A Survey of Families in a Charter Hybrid Homeschool

ABSTRACT

“Hybrid homeschools” generally operate as formal schools 2–3 days per week. The rest of the week students are homeschooled. These entities therefore share some aspects of conventional schooling along with some aspects of homeschooling and are classified in a variety of ways by their states, local districts, and even their own administrations. Most hybrid homeschools around the nation tend to be private and religiously affiliated, though some public models have emerged. The purpose of this study was to better understand parents’ stated preferences for choosing to enroll their children in a charter school that is organized as a hybrid homeschool network in southern California. An electronic survey was sent through the network’s CEO to all enrolled families asking questions regarding demographics, stated values, and desired sources of information. The results of this survey find that these hybrid homeschool families are on average slightly more ethnically diverse, less wealthy, and less educated compared to private, religious hybrid homeschoolers, but are also more ethnically diverse, more wealthy, and more educated compared to their sponsoring school district. These families tend to place more value on individualized attention and the learning environment than on religion, safety, or formal academic issues when choosing a hybrid homeschool compared to their private, religious counterparts.

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Eric Wearne

Eric Wearne is the Provost of Holy Spirit College in Atlanta, Georgia. His research areas include school choice, education policy, and the history of American education. Prior to this appointment, he was an Associate Professor of Educational Foundations at Georgia Gwinnett College, where he taught courses in assessment, foundations of education, and education entrepreneurship for the School of Education and the GGC Honors Program. He has also served as the Deputy Director of the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement in Atlanta. He is currently the Book Review Editor for the Journal of School Choice.