/home-schooling Home Schooling en-US 2021 (c) Education Week Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:23:34 GMT /leadership/he-helps-schools-forecast-their-enrollment-its-become-tougher-than-ever/2024/07 Projecting school enrollments used to be a more straightforward undertaking. Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:23:34 GMT /leadership/he-helps-schools-forecast-their-enrollment-its-become-tougher-than-ever/2024/07 /policy-politics/opinion-does-school-choice-work/2024/05 Ultimately, the “how” of educational choice may matter more than the “what.” Tue, 21 May 2024 10:00:00 GMT /policy-politics/opinion-does-school-choice-work/2024/05 /policy-politics/what-to-know-about-a-neo-nazi-home-school-scandal/2023/02 Three things to know about how the incident connects to broader public education debates. Fri, 03 Feb 2023 23:35:43 GMT /policy-politics/what-to-know-about-a-neo-nazi-home-school-scandal/2023/02 /policy-politics/the-pandemic-pushed-more-families-to-home-school-many-are-sticking-with-it/2022/01 These parents have a common desire to take control of their children's education at a time when control feels elusive for so many people. Fri, 28 Jan 2022 21:15:58 GMT /policy-politics/the-pandemic-pushed-more-families-to-home-school-many-are-sticking-with-it/2022/01 /leadership/meet-the-parent-activists-of-the-pandemic/2021/04 Four stories of parents who organized others to get children the education and resources they need, despite institutional headwinds. Wed, 28 Apr 2021 17:03:09 GMT /leadership/meet-the-parent-activists-of-the-pandemic/2021/04 /policy-politics/opinion-is-hybrid-home-schooling-the-future-of-education/2021/04 Rick Hess speaks with Mike McShane about hybrid home schooling, which combines the best of home schooling and traditional schooling. Thu, 15 Apr 2021 10:00:30 GMT /policy-politics/opinion-is-hybrid-home-schooling-the-future-of-education/2021/04 /teaching-learning/a-pro-trump-student-group-will-launch-a-history-curriculum-it-could-get-a-covid-19-boost/2021/03 Turning Point USA's plan to develop classroom lessons is part of a conservative pushback to what they see as biased curricula. Wed, 31 Mar 2021 21:41:20 GMT /teaching-learning/a-pro-trump-student-group-will-launch-a-history-curriculum-it-could-get-a-covid-19-boost/2021/03 /policy-politics/home-schooling-is-way-up-with-covid-19-will-it-last/2020/11 The shift could have lasting effects on both public schools and the home-schooling movement. Tue, 10 Nov 2020 02:38:07 GMT /policy-politics/home-schooling-is-way-up-with-covid-19-will-it-last/2020/11 /leadership/could-the-pandemic-pod-be-a-lifeline-for-parents-or-a-threat-to-equity/2020/07 As an uncertain school year looms, some parents are banding together to teach their children in private pods. Educators worry that the trend will worsen inequities and shrink funding for public schools. Thu, 30 Jul 2020 01:48:37 GMT /leadership/could-the-pandemic-pod-be-a-lifeline-for-parents-or-a-threat-to-equity/2020/07 /teaching-learning/how-much-home-teaching-is-too-much-schools-differ-in-demands-on-parents/2020/04 While schools are closed to coronavirus, districts are putting together a patchwork of lessons for students to do at home. But districts’ expectations for what students can accomplish at home vary widely, according to parents. Fri, 03 Apr 2020 02:12:43 GMT /teaching-learning/how-much-home-teaching-is-too-much-schools-differ-in-demands-on-parents/2020/04 /leadership/how-to-teach-social-emotional-learning-when-students-arent-in-school/2020/03 Experts offer tactics to teachers on how they can tend to students’ SEL development in this chaotic time. Tue, 31 Mar 2020 00:01:02 GMT /leadership/how-to-teach-social-emotional-learning-when-students-arent-in-school/2020/03 /policy-politics/opinion-lessons-from-a-homeschooling-researcher-what-you-should-know-now/2020/03 Homeschooling isn't a decision to be taken on lightly, but COVID-19 just changed the calculus, writes Michael Q. McShane. Fri, 27 Mar 2020 00:49:03 GMT /policy-politics/opinion-lessons-from-a-homeschooling-researcher-what-you-should-know-now/2020/03 /leadership/teaching-kids-at-home-during-coronavirus-pro-tips-from-homeschoolers/2020/03 How can parents make sure their kids are still learning, carve out time for their own work, discover their inner teacher, and stay sane? Ed Week turned to the foremost experts for their pro tips: Home schooling parents. Tue, 17 