If you’ve been following us for a while, you understand our opinion that a homeschool format or a hybrid school are both fantastic options for some families. However, we wouldn’t encourage EVERY family to homeschool, and we do believe there are times when it’s wise not to homeschool. Below, you’ll find some reasons parents decide not to homeschool and why a hybrid, public or private school might better meet their needs than a 100% homeschool format.
1. Circumstances Change: A family has a change in circumstance.
This one can encapsulate a broad rationale, but if your family system no longer works with a homeschooling model, it’s a valid reason to choose another style of schooling. Some changes could be a move far from your support system or to a community where it’s tough to find other homeschoolers, a health diagnosis that makes it difficult for a parent to continue as the primary teacher, or a change in finances that necessitates a two-parent income. Other reasons might be that one child in the family has had a new medical diagnosis and needs extra attention, or a parent has suffered a loss and needs to take a break for a while.
2. Administrative & Academic Strain: Your child needs more than your homeschool can provide.
This is a common reason that many parents opt out of high school homeschooling. So many parents come to Learnwell not believing they can “hang in there” for the upper grades. We advise families to look at what weighs them down about homeschooling older grades.
Often, they discover that — with support — they can continue to homeschool and reap the benefits of this model without sacrificing their family life. If you are struggling with mapping out your high schooler’s options after graduation, record-keeping and knowing how to design a transcript, teaching higher-level classes, or a desire for greater community for your teen, these are usually met by a hybrid school partnership.
Learnwell offers these tools, plus the opportunity to pursue career exploration that is targeted to your child’s interests.
3. A Tough Season: You know you can provide their academic needs, but their social and life skills needs on top of academics feels like too much for the season your family is in.
Another common reason parents come to Learnwell is because the management of one or two aspects of homeschooling high school is doable. But when taking into account their need for connection, independence, exposure to career and college preparation and extracurricular opportunities, it feels like a challenge too great for one parent to meet.
We want to encourage parents who are facing the daunting task of meeting their child’s needs as they grow. As they get older, students do need more separation from parents, which is developmentally appropriate, but they still need support.
It’s easy to look at a 15-year-old and think they’ve got it and they’ll be just fine. However, choosing an educational model for high school has an enormous impact on the unseen toll that certain types of schooling can take on some students. Monitoring a child’s mental and emotional health and their child’s need for trustworthy friends are some of the reasons we see parents getting overwhelmed.
A Learnwell education can provide opportunities for connection, personal growth, a faith that is supported by action and appropriate support for mental health needs.
4. Personal to Your Child: You see a need that your particular child has that isn’t being met, but you are not sure where to turn, or you no longer can take on much responsibility in your child’s education.
Sometimes, we have the best-laid plans, and our specific wiring of child places a bend in those plans or a need to change directions. That is 100% understandable.
Sometimes what we think will work and what actually works are just different — not wrong or right, just different.
If you’re seeing a specific need that your household homeschooling system can’t meet, we’d love to talk. Many families have come to us after they’ve tried other hybrid schools, public or private schools. Because Learnwell offers a few distinctives that other hybrid schools in our area don’t, we’re happy to discuss what your child needs and let you know if we can meet them here.
Some needs that may fall under this category include:
- A need for some customization of academics that doesn’t fall under an IEP or a gifted certification.
- A need to be around other students who support their beliefs but don’t expect everyone to be at the same place spiritually.
- A need for welcoming, considerate adults to walk alongside as mentors who can encourage and challenge their child to rise to new levels of growth.
- A need to learn patience with himself or herself in terms of knowledge, trial and error, failure and perseverance.
- A need for room to explore but also have adequate structure.
- A need for flexible teachers who provide the framework and encouragement because they know your particular child.
Many parents have come to Learnwell hoping for their child to feel “seen,” and it’s something that larger schools often try to do but simply can’t because of their size or their need to grow to a specific number.
One way we serve families is by letting them know we aren’t in it for a target number. We don’t promise to meet every student’s needs, and we don’t expect to meet every family’s needs either. But we want to help your child find their best fit, even if it’s not at Learnwell.
If you’re in a place where your level of involvement in your child’s education needs to change, it might be a good switch to leave homeschooling. Or perhaps you just need support and an encouraging partnership that is truly a partnership where parents are valued and their feedback is welcome.
Find out more about how our teachers work together with parents at our upcoming Discover Learnwell parent preview night.
5. Community Needs: Your child has asked for more friends that are his or her age.
While homeschooling co-ops and groups are fantastic options, we see some limitations, particularly if students want to see the same students over and over and grow together. As students get older, they want to develop deeper bonds with peers, and this can only happen if their peers don’t jump from one co-op to the next or their house isn’t so far away that you are driving all over town to meet your child’s needs for consistent friendship.
Learnwell offers several extracurricular options, field trips, service opportunities, and at least three meetups for each grade level every school year. Because the retention rate has been so high, we have seen whole families form friendships that we know will outlast their children’s school attendance. We hear all the time that this is what many families long for — a supportive community.
If some of these pain points sound familiar, we’d like to offer you encouragement. You may be in a scenario where homeschooling no longer works. Our team will not discourage you or make you feel less than when that decision supports your family’s needs. We are pro-school — any schooling method that serves you and your family well.
But if you’d like to talk about your options and see if a Learnwell education can help your family, we’re here to chat. You can join us at our next Discover Learnwell parent preview night or find out about a variety of middle school options for Learnwell Navigator students.