Why We Exist
Each child is unique, and education should uniquely enrich and enhance a student’s learning.
We believe that every child is born with unique skills, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and interests. When the educators in the child’s life recognize those and design the learning environment to accommodate those, the child’s fullest potential may be achieved. The home education environment is ideally suited to provide this type of learning. For that reason, we want to see home education prosper and thrive throughout the world.
As the primary influence in most children’s lives, it is essential to inspire and equip parents to educate their children.
We believe that parents are a vitally important element in the life of each child. Whether they are the primary educators or not, they have a tremendous influence on mental, physical, and spiritual health and growth of their children. Many parents are intimidated at the thought of teaching their children at home. When these parents gain access to the tools, support and knowledge required for teaching at home, it opens new educational opportunities for their children and enables these parents to create a unique and wonderful learning environment.
It is imperative to strengthen homeschooling support networks to expand the homeschooling opportunities into underserved communities.
We believe that strong homeschooling support networks and organizations provide valuable coaching, encouragement, and assistance to parent educators. They can also create opportunities for enriched learning experiences by sponsoring activities for multiple students, such as sports leagues or musical ensembles. These networks are often made up of other homeschooling parents and are organized to serve either regional areas or particular demographics. They provide advice and inspiration to homeschooling parents. Where strong networks exist, there is always a friendly face and wise counsel available to a parent educator.
To keep pace with the changing of world of the 21st century, we must stimulate the development of new models and approaches that complement and reinforce the proven teaching approaches used in home education.
We believe that education is both timeless and ever-changing. There are timeless elements of education that every child should master, but there are ever-changing elements of our society which require new knowledge and skills. Home education must prepare its graduates to thrive in the world of the 21st century and that includes using tools, technology, and systems that did not exist even five years ago. Home education is uniquely positioned to experiment with new educational models and rapidly adopt those that provide the best educational experience for each child.
Facts on Homeschooling
- There are over 2.3 million homeschool students in the United States, and the homeschool population is continuing to grow at a yearly rate of 2-8%. 8%
- Homeschooling is an age-old traditional educational practice that a decade ago appeared to be cutting-edge and “alternative” but is now bordering on “mainstream” in the United States. It may be the fastest-growing form of education in the United States. Home-based education has also been growing around the world in many other nations (e.g., Australia, Canada, France, Hungary, Japan, Kenya, Russia, Mexico, South Korea, Thailand, and the United Kingdom). 10%
- A demographically wide variety of people homeschool – these are atheists, Christians, and Mormons; conservatives, libertarians, and liberals; low-, middle-, and high-income families; black, Hispanic, and white; parents with Ph.D.s, GEDs, and no high-school diplomas. One study shows that 32 percent of homeschool students are black, Asian, Hispanic, and others (i.e., non-white/non-Hispanic). 32%
Academic Performance of Homeschooling
- The home-educated typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests. A 2015 study found black homeschool students to be scoring 23 to 42 percentile points above black public school students.
- Home educated students typically score above average on the SAT and ACT tests that colleges consider for admissions.
- Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents’ level of formal education or their family’s household income.
- Whether homeschool parents were ever certified teachers is not related to their children’s academic achievement.
- Degree of state control and regulation of homeschooling is not related to academic achievement.
- Homeschool students are increasingly being actively recruited by colleges.
Success of Home Education in the “Real World” of Adulthood
The research base on adults who were home educated is growing; thus far it indicates that they:
- Participate in local community service more frequently than the general population
- Vote and attend public meetings more frequently than the general population
- Go to and succeed at college at an equal or higher rate than the general population
- By adulthood, internalize the values and beliefs of their parents at a high rate
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46 South Road
Holden, MA 01520
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