Mar 2020 19:56:41 GMT /leadership/teaching-kids-at-home-during-coronavirus-pro-tips-from-homeschoolers/2020/03 /policy-politics/video-an-unschooling-family-trusts-children-to-guide-their-own-learning/2019/01 Rather than adhering to a specific curriculum, families who "unschool" believe learning happens naturally and should be driven by a student's interests. Education Week spent a "school" day with the Matica family to see this decades-old approach to home schooling in action. Thu, 24 Jan 2019 21:17:50 GMT /policy-politics/video-an-unschooling-family-trusts-children-to-guide-their-own-learning/2019/01 /policy-politics/video-culturally-relevant-education-drives-african-american-family-to-home-school/2019/01 Monica Utsey, a Washington, D.C. mother of two, wanted her sons to learn the full history of black people which has been a driving force in her decision to home school them. She's part of a small, but growing community of black parents opting to teach their children at home. Tue, 22 Jan 2019 20:32:11 GMT /policy-politics/video-culturally-relevant-education-drives-african-american-family-to-home-school/2019/01 /policy-politics/video-home-schooling-in-america-an-african-american-familys-cultural-decision/2019/01 Fri, 18 Jan 2019 18:27:28 GMT /policy-politics/video-home-schooling-in-america-an-african-american-familys-cultural-decision/2019/01 /policy-politics/video-home-schooling-in-america-unschoolers-put-children-in-charge-of-their-learning/2019/01 Daniel Matica, a father of five in rural Worthington, Mass., is from Romania and the first in his family to go to college. He says his traditional schooling experience in Romania made him skeptical when his wife Erin Matica suggested that their children not attend school. Erin Matica explains ‘unschooling’ as a “philosophy of home schooling where the kids are in charge of their own educations.” The children decide what, and how, they learn, while the Maticas find ways to support their learning pursuits and passions. “They have a lot of freedom,” she says, “but at the same time they have a lot of responsibility as well.” The Matica family was profiled as part of an Education Week video series on home schooling families. Fri, 18 Jan 2019 18:00:23 GMT /policy-politics/video-home-schooling-in-america-unschoolers-put-children-in-charge-of-their-learning/2019/01 /policy-politics/video-why-this-military-family-home-schools/2019/01 Like many home schooling military parents, Lindsay Jobe says that teaching her children at home gives the family educational stability during frequent relocations and flexibility when her husband Clifford is home from deployment. Wed, 16 Jan 2019 20:30:33 GMT /policy-politics/video-why-this-military-family-home-schools/2019/01 /policy-politics/video-one-day-with-a-muslim-home-schooling-family/2019/01 Parents who choose to teach their children at home are often stereotyped as devout Christians, but families from many religious backgrounds are drawn to home schooling as a means of incorporating religious studies into students' education. Mon, 14 Jan 2019 20:50:23 GMT /policy-politics/video-one-day-with-a-muslim-home-schooling-family/2019/01 /policy-politics/home-schooling-in-america Nearly 2 million students are home schooled in the United States, according to federal data. In this Education Week video series, meet four families who talk about how they home school and why. Mon, 14 Jan 2019 05:00:00 GMT /policy-politics/home-schooling-in-america /policy-politics/video-home-schooling-in-america-military-family-finds-stability-in-learning-at-home/2019/01 Lindsay and Clifford Jobe have served in the military for 14 years. Like many military families, the couple—who have five children—find themselves moving to a new base in a new state every few years. Adapting to a new home, new friends, and a new school is a lot to ask of children at a young age, which is what motivated the Jobes to begin home schooling. With home schooling, the Jobes set their own schedule and design their own breaks. That’s a big plus for military families, Lindsay Jobe says. The Jobe family was profiled as part of an Education Week video series on home schooling families. Fri, 11 Jan 2019 23:42:12 GMT /policy-politics/video-home-schooling-in-america-military-family-finds-stability-in-learning-at-home/2019/01 /policy-politics/video-home-schooling-in-america-muslim-family-weaves-religious-studies-into-learning/2019/01 Sadia