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The Daily Signal
Parents Wade Into ‘Hybrid’ Homeschooling
Eric Wearne
May 12, 2020
A majority of parents now say they are “somewhat” or “much more”
favorable to homeschooling, after experiencing it because of the recent
coronavirus-spurred school closures.
Many parents likely think that the increased time with their children
has been valuable in some way, but they are not prepared, for a variety
of reasons, to become full-time homeschoolers.
Given these better-than-expected experiences with homeschooling, and
the likelihood that the coronavirus will persist in some form, more
families will seriously consider attending a “hybrid homeschool” next
year.
Students likely will learn from home again in substantial ways next
school year—either due to formal school shutdowns or school schedules
of two or three days a week to allow for more social distancing within
school walls.
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Students in conventional public and private schools are used to
spending 30 hours or more per week in school buildings. That structure
was completely upended this spring, and students are spending all
learning hours at home.
Although parents may see more positive benefits from homeschooling for
a few months, the unexpected transition to home learning has been
difficult for many parents.
There is a school sector, however, that can meet the needs of many
parents and students during the upcoming school year—hybrid
homeschools. Schedules vary, but in these schools students typically
attend classes a few days per week and are homeschooled the rest of the
week.
These hybrids might be considered more formalized versions of
homeschool co-ops, as they often offer a full range of classes and
teachers provide most, if not all, of the work to be done on the home
days.
Students, parents, and teachers in hybrid schools have practice
toggling back and forth between home and school, changing modes
regularly. My research on these schools has found that parents like the
schedule flexibility and the time with their families.
One hybrid school founder reports that students have missed no
instructional time at all, and that “current families are also thanking
God for the blessing of our hybrid homeschool because it has meant the
world for the students to be able to continue with some type of
routine.”
While many parents have become more open to homeschooling, they may not
want five-days-a-week homeschooling for long stretches during the
2020-21 school year.
Hybrid homeschools are mostly private, though there are some examples
of charter schools and programs within conventional public schools
organized this way. Because hybrids have lower costs, private versions
typically have tuitions of less than $5,000 per year. This puts hybrids
in the range of funding levels of most existing or proposed state
education savings account (ESA) programs.
To the extent private school families are hurt economically by the
virus, many may end up sending their children to public schools next
fall. This sudden, potentially large enrollment increase in public
schools will affect state budgets.
EdChoice’s Robert Enlow notes: “If only 10% of private school students
return to the public system, the combined state and local cost would be
$6.7 billion, with $3.3 billion falling to the states.”
During the first four years of the Great Recession (2007-2011), private
school enrollments fell by over 600,000 students, an 11% decline.
States already are feeling the pain of lost revenues during the
pandemic, and so from a purely budgetary perspective, they should
augment existing scholarship programs—or create new ones—to keep
students enrolled in private schools.
In a recent survey of 849 teenagers, Common Sense found that only 31%
of public school students report interacting with their teachers at
least once per day during the shutdown. Thus, many parents may be
concerned that conventional schools aren’t likely to provide the best
possible education as the virus affects school operations next year.
Before COVID-19 hit, American society already was moving in the
direction of more people working from home. The virus is only going to
accelerate that trend. Others who can’t work from home may have
nontraditional but predictable schedules.
Many families are having positive experiences with the virus-induced
version of homeschooling they are living with now. Most probably
do not see themselves as future full-time homeschoolers.
But finding a system in which their kids can be at home more and gain
experience working in both an online and physical environment at a low
tuition cost—as with hybrid homeschools—may be a more attractive option
for many American families.
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