Alva Review