Hey folks, I’ve got some interesting news to share about homeschooling in the US. Turns out, the numbers are still on the rise even after the COVID-19 pandemic. Pretty wild, right?

So, here’s the scoop: According to a recent report, homeschooling has been growing across the country in the 2023-2024 school year. But get this – it’s not because of the pandemic or any sudden changes in traditional schooling. Something else is driving this trend, and we’re not quite sure what it is yet.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy’s homeschool research lab did some digging, and they found that a whopping 90% of states that reported data saw an increase in homeschooling this school year. They looked at 21 out of 30 states that keep track of this stuff, with the rest expected to report soon.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• 19 states saw growth in homeschooling
• Only 2 states (New Hampshire and Vermont) had a decrease
• 9 states are still crunching the numbers
• 21 states don’t make this data public

What’s Behind the Trend?

Angela Watson, the director of the research lab, had this to say:

“I think everybody knows that homeschooling went up during the pandemic. But people really thought that when schooling went back to normal, as the pandemic kind of waned, that everybody would go back to their normal way of educating. And so, every year, we keep thinking that the numbers are going to drop and the numbers are going to drop, and we keep not seeing that happening to the degree that we thought that it would in education circles.”

The Tricky Part

Now, here’s where it gets a bit complicated. Different states count homeschoolers in different ways. Some lump them in with private school students, while others don’t. And then there’s the whole microschooling trend, which can blur the lines even more.

Some Standout States

• North Dakota: They hit a record number of homeschoolers this year, with a 24% jump from last year.
• Rhode Island: Hold onto your hats – they saw a massive 67% increase in homeschoolers.

The Big Picture

The report wraps it up nicely:

“While there is a clear growth trend in homeschooling, the reason for that growth is unknown. What is clear is that this time, the growth is not driven by a global pandemic or sudden disruptions to traditional schooling. Something else is driving this growth.”

And here’s an interesting twist – while the number of homeschooled students is going up, the total number of students in the US is actually declining, partly due to lower birth rates. So, we’re seeing more homeschoolers even as the overall student population shrinks.

Pretty fascinating stuff, right? It’ll be interesting to see how this trend plays out in the coming years. What do you all think is driving this continued growth in homeschooling?