HONOLULU (KHON2) — Homeschooling is becoming more common for families across the United State, and this includes Hawaiʻi.
A new national study from the U.S. Department of Education shows that more parents are choosing to teach their children at home.
The Parent and Family Involvement in Education: 2023 report offers a close look at how families are shaping their children’s learning.
Since this is becoming a more mainstream method by which keiki are being educated, KHON2.com was able to catch up with Melissa Scott, a local mom who’s also a homeschool teacher.
She said that not all homeschool keiki have parents who were homeschooled, which is making the trend even more popular for parents to explore who weren’t homeschooled themselves.
“I was not homeschooled, but I had a lot of friends that were, lots of aunties that I was familiar with,” said Scott. “It was the idea, and we had kind of we thought that’s what we would do. So, it just kind of made sense.”
Nationwide trends
The survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Center for Education Statistics between January and August 2023, included 19,562 completed questionnaires.
The data represent about 53 million K–12 students across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including Hawaiʻi.
In the 2022–23 school year, the study found that 5.2% of students ages 5 through 17 received instruction at home. Of those, the study found that 3.4% were homeschooled and 2.5% were in full-time virtual education.
Many families chose homeschooling because of concerns about the environment in other schools, cited by 83% of parents.
And those environments include anti-intellectualism amongst students, lack of funding for schools and bullying.
“It basically boils down to I want them to have a love of learning,” Scott explained. “I want them to be self-learners, to be able to be self-taught.”
Family participation
The data from the study show that parental engagement in their children’s education remains strong and varied whether it’s traditional public or private schools or homeschools.
The report notes that most parents of K–12 students were active in school-related activities during the 2022–23 school year. Families reported participating in an average of six different school-related activities that included meetings, events and volunteering opportunities.
More specifically:
- 83% of parents attended a general school or PTA/PTO meeting.
- 74% went to a school or class event, such as performances or open houses.
- 72% met with their child’s teacher for a scheduled parent–teacher conference.
- 59% volunteered at their child’s school at least once.
- 48% participated in school fundraising efforts.
- 31% served as a volunteer leader or committee member for a school group.
The report noted that family engagement is a key feature of U.S. education, with most parents maintaining regular communication with schools and finding ways to participate both formally and informally.
The report also highlights how school events and teacher conferences remain the most common points of contact between schools and families across all grade levels.
Scott said that she has lots of parents in Hawaii contacting her about questions regarding how to get started in homeschooling: don’t go it alone.
“When parents come to me and they are interested in homeschooling, I have my three big things,” she said. Yeah, study up on whatever curriculum, but I’m always, like, you got to find a group to assign a community because this is not meant to be a solo thing.”
And she has this advice.
“I would say, don’t just jump into it all of a sudden. Be thoughtful research, talk to people,” Scott advised. “If you can already know different groups that you are interested in that will really help you so much rather than being in the midst of trying to teach and also figure out and find.”
Changing views
According to the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, the state’s public schools began the 2023 school year with 167,649 students. this a small drop of 0.6% from the previous year’s 168,634.
This total includes students in Department of Education schools, its distance learning program and public charter schools. The state’s 37 charter schools now enroll 12,427 students, or 7.4% of all public-school students.
The slight decline continues a five-year trend linked to Hawaiʻi’s falling birth rate and families moving to the continent.
While most parents — 63% of them — said they were “very satisfied” with their child’s school, a growing number are exploring other options.
Nearly eight in 10 parents who considered switching schools said teacher quality and safety were the most important factors.
You can click here to access the full report and here for the HIDOE report.
The findings show how families are reshaping education in ways that reflect their values, schedules and communities from classrooms to homes across the nation.