Many parents now find this new path to be more satisfying than the old one, and they aren’t turning back. I spoke this week with a mother who pulled her children out of school in 2020 to give homeschooling a try. Through remote learning, she saw, for the first time, what her children were actually learning and doing in school and realized that the amount of academic time was quite small. She had always been curious about homeschooling but felt intimidated. When she caught a glimpse of her children’s classroom learning, she realized that she could easily match, if not exceed, the school's academic expectations while providing greater overall freedom for her children’s learning and development.

When her children’s school reopened for full-time, in-person learning, this mom decided to continue homeschooling. Now, she is even happier with her decision, especially as homeschool classes and activities resume their pre-pandemic vibrancy.

New data analyzed this week by the Associated Press confirm that this mother’s experience is a common one. Homeschooling rates surged during the 2020/2021 academic year to more than 11 percent of the overall US K-12 population, but many education observers expected that most of those families would return to school once classrooms reopened for in-person learning. That hasn’t happened.