Shakir, an attorney in Northville, Mich., is currently home schooling two of her three daughters. When her youngest daughter wanted to memorize the Quran—instruction that her current religious school could not accommodate—she decided to start home schooling. Her middle daughter is learning at home for academic reasons and both girls may go back to a religious or public school in the future depending on what they want and need. Her eldest daughter attends a traditional public school now, but has also been home-schooled and attended a religious school. Shakir believes the needs of her children should determine how they are educated and that as their needs change, so too can their method of schooling. Shakir hopes her children will become critical thinkers and encourages them to follow their passions. Shakir’s family was profiled as part of an Education Week video series on home schooling families. Fri, 11 Jan 2019 22:42:47 GMT /policy-politics/video-home-schooling-in-america-muslim-family-weaves-religious-studies-into-learning/2019/01 /leadership/homeschooling-can-it-hide-abuse/2018/02 A severe case of child abuse and torture is bringing renewed attention to the mostly hands-off approach states take with home schooling. Wed, 07 Feb 2018 02:56:50 GMT /leadership/homeschooling-can-it-hide-abuse/2018/02 /policy-politics/video-homeschooling-in-the-united-states/2018/02 Even as recently as 1980, home schooling was illegal in a majority of states—and didn’t become lawful nationwide until 1993. But once seen as a fringe practice of families on the extreme right and left—religious conservatives and hippies—homeschooling today is viewed as a small, but integral part of the education ecosystem in the United States and a pillar of the school choice movement. Home schooling has gained wider attention and more-mainstream acceptance as the numbers of students learning at home doubled in the past decade—a trend driven in some measure by the expansion of online schooling options. Mon, 05 Feb 2018 22:38:29 GMT /policy-politics/video-homeschooling-in-the-united-states/2018/02 /policy-politics/gop-lawmaker-revives-push-to-create-new-tax-break-for-home-schooling/2018/01 Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., has introduced legislation to allow money in 529 savings plans to be used for home-schooling expenses, a proposal that was stripped out of a late version of the recent tax-code overhaul. Wed, 24 Jan 2018 17:51:50 GMT /policy-politics/gop-lawmaker-revives-push-to-create-new-tax-break-for-home-schooling/2018/01 /policy-politics/national-school-choice-week-annual-public-relations-campaign-kicks-off/2018/01 The week-long campaign highlighting school choice will feature events in dozens of cities nationwide with organizers projecting that 6.7 million people will participate. Mon, 22 Jan 2018 14:05:59 GMT /policy-politics/national-school-choice-week-annual-public-relations-campaign-kicks-off/2018/01 /policy-politics/how-homeschooling-is-sometimes-used-to-conceal-child-abuse/2018/01 Most states take a very hands-off approach to regulating home schooling, and some advocates worry that makes it attractive to neglectful and abusive parents. Wed, 17 Jan 2018 22:42:15 GMT /policy-politics/how-homeschooling-is-sometimes-used-to-conceal-child-abuse/2018/01 /policy-politics/homeschooling-requirements-research-and-who-does-it/2018/01 Homeschooling is a small, but integral part of the education ecosystem in the United States and a pillar of the school choice movement. Wed, 10 Jan 2018 22:23:17 GMT /policy-politics/homeschooling-requirements-research-and-who-does-it/2018/01 /policy-politics/late-drama-leads-home-schooling-provision-to-be-stripped-from-tax-bill/2017/12 The Senate parliamentarian ruled that a provision in the GOP tax bill giving a tax advantage to money saved for home schooling costs violated Senate rules. Wed, 20 Dec 2017 03:18:06 GMT /policy-politics/late-drama-leads-home-schooling-provision-to-be-stripped-from-tax-bill/2017/12 /policy-politics/why-have-homeschooling-numbers-flattened-out-after-a-decade-of-growth/2017/10 A number of factors could be at play, from the growth of charter schools and private school vouchers, to economic pressures that made it impossible for families to keep one parent at home educating their children. Mon, 02 Oct 2017 20:16:50 GMT /policy-politics/why-have-homeschooling-numbers-flattened-out-after-a-decade-of-growth/2017/10