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Outside
School Walls
Homeschooling in Virginia
Homeschooling
in Virginia is growing. The number of students in
Virginia who are instructed at home is still less
than two percent of the total number of students
enrolled in public schools. But, in 2006-2007, there
were 20,000 such students in the commonwealth
learning outside the classroom. This compares with a
total of 1.2 million students enrolled in
traditional preschool through 12th grade classrooms,
according to Virginia Department of Education
statistics.
The
counties with the largest number of homeschooled
students include Chesterfield, Fairfax, Fauquier,
Hanover, Loudoun, Prince William and Spotsylvania.
The number of northern Virginia jurisdictions in
this list probably reflects the population density
of those areas.
Parents
homeschool their children for a variety of reasons,
ranging from the religious and cultural to the need
for stability during frequent moves, as occurs with
military families. A variety of support groups and
organizations has arisen to help the growing numbers
of students learning at home. The homeschooling
movement has benefited greatly from the growth of
the Web over the last decade, which helps
homeschoolers network.
A
visit to the Virginia
Homeschooling A to Z website yields eight pages
of resources from the Home
Educators Association of Virginia and Organization
of Virginia Homeschoolers to the Home
School Sports Network, Heathen
Homeschoolers and resources such as a
homeschoolers’ bookstore in Virginia Beach and a
young people’s theater for homeschooled children.
Twenty-five
years ago, homeschooling was illegal in most states.
With roots in the writings of educational reformers
such as John
Holt during the 1970s, the movement gained steam
when financial constraints forced the closing of a
number of religious schools in the 1980s and parents
began looking for alternatives.
The
commonwealth enacted its home instruction statute in
1984, partially as the result of a 1982 court case
that was appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court. A
family whose members didn’t meet the
qualifications of the state’s tutor requirement
and were not religiously exempt insisted they
constituted a private school. They were prosecuted
for truancy and lost their appeal.
Today,
the state law governing home instruction has
evolved, outlining the required qualifications for
parents who want to teach children at home; the
notification required to the local school
superintendent; the required evidence of
achievement; even immunization requirements. (Fact
Sheet -- Home Instruction in Virginia).
Last
June, 10,000 homeschooling advocates gathered in
Richmond for a gathering of the Home Educators
Association of Virginia. Among the activities was a
graduation ceremony for about 200 of their own. The
early myths about isolation and fears about lack of
achievement seem to be fading. Whole communities
have children home during the day, one participant
explained in a Richmond Times article on the
event ("Big
Day for Students Schooled at Home," June 9,
2007). Homeschoolers are already taking home top
prizes in national spelling and geography bees.
According
to a recent Washington Post article, college
admissions officials are taking homeschooled
applicants more seriously. The College of William
and Mary in Williamsburg has designated a
home-school admissions counselor, who advises
students on steps they can take to get considered,
such as supplementing regular SAT scores with SAT
subject tests. ("Giving
Proper Credit to Home-Schooled," June 11,
2007) As one 20-year-old graduate student in
engineering at Old Dominion University explained,
“I was able to pursue my interests. I wasn’t put
in a mold. So I got to become who I really am.”
NEXT:
From Roanoke Bass to Green Sunfish: Anglers in
Virginia
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October 1, 2007
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