“Now is when the reality sets in,” said John
Edelson, president of Time4Learning, an online
curriculum provider, which has seen business
explode. “People have postponed the decision,
but we are at this great inflection point. And it is
hard to see what the angle is going to be, but it
is definitely up.”
In Missouri, calls and emails pour into the
homeschool advocacy group Families For
Home Education each time a district releases
its reopening plan, said Charyti Jackson, the
group’s executive director. She said families are
in a “panic” about virtual starts to the year and
hybrid plans in which students attend classes
parttime and study at home the rest.
“They are asking, ’What am I supposed to be
doing with my children when I am working full
time?’” she said.
For the families who only plan to homeschool
for a semester or two, some in small groups
or pods, her advice is focused on how to
make sure students can transition back
to public schooling smoothly when the
pandemic ends. That’s trickier for students who
receive special education services and high
schoolers who need to meet their district’s
graduation requirements.
There also are some indications the exodus to
homeschooling could continue well into fall.
Christina Rothermel-Branham, a psychology
and counseling professor at Northeastern State
University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, said she is
going to attempt remote learning through her
local school district for her 6-year-old son. But
she said the virtual learning she oversaw in the
spring was “very monotonous” and that she