and writing grades higher than my peers,” she said, “while still getting plenty of socialization.” 

Samantha’s younger sister – Hannah Hoffman, 23 – also credited her mom’s homeschooling with preparing her “to graduate summa cum laude with a degree in psychology,” Newsweek reported. 

Hoffman began working in early childhood education and now plans to homeschool her own children, as she is expecting her first baby. 

“With the way the world is changing today, homeschooling gives me the peace of mind that I can be an active participant in my daughter’s education and as a teacher, that is very important to me,” she said. “I am incredibly grateful that my mom made the bold decision to homeschool us.” 

Kent’s homeschooling program now serves about 85 students. Its website describes a la carte classes in language arts, math, science and social studies organized by grade level. 

“Our goal is to assist you as you prepare your students to reach their God-given potential,” eXtend Homeschool Tutorial explains on its “what we believe” page, “and fulfill their destiny in Christ.”