Number of kids taught at home growing

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, August 2, 2001

By Greg Toppo

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — About 850,000 of the nation’s 50 million children are being taught at home rather than in schools, mostly by parents who are well-educated and live in cities, a new government study estimates.

The report, released this week by the Education Department, calculates that 1.7 percent of American children were home-schooled in 1999, resulting in a total estimate higher than in the past.

"The number of parents taking direct responsibility for teaching their children through home-schooling is approaching a million, and we expect the next report on home-schooling will reflect growth in the population and new home-schooling opportunities," Education Secretary Rod Paige said.

The new figures come from an Education Department telephone survey of 57,278 households conducted from January through May 1999.

Previous attempts to count the number of home-schoolers, both by the Education Department and the U.S. Census Bureau, have produced widely different results. In 1994, the Census Bureau estimated that 360,000 children were home-schooled, while in 1996 the Education Department put the number at 640,000 home-schoolers.

The new report says the number of home-schoolers could be as high as 992,000 or as low as 709,000. The 850,000 takes the average of the two.

It also paints a clear portrait of the average home-schooler, finding that they are more likely than other students to live with two or more siblings in a two-parent family, with only one parent working outside the home.

Parents of home-schoolers are, on average, better educated than other parents — a greater percentage have college degrees — though their income is about the same. Like most parents, the vast majority of those who home-school their children earn less than $50,000, and many earn less than $25,000.

"These are families that have one income, and have sacrificed to live on one income," said Laura Derrick of Austin, Texas, the parent of two home-schoolers and president of the Home Education Network.

Most say they home-school their children to give them a better education and not necessarily out of religious beliefs, although religion was second on a list of reasons.

"The primary reason is that it’s a great way to raise kids," said Mark Hegener, publisher of Home Education Magazine. "Any way you slice the American pie, you’re going to find home-schoolers sticking out of it."

Based in Tonasket, Wash., Hegener’s bimonthly magazine has a circulation of about 12,000. He has published it for 18 years while home-schooling his five children.

"Collectively, they spent about six weeks in a conventional school system," he said.

Hegener’s grandchildren are now being taught by their parents, with grandpa’s help.

The survey found that about 18 percent of home-schoolers were enrolled in schools part-time, with about 11 percent saying they used books or materials from a public school. About 8 percent said they used a public school curriculum, and about 6 percent participated in extracurricular activities.

Derrick said relationships between home-schoolers and public schools vary widely, with some states and districts opening their arms wide while others ignore them. But most, she said, have begun accepting that home-schoolers are here to stay.

"Today, it’s the rule rather than the exception that there’s a good relationship between the public school students and home-schoolers," she said.

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