ATLANTA — Most children in metro Atlanta will head back to school the first week of August, and for some kids, their classroom will be at home.
Andrea Hal is the executive director of the Epic Homeschool Network and believes a big part for homeschooling's increasing popularity in Georgia is the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Before the pandemic it wasn't really seen as an option for a lot of families," Hall said.
More Georgians are homeschooling their kids every year, particularly after the pandemic. Fredrick Douglas Bussey is a homeschool dad to three kids.
“With the pandemic, there was definitely was, I think, a shift for people in terms of lifestyle. Right? We all got slowed down to the lowest possible pace, and I think a lot of people realized, oh, this is kind of nice," Douglas Bussey said.
The Georgia Department of Education reports about 59,000 homeschoolers in the state in 2015, and by 2022, that number jumped to 91,000.
Annual numbers for children homeschooled in Georgia show a steady increase:
- 2015 - 59,958
- 2016 - 61,732
- 2017 - 65,029
- 2018 - 70,417
- 2019 - 75,116
- 2020 - 78,005
- 2021 - 86,300
- 2022 - 91,602
“My mother primarily homeschooled myself and my three siblings," Douglas Bussey said.
Now Douglas Bussey and his wife homeschool their children going into first, third, and seventh grades.
“To be able to help them, to fashion the career in their path, in their life with a better foundation, I think is something that many parents are looking at as an increasingly a greater option," Douglas Bussey said.
Hall is a former classroom educator and believes homeschooling has many benefits.
“My daughter, she's independent learner, so I like that it's allowed her to grow and blossom," Hall said. "It allows them to move at their own pace. Wherever they want to go, if they want to accelerate, I can do that for them if they want to.”
Douglas Bussey said homeschooling can be tailored to each child's needs and speed of learning.
“There were a number of factors I think that we looked at when it came to homeschooling our kids. A couple of those were the hectic nature and mental health for children. I think that there is a tendency for us to program or condition children to believe that you have to get up and you have to be going full speed all day long," Douglas Bussey said.
Hall encourages parents to take action if their children express hesitation about the upcoming school year.
"Maybe there might be bullying happening in the school or whatever the situation is that might be happening at your local school. There are options," Hall said. "I just wanted to encourage anyone who is interested or thinking about, 'Hey, I'm thinking about back to school. I think homeschooling might be it ," check out the Epic Homeschool Network or just Google homeschooling. There are people there to help you navigate that new space."
Kids in Georgia will soon hit the books for another school year, and almost 100,000 of them won't have to go far from home.
Click here for more resources for prospective and current homeschooling parents and guardians from the Georgia Department of Education.