Homeschooling Explodes Among Families of Color
In a response that goes far beyond adherence to the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders, families of color are actively moving toward homeschooling as a new normal. As the 2021–22 school year rapidly approaches, millions of parents are considering homeschooling as a viable option for their children.
The pandemic and last summer’s racial conflicts have prompted many families to shift from traditional schools to the home-school context. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of black students opting to study from home jumped from 1 percent to 8 percent, and the number of Hispanic home-schooled students increased from 2 percent to 9 percent.
Before the pandemic, families of color primarily opted for homeschooling due to racial disparities and unfair treatment. But now, the opportunity to curate their children’s education is drawing the attention of many parents because it allows their kids to have a more specialized learning experience in the home—with a flexible schedule, accommodations for family activities, and a varied curriculum on specific and unique subjects of interest.
Citygate Network understands that though families may be struggling with homelessness, the issue of educating our youngsters is still critical to all, regardless of being housed or not. One of the seminars we will be presenting at this year’s Annual Conference and Exposition is addressing this very issue. In Serving Homeless Homeschoolers, we will be covering how many families found out that they really could homeschool their kids during the pandemic. But what can homeschooling look like when you don’t have a home? Is there a place for homeschooling in rescue missions and kindred ministries? This session will explore: homeschooling compatibility, benefits, legal considerations, requirements, curriculum, structure, and more.
