CUSTOM CLASSROOM

Homeschooling is gaining in popularity for a wide range of parents looking to personalize their children's education

- Jenni Fink AND Suzanne Blake

ARLENA BROWN, A 36-YEAR-OLD mother in Henderson, Nevada, had considered homeschooling her three children, but it took the pandemic to open her eyes to how homeschooling could improve their lives.

"Parents are seeing the value in being able to teach their own kids what they feel is necessary for them to learn," Brown told Newsweek. "Parents feel more empowered."

The world shutting down during the COVID-19 pandemic turned homes into schools, exposing millions of American parents to the concept of nontraditional education. While teachers bore the brunt of lesson plans and putting together virtual learning modules, parents experienced a new way of life, and thousands decided to not return to an in-person school.

Brown's children each have individualized needs one has a learning disability, one has autism and one is borderline gifted. Combined with the fact that they move around the country and take a lot of road trips, she said homeschooling is the "ideal" choice for her family. Once her 4-year-old is ready for school, they'll follow in their siblings' footsteps.

As a homeschool family, Brown said they get to choose what to learn and not to learn. She also doesn't have to worry about bullying, which has become an increasing problem in schools since the pandemic. A 2023 survey from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America found 40 percent of the over 130,000 students surveyed had been bullied at school, a 14 percent increase from 2019. Dr. Jennifer Bateman, senior vice president of Youth Development, called it the highest the organization has ever seen.