Old school alternative

Homeschooling is a rapidly growing alternative to public education and one that homeschoolers say is gaining grudging acceptance among so-called “bricks-and-mortar” schools, but Sue Freesen points out it is hardly new.
“Homeschooling has been around for centuries,” said Freesen, of Staunton, who has homeschooled for 18 years. “People have always, in the past, homeschooled. Modern education is really the new kid on the block.”
About 2 million students nationwide are homeschooled, according to the National Home Education Research Institute based in Salem, Ore.
More than 400 students in Waynesboro, Staunton and Augusta and Nelson counties and more than 20,000 statewide were homeschooled in 2006-07, the latest school year for which state statistics were available. Five years earlier, there were 338 area homeschoolers and 16,542 statewide.
The increase parallels national trends: Homeschooling is growing at a rate of 5 to 12 percent annually, which might make it the fastest growing form of education in the United States, according to NHERI.
In contrast to commonly held perceptions, the forces driving the surge are varied, homeschoolers said.
“For some reason, it’s gotten into the mindset of the public that homeschoolers are right-wing Christians,” said Ann Cameron Siegal, a homeschool mother and a volunteer for The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers. “Obviously, there are people under that label, but there are also Jewish homeschoolers, Muslim homeschoolers and pagan homeschoolers; it ranges from far left to far right. If there is any unifying thing, it is the idea of freedom – freedom to pursue education, much like people did in the Colonial period, to the depth and breadth of what you want to do.”
Public school officials are beginning to accept that freedom of choice is a driving factor in homeschooling’s increasing prevalence, homeschool parents and others said.
“It’s not us versus them,” said Del. Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, a former schoolteacher and a staunch school choice advocate. “It’s simply what do you like best? Are you a Coke or Pepsi fan? Are you a Virginia Tech or U.Va. fan? Certain things click better with kids; some kids are better tuned to certain environments, some do better in a classroom and some do not. So we’re just trying to figure out as many options as possible so that families can find what works for them.”
Saxman is a founder of School Choice Virginia, a nonprofit group working to raise awareness about school choice initiatives. He has suggested tax credits for those who donate to foundations that provide scholarships for families who cannot afford other options. The bills have cleared the state House during each of the past five years but have stalled in Senate committee.
Though initiatives such as School Choice have gained a wide range of backers from both sides of the aisle, some people worry that money will be siphoned from public education.
Veteran homeschooler Lynn Mitchell dismisses those concerns.
“Mainly, from the public school sector, people seem to think [the initiative] will pull money from them,” said Mitchell, of Augusta County, who has homeschooled for 16 years. “Not only do we not get money for doing this, we are still paying tax dollars just like private school parents. Schools are actually still getting our tax dollars. So it’s a win-win situation for them.”
American taxpayers save as much as $16 billion on homeschool students who do not depend on tax-funded resources for their education, according to NHERI.
Meanwhile, colleges are beginning to recognize, and in some cases seek out, homeschool students, Siegal said.
“Now, most colleges have someone in admissions who deals with homeschoolers and understands homeschooling in the state,” said Siegal. “Admission policies [are changing]; a lot of colleges are more accepting of home-generated transcripts. ... The more experience colleges have with homeschoolers, the more policies change.”
Policies are changing for home educators, too.
Laws governing home education were updated July 1 to allow parents to use periodic performance evaluations from licensed evaluators, a community college or distance-learning school or an evaluator with a master’s degree. The law previously required local superintendents to conduct the evaluations. Virginia also provides a religious freedom exemption for those who “by reason of bona fide religious training or belief [are] conscientiously opposed to attendance at school,” according to state statute.
As acceptance of homeschooling grows, what homeschool parents describe as misconceptions about its drawbacks are crumbling, Siegal and others say. Among those is the idea that homeschoolers’ social skills are underdeveloped because of their lack of contact with classroom peers.
Organizations such as Parent Educators of Augusta County Homes – a 200-families strong support group for area homeschoolers – offer networking opportunities that broaden students’ educational experience.
“I’ve heard people say that it is limiting socially,” Siegal said. “That makes me laugh, because I find that my daughter has been out with more age groups, as opposed to being sequestered with just children her own age. I’m sure there are homeschoolers who sit at the kitchen table and plow through curriculum, but I don’t know many who do it that way.”

Happy at home
Homeschoolers say they are a group vastly different from popular perceptions:
PERFORMANCE: Homeschool students score 15 to 30 percentile points higher than public school students on standardized tests.
ADULTHOOD: In a survey of adults taught at home, 94 percent of respondents said homeschooling prepared them to be independent adults and 79 percent said their education helped them interact with a variety of people and backgrounds.
MINORITIES: Homeschooling is growing in popularity among minorities, who make up about 15 percent of the roughly 2 million homeschool students nationwide.
SOURCE: NATIONAL HOME EDUCATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE