Home-schooling has been on the rise in recent years. While some families see home-schooling as a necessary “last resort” response, others see home-schooling as a proactive, deliberate and informed decision. With remote work and flexible schedules, parents are questioning whether brick and mortar schools suit their family’s needs. A study by Bright Heart Education researched more than 40 countries to see where alternate education is most common.
With roughly 4.3 million students learning outside a traditional classroom, the United States has the highest population of home-schoolers in the world. That’s one out of every 80 students — nearly five times higher than Canada, where 100,000 children are home-schooled. The U.K. comes in third and Poland fourth, despite Europe having very strict home-schooling regulations. New Zealand rounds out the top five.
Bright Heart’s study found that 30% of parents opted for alternative education because they felt the traditional school setting was not able to meet their child’s special education or neurodivergence needs. Bullying and emotional safety, as well as being an “academic mismatch” both came in at 15%, followed by mental health safeguards (10%), flexibility (8%), differences in values (7%), safety concerns (5%) and child-led learning (4%).
Public, private and charter schools are no longer the only options when it comes to education. Home-schooling can consist of hybrid options, cyber school, tutor-led or traditional home-schooling. Plus, there are many different methods and curricula to choose from. And the stigma of home-schooling has tapered since more information is readily available.
In the Pittsburgh area, we can observe why families are choosing home-schooling through a few local families.
The Tellish Family
Moon Township residents Natalie and Nathan Tellish’s 5-year-old daughter Emmalyn attends a private, hybrid school. The kindergartener goes to school four half-days. The second half of Emmalyn’s day and Fridays are spent at home with mom and younger brother Henry (3).
“The school is very selective, and students have to be evaluated,” Tellish says. Because of the hybrid model, the school ensures that students are prepared for the nontraditional structure.
“It has to be a partnership in learning,” she adds. “We’re responsible for things; they don’t cover every subject.”
WHAT A DAY LOOKS LIKE
Emmalyn is an early riser, and gets up between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. She likes to be involved with the daily tasks, especially making sandwiches with her dad. Monday through Thursday, Emmalyn may bring work home to complete, but not always.
On Fridays, Emmalyn and Henry have breakfast, then play for about an hour. After cleanup, Emmalyn and Tellish complete a math lesson and read her required three books. They utilize the Christian Classical Education curriculum, which combines conventional teaching methods with religion.
Some Fridays they end up with Tellish’s parents (who own a horse) or go on a “home-school hike,” with other families. Although the school organizes voluntary field trips, the Tellishes will take their own trips to Heinz History Center, Neighborhood North Museum of Play or attend a craft or pottery class.
“I didn’t really love my public school experience,” Tellish says. “A lot of time was wasted.”
Growing up, she had one home-schooled friend, so the idea was in the back of her mind. When COVID hit, her husband Nathan’s two older children, ages 11 and 14, were learning virtually. “We saw the requirements drop since COVID,” she says.
Natalie and Nathan Tellish are self-employed and hope to teach their children that you don’t necessarily have to go to college. “We’re OK with living an alternative lifestyle,” Natalie Tellish explains. “We’re both freelance, and our kids have exposure to that.”
The Estochin Family
Greensburg residents Jessica and Stephen Estochin’s daughter Peyton (14) began her education at a private school while living in North Carolina before home-schooling. Upon returning to the Pittsburgh area, Peyton went back to public school, but the Estochins quickly realized it wasn’t for them.
Jessica Estochin knew a handful of families who home-schooled — she researched and asked questions. “I didn’t go into it blind,” she says.
Flexibility was a huge part of their decision. “Peyton started competitive golf. She golfs in Cleveland 19 weekends a year,” Jessica Estochin says.
While she agrees that it’s not for everyone, she feels home-schooling works best for them. Stephen Estochin, a sales manager, is able to financially support the family, and Jessica is able to work part-time. “My husband’s support means a lot,” she says.
CURRICULUM
There’s no curriculum requirements with home-schooling, but since Peyton golfs, the family has to follow the guidelines of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletes.
