Number of homeschooling families expected to skyrocket this fall

Back-to-school sales are a sure sign that summer vacation is winding down. Many parents, however, will not be sending their kids back to traditional schools this fall. They’ll be homeschooling.

“In Virginia alone, we have seen over a 48 percent increase in homeschoolers for the last school year,” Yvonne Bunn, director of homeschool support and government affairs with Home Educators Association of Virginia, told CBN News. “We went from 44,000 to 65,000 homeschoolers. Lots of parents have done this and say their child has done so much better or they’re not being bullied.

“These parents have been extremely engaged. They’re coming to webinars and seminars. They call with questions about how to start homeschooling, how to comply with the law and where to get the curriculum.”

Many parents who now work from home are eager to keep their kids in homeschooling.

“I do think a lot of parents are going to continue homeschool,” she said. “They’re not happy with what’s going on. Parents are wanting to move in the direction of doing something else, even the parents who work. We’ve been amazed by the number who want to continue to work from home so they can continue to teach their children.”

Although many children were temporarily taught at home because of school shutdowns, homeschooling is actually different from the virtual learning many families experienced over the last year.

A U.S. Census Bureau report found that homeschooling doubled during COVID, including a jump in black families switching to home education for the first time. The surge was reported in March, revealing that the rate of families homeschooling their children increased to 11 percent by September 2020, doubling from 5.4 percent six months earlier. Black households saw the largest boost with homeschooling as the rate went from 3.3 percent in the spring of 2020 to 16.1 percent in the fall.

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice