US Parents Increase Interest in Homeschooling during Pandemic
2020-08-19
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1A small but growing number of Americans are choosing to homeschool their children.
2Most U.S. schools plan to stay closed, or open only part-time, this year and offer distance learning programs to students.
3Some parents worry their neighborhood school will not offer a strong online learning program.
4Others are concerned about the health of their families if schools do reopen, partly or fully.
5Still others are choosing homeschooling because local schools keep changing their plans for the new term.
6Mindy Kroesche of Lincoln, Nebraska is a writer.
7She had been thinking she would homeschool her 12-year-old son this year.
8He has autism and ADHD -- two conditions that already make middle school difficult for him.
9But Mindy Kroesche always felt her 10-year-old daughter was, in her words, "built for school."
10Now, with the COVID-19 health crisis continuing, she is pulling both children out for the coming school year.
11"We just saw that with her wearing a mask for the entire day, that would make learning more difficult for her," Kroesche said.
12"It was going to be such a different environment."
13Homeschooling applications are on the rise in several states, including Nebraska, which has had a 21 percent increase.
14In Vermont, applications are up 75 percent.
15There were about 2.5 million homeschool students last year in levels 1 through 12 plus kindergarten.
16That represents 3 to 4 percent of all school-age children nationwide, reports the National Home Educators Research Institute.
17Brian Ray, its president, is expecting the number of homeschool students will increase by at least 10 percent.
18"One day the school district says X and four days later they say Y," Ray said.
19"And then the governor says another thing and then that changes what the school district can do."
20And parents?
21"They are tired of it and saying we are out of here," he said.
22Interest in homeschooling materials also has been rising.
23Even parents who plan to keep their children in schools are looking for ways to improve the distance learning they will receive.
24The National Home School Association reports that before COVID-19 appeared, it received between five and 20 requests for information on homeschooling each day.
25In comparison, it received 3,400 such inquiries on a single day last month.
26"Clearly the interest we have been getting has exploded," said J. Allen Weston, the executive director of the Colorado-based group.
27"That is really the only way to describe it," he added.
28Some parents in rural Nebraska are turning to homeschooling because their school systems are unable to offer online learning, said Kathryn Dillow.
29She leads Nebraska Home Schools, a support group.
30Homeschooling applications continue arriving in Nebraska, where the number of homeschoolers already had risen to 3,400 as of July 14.
31That is up from 2,800 at the same time a year ago, said David Jespersen, a spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Education.
32Jespersen said there is "a lot of confusion" and that "parents are delayed in making their decision" because so much is changing.
33He expects homeschoolers will remain a small part of about 326,000 students across the state's 244 school systems.
34Most states do not have homeschooling numbers, either because they do not collect them or they have yet to get a final count.
35But all signs point to increases across the country.
36In Missouri, calls and emails to the homeschool group Families For Home Education increase every time a district releases its reopening plan, said Charyti Jackson, the group's leader.
37She said families are in a "panic" about plans for the new school year.
38"They are asking, 'What am I supposed to be doing with my children when I am working full time?'" she said.
39Some families only plan to homeschool for a term or two, some in small groups.
40Jackson's advice to them centers on how to make sure students can transition back to public schooling easily when the pandemic ends.
41There are also some signs the move to homeschooling could continue well into fall.
42Christina Rothermel-Branham is a psychology professor at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma.
43Her six-year old son is to start the new school term online through public school.
44But Rothermel-Branham said the district's program in the spring was "very monotonous."
45She plans to begin homeschooling if the first month of public school goes poorly.
46I'm Caty Weaver.
1A small but growing number of Americans are choosing to homeschool their children. Most U.S. schools plan to stay closed, or open only part-time, this year and offer distance learning programs to students. 2Some parents worry their neighborhood school will not offer a strong online learning program. Others are concerned about the health of their families if schools do reopen, partly or fully. Still others are choosing homeschooling because local schools keep changing their plans for the new term. 3Mindy Kroesche of Lincoln, Nebraska is a writer. She had been thinking she would homeschool her 12-year-old son this year. He has autism and ADHD -- two conditions that already make middle school difficult for him. 4But Mindy Kroesche always felt her 10-year-old daughter was, in her words, "built for school." Now, with the COVID-19 health crisis continuing, she is pulling both children out for the coming school year. 5"We just saw that with her wearing a mask for the entire day, that would make learning more difficult for her," Kroesche said. "It was going to be such a different environment." 6Homeschooling applications are on the rise in several states, including Nebraska, which has had a 21 percent increase. In Vermont, applications are up 75 percent. 7There were about 2.5 million homeschool students last year in levels 1 through 12 plus kindergarten. That represents 3 to 4 percent of all school-age children nationwide, reports the National Home Educators Research Institute. 8Brian Ray, its president, is expecting the number of homeschool students will increase by at least 10 percent. 9"One day the school district says X and four days later they say Y," Ray said. "And then the governor says another thing and then that changes what the school district can do." 10And parents? 11"They are tired of it and saying we are out of here," he said. 12Interest in homeschooling materials also has been rising. Even parents who plan to keep their children in schools are looking for ways to improve the distance learning they will receive. 13The National Home School Association reports that before COVID-19 appeared, it received between five and 20 requests for information on homeschooling each day. In comparison, it received 3,400 such inquiries on a single day last month. 14"Clearly the interest we have been getting has exploded," said J. Allen Weston, the executive director of the Colorado-based group. "That is really the only way to describe it," he added. 15Some parents in rural Nebraska are turning to homeschooling because their school systems are unable to offer online learning, said Kathryn Dillow. She leads Nebraska Home Schools, a support group. 16Homeschooling applications continue arriving in Nebraska, where the number of homeschoolers already had risen to 3,400 as of July 14. That is up from 2,800 at the same time a year ago, said David Jespersen, a spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Education. 17Jespersen said there is "a lot of confusion" and that "parents are delayed in making their decision" because so much is changing. 18He expects homeschoolers will remain a small part of about 326,000 students across the state's 244 school systems. 19Most states do not have homeschooling numbers, either because they do not collect them or they have yet to get a final count. But all signs point to increases across the country. 20In Missouri, calls and emails to the homeschool group Families For Home Education increase every time a district releases its reopening plan, said Charyti Jackson, the group's leader. She said families are in a "panic" about plans for the new school year. 21"They are asking, 'What am I supposed to be doing with my children when I am working full time?'" she said. 22Some families only plan to homeschool for a term or two, some in small groups. Jackson's advice to them centers on how to make sure students can transition back to public schooling easily when the pandemic ends. 23There are also some signs the move to homeschooling could continue well into fall. Christina Rothermel-Branham is a psychology professor at Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. 24Her six-year old son is to start the new school term online through public school. But Rothermel-Branham said the district's program in the spring was "very monotonous." She plans to begin homeschooling if the first month of public school goes poorly. 25I'm Caty Weaver. 26The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 27________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29mask - n. a protective covering for the face to designed prevent passage of infection from one person to another 30application - n. a document that is used to make a formal request for something 31kindergarten - n. a school or class for very young children 32district - n. an area established by a government for official government business 33confusion - n. a situation in which people are unsure about what to do or are unable to understand something clearly 34transition - n. a change from one state or condition to another 35monotonous - adj. used to describe something that is uninteresting because it is always the same 36We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.