Defining Hybrid Homeschools In America

Defining Hybrid Homeschools in America: Little Platoons explores the idea of hybrid homeschools, where students attend a formal school setting for part of the week and are homeschooled the rest of the week. Eric Wearne observes that school choice in America typically comes in two forms: programs set up for disadvantaged students, and the more common form of choice that wealthy parents can exercise—paying private tuition or moving to a more desirable school district. While disadvantaged families in many places and wealthy families everywhere can exercise choice when it comes to schooling, a sizeable group typically gets left out of those options—the large number of families who are too wealthy to access state or local programs, but not wealthy enough to pay for private schooling or moving expenses. Wearne argues that this is a long-term weakness for school choice in America; the middle class is generally a well-off demographic, but is almost completely unserved when it comes to this large aspect of their children’s lives. However, one low-cost option has arisen to address this niche: hybrid home schools. Wearne cites existing research to argue for this model’s efficacy for the middle class as a strong example of a healthy civil society and examines how policy definitions are breaking down and evolving in education as we challenge the existing definitions of schooling.

All across the country, in traditional public, public charter, and private schools, entrepreneurial educators are experimenting with the school day and school week. Hybrid Homeschools have students attend traditional classes in a brick-and-mortar school for some part of the week and homeschool for the rest of the week. Some do two days at home and three days at school, others the inverse, and still others split between four days at home or school and one day at the other. This book dives deep into hybrid homeschooling. It describes the history of hybrid homeschooling, the different types of hybrid homeschools operating around the country, and the policies that can both promote and thwart it. At the heart of the book are the stories of hybrid homeschoolers themselves. Based on numerous in-depth interviews, the book tells the story of hybrid homeschooling from both the family and educator perspective.

COVID-19 and the Classroom: How Schools Navigated the Great Disruption presents social science research that explores how schools navigated the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 through the 2020-21 school year. This book also serves as a history book, documenting what this period was like for those involved in the enterprise of educating children. The book is divided into three sections, allowing for an in-depth exploration of the pandemic’s impact. The first section examines how teachers, parents, and school leaders experienced the pandemic, including what this looked like when schools first closed for in-person instruction. Part two explores how schools reopened, both in the United States and abroad, and discusses the trade-offs associated with these decisions. This section also explored how private schools fared and the rise of “pandemic pods”. The book concludes with a look at how a range of teacher preparation programs continued their work in uncertain times. This volume represents one of the first to share scholarship on how schools negotiated the COVID-19 crisis.

An invigorating examination of the potential for meaningful change in education, from one of the nation's most astute observers of schooling and school improvement. In The Great School Rethink, education policy sentinel Frederick M. Hess offers a pithy and perceptive appraisal of American schooling and finds, in the uncertain period following pandemic disruption, an ideal moment to reimagine US education. Now is the time, he asserts, to ask hard questions about how schools use time and talent, how they work with parents, what they do with digital tools, and how they meet the needs of their communities. As Hess explains, to rethink is to acknowledge the realities of the education system while opening one’s mind to possibility. With characteristic verve and wit, Hess guides readers through his rethink process, a versatile and easily implemented approach to identifying issues and brainstorming possible responses. He encourages readers to explore what improvements might alleviate current pressures and frustrations, such as teacher shortages and burnout, declining student performance, and compromised learning time. Whether their goal is to achieve better student engagement, increase parent involvement, or implement personalized learning, readers will develop the mindset to ask the right questions, to fully understand the problem that’s being solved, and to evaluate the probable effectiveness of proposed solutions. Brimming with challenging questions, robust exercises, and eye-opening data, this book is a must-read for education professionals, parent advocates, and anyone passionate about the future of American education.

In this compelling and timely collection, Eric Wearne and a group of diverse contributors make the case for a new approach to teacher preparation and certification, in which institutions are empowered to educate, prepare, certify, hire, and develop teachers who have been prepared by different educational traditions. In the first part, contributors offer a background in history, policy, and economics to argue the need for more creativity in teacher preparation. In the second part, Wearne and contributors showcase how a variety of different, creative educational organizations have prepared teachers more clearly suited to their specific school models— from Montessori teacher preparation, to teaching online, to teaching in classical schools. Overall, this collection prompts those involved in teacher preparation to work to find creative solutions for improving teacher education, certification, and hiring and is relevant for scholars, policymakers, educators, and administrators working in or studying teacher education programs.

This revealing and balanced portrait of homeschooling today provides a full history of the movement, demographic insights, and extensive research on how homeschooled children fare in the United States. Delving into a movement that impacts more students nationwide than the entire charter school movement, this book explores: • The history of homeschooling in America • How this movement has grown in credibility and enrollment exponentially • The current state of homeschooling, including questions about who gets homeschooled, why, and what is the success—academically and in life—of students who are homeschooled • The impact of homeschooling on the student and on American society In 2010, more than two million students were homeschooled. In the most extensive survey and analysis of research on homeschooling, spanning the birth of the movement in the 1970s to today, Homeschooling in America shines a light on one of the most important yet least understood social movements of the last forty years and explores what it means for education today.

Here, Amundson provides a special focus on how parents and schools can work together to help students achieve. It includes information on how children develop the independence, self-discipline, self-confidence, and skills in communication and cooperation with others that will help them throughout their lives. It also includes suggested resources to provide additional advice and answers to parents' questions.