Majority of Parents Likely to Consider Homeschooling Again

With the 2019-20 school year in the rearview mirror for nearly all states, many parents are already looking ahead to next year. While some are optimistic schools will resume as normal, more than half of parents in a recent USA Today/Ipsos online poll said they were “very or somewhat likely” to consider homeschooling their children next year even if school buildings open up in the fall.

When the pandemic hit the United States in March, the whole country was thrust into a world of at-home learning as schools closed their doors. Without a vaccine available yet for COVID-19, some parents like Samantha Taylor, a Floridian and mother of three children, may choose the stability of homeschooling over fear that next year could be filled with more interruptions that could negatively affect learning.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, but my gut tells me that even if changes are made in school, they are going to be open and closed throughout the year,” Taylor told TODAY Parents. “Assuming that is going to be the case, I would rather just have the consistency for my kids.”

Including responses from more than 400 parents with at least one child in kindergarten through high school, the USA Today/Ipsos poll also showed that more than 67% of respondents would likely ask their child to wear a mask if schools did reopen.

Beyond the pandemic, parents are considering homeschooling because they were able to witness firsthand the benefits of personalized learning that homeschool offers.

“I’ve been picking and choosing what part of the assignments I require,” said Tena Moore Crock, a business owner and mom of a soon-to-be third grader. “Having the freedom and flexibility to know we can do that is huge.”

Because of that flexibility, Katie Kuras, a mom who had previously homeschooled her three kids until this year, is going back to learning at home.

“Home schooling has afforded us so much freedom and opportunity and my kids have really thrived,” she said.