In Pennsylvania — a state with some of the strictest rules — parents need a high school diploma or GED; no secondary education is required. They also need to keep a portfolio and meet with an evaluator to ensure all of the necessary requirements are met.
“Any parent can write their own curriculum,” Jessica Estochin notes. “I use a mix — Khan Academy for Algebra. For History, I tie in Bible lessons. I’m big on business, life skills and forming an opinion with facts.”
She regards traditional values and appreciates the ability to teach what she wants to an extent. “We are called un-schoolers,” she says. “I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do it. The point of home-schooling is to not be like brick and mortar.”
Peyton and her mother have gone to the Carnegie Museum of Art, Museum of the Bible in D.C. and Berkeley Springs State Park in West Virginia.
“Field trips are my favorite trips to plan. Make it fun and tailor the trip to the child’s age. Go alone of with a group,” Jessica Estochin says.
In 2018, Peyton began a nonprofit called Petyon’s K-9s. What started as a 7-year-old’s tea stand to raise money for McKeesport Police K-9, Farkle, became a fundraising mission that raised more than $80,000 for K-9 units across the country. “Home-schooling allowed us to do that,” Jessica Estochin says.
The Lee Family
Samantha Lee is the owner of Home Away from Home-school (HAFHS) in Mt. Lebanon, which opened in 2021. “It was an idea that I had bounced around for a while,” says Lee, who “home-schooled before it was a thing,” though she believes the pandemic really opened people’s eyes to alternative education.
Lee and her husband, Joshua, have three sons — freshman Benett (15), seventh grader Elliott (13) and sixth grader Garett (12). “They boys continue to enjoy it, and so I continued to do this,” Samantha Lee says.
HAFHS is a nonprofit resource and community center, as opposed to a co-op, where students are learning the same thing from the same curriculum. HAFHS has 75 active families (about 150 students) from Allegheny, Beaver and Washington counties. It currently offers annual and monthly memberships.
“The home-school community needs a place to get together. You need that space,” Samantha Lee says. “I wanted it to be a soft place for parents to land.”
HAFHS provides a curriculum corner, with lessons that members can check out, information and resources, as well as different areas for kindergarteners through seniors. There is also a calendar of events, but nothing is mandatory.
“I really try to foster each child’s personality and interests,” she says. “It’s kind of like a library. You can come and go as you please. The environment is easygoing.”
Samantha Lee does freelance work, works part time and runs HAFHS. “The center is a labor of love; I don’t take a paycheck,” she says. “My husband trusted me to do this. Josh is very worldly and mechanical. He was an inspiration to me. He’s a lifelong learner.”
PROS
“We, as parents, are our children’s first educators. Society has taught us we’re not equipped to teach our own children,” says Samantha Lee.
Parents can outsource subjects that they aren’t familiar with and focus on what’s important to their child. And, being alongside their parents, kids learn real-life skills like grocery shopping, which instills meal prep and budgeting skills.
Families are also able to monitor technology. “We are the most connected but least social generation right now,” she adds. “It’s important to instill a life without tech.”
CONS
“Drawbacks are determined by the families,” Samantha Lee explains. “It’s draining, and parents have to be ‘on’ all of the time. We serve so many roles as parents. You have to take on an additional role as an educator. Every year, there’s some self-doubt.”
If parents don’t have a good support system, home-schooling can be difficult. And single parents could struggle to manage work and their child’s education.
Is Your Family Ready?
Home-schooling is permitted in every state, although requirements vary considerably. According to The Home School Graduate, Delaware is the only state where a student cannot switch to home-school mid-year. Education platform Outschool suggests focusing on your child’s developmental readiness — interactions, interests, responses to new experiences — as opposed to age.
Requirements include:
~ Filing a new affidavit or unsworn declaration Aug. 1 every year with your local school district
~ An outline of proposed education objectives for every necessary subject (kids with a learning disability may have additional requirements.)
~ Evidence of immunizations, medical and dental care or an exemption form
For a checklist of state requirements and how to get started, visit thehomeschoolgraduate.com.
