GOSHEN COUNTY – Parents in affluent urban and suburban neighborhoods from coast to coast are turning to what are being called “homeschool pods” to serve as an alternative to public school during the pandemic.
In the age of quarantine, these pods consist of families new to at-home education who share resources and socialize. They are also associated with privilege, as according to an MIT Technology Review report, these parents often hire tutors or teachers to alleviate themselves of teaching duties.
Families in Goshen County are not new to homeschooling, though it looks different from trends currently taking over metro areas. Many have been homeschooling for years and others who have chosen to start this year in lieu of in-person or remote learning can look to these veterans for advice, guidance and play dates.
Peter Moran, Ph.D., professor of education at the University of Wyoming, said the concept of homeschooling was originally born out of a desire for more religious education among devout Christians, but over time, families opted in for different reasons. In 2020, the coronavirus is one of those reasons.
“People out there are taking a harder look at whether they just want to go this route,” Moran said. “Over the course of the last 30 years or so, homeschooling has become a little bit more popular with each passing year. There are more networks of homeschooling families that communicate with one another; there’s a much broader selection of curriculum and materials.”
Director of Curriculum at Goshen County School District No. 1, Donna Fields, said roughly 155 children are enrolled in homeschooling this year. Usually, that number is around 100.
Gayle Erskine, who homeschools three children in third, sixth and eighth grades, is an admin for the Facebook group, Goshen County Homeschoolers. The private group with 118 members has definitely grown since last year, she said, though she’s not sure exactly by how much.
“People in the homeschool community are welcome to come up with field trip ideas and present to the group and people decide if they want to attend or not,” Erskine said. “We try to do it at least once a month.”
Students and parents attended one such event at Young’s Apple Orchard outside of Torrington on Sept. 29. Owner and Pastor Dick Young gave roughly 30 children and their parents a tour of the grounds and taught a lesson in grafting, a horticultural technique that essentially joins two plants into one.
Young attendees ranged from toddler-aged to late elementary school, but curiosity and enthusiasm spread across all ages. Kids and parents alike asked questions of Young and tiny hands flew in the air when he posed questions, such as how many ounces are in a pound.
In case you didn’t know, the answer is 16, an answer volunteered by one eager young learner.
They learn that there are two kinds of nurseries: one for trees and one most of them had heard of, for babies.
For many families in more populated cities, pods arose out of public school closures due to the virus. Here, GCSD is open to students but requires they wear masks or maintain six feet of social distance throughout the school day, which some parents indicated is the reason they’ve opted to homeschool this year.
Lynn Seppanen said she decided to homeschool her third-grader and her fourth-grader due to the mask requirement. She uses the Christian homeschool curriculum, LIFEPAC, which teaches five subjects – Bible, history and geography, language arts, math, science – plus electives in the grade levels her children are enrolled in.
Seppanen said after educating her kids for a little over a month, she is “slightly disappointed” in the school system based on her kid’s level of understanding in certain subjects, so the one-on-one teaching style is working for them.
“I’m a mom, I teach them everything, to eat and walk and everything,” she said. “We’re natural teachers.”
As director of curriculum, Fields reviews Goshen County parents’ homeschool curriculums per state law. Most parents choose accredited curriculums available for purchase online, but regardless of whether they submit a unique or widely used curriculum, it must show evidence of sequencing rather than a “hodgepodge of different resources.”
Homeschool students in Wyoming are not required to take WY-TOPP state assessments that are required of public school districts, but they can if they wish. Some homeschool students participate in programs the district offers including accelerated math classes, music, art and physical education, according to Fields.
“It really boils down to what the family needs and what the family’s ability is to help kids,” Fields said. “We have good relations with several homeschool families.”
Like Seppanen, Sharlet Duffy decided to homeschool her second-grader and her kindergartener due to the mask mandate.
Duffy, who is one of 11 candidates for school board on the November ballot, said she and her husband Miles are advocates of public education, so come December they will reevaluate based on whether COVID-19 mandates and restrictions are still present in schools.
“We do want them to go back to public school eventually,” she said.
Some homeschool parents, even those who have done it for years, don’t write off public school completely. One such parent is John Cummings who homeschools his grandchildren, Joseph and Julia who are 11 and nine years old, respectively.
He said at times it could be difficult to teach his young grandchildren as a 77-year-old, because school has changed so much since he graduated at age 16, primarily in terms of technology developments.
Cummings joined the Goshen County Homeschoolers Facebook group after he met Erskine at their church.
“A lot of people across the country are really not approving of the way some of the things are being taught and religion aside, they just say, ‘we want our kids to have a good education,’” Cummings said.
His family recently moved to Lingle from Lincoln, Neb., in part because of the public school system.
“We came and checked (Lingle) out a few times and everybody, we would meet strangers in McDonald’s, and they would rave about the Lingle school system,” Cummings said. “So we’d consider (sending them), but for now, we’re still chugging along.”
Moran said there is not usually a large population of students alternating between public school and homeschool, but after changes presented this year by the pandemic, it will be interesting to see if this affects students in any way.
A homeschooler’s day is likely to look different than the traditional student’s school day. Erskine, Seppanen and Duffy said they enjoy the flexibility afforded to them by homeschooling.
The three women said they can now spend more time together as a family, help with farming, travel etc..
Duffy said her kids study diligently to finish their schoolwork early so they can then play or participate in activities offered by the Homeschool group or even do community service, such as a cleanup at Pioneer Park in Torrington they recently participated in.
“It’ll be really interesting in a year, if schools go back to the way that they were, to see who comes back and where those students are,” Moran said. “I think those are really interesting questions that we don’t have great answers to at this point.”
Katie Muir Welsh, Ph.D., associate professor of elementary and early childhood education at UW, specializes in place-based education, an approach to education emphasizing geography in learning subjects including language arts, mathematics, social studies and science.
Welsh said for families living in rural areas, especially those who also take advantage of field trips through the Goshen County Homeschoolers, homeschooling is a viable way to implement PBE.
“The places where we all live are rich for exploration,” Welsh wrote in an email to The Telegram. “Learning all day long in and around homes is an excellent way to implement place-based education.”
Fields said she’s spoken with homeschool parents about the GCSD curriculum and what they might need in order for their kids to return to the school system.
“I appreciate their feedback,” Fields said. “I think homeschooling sometimes gets a bad rap. Most of our homeschool parents do a really good job.”
Erskine said as a longtime homeschool parent, she’s enjoyed meeting more families through the Goshen County Homeschoolers group this year.
“I’m excited about new options people can use for curriculum, online options like Zoom meetings, more opportunities for growth as a community, having more people and activities,” Erskine said. “I’m hoping they will stay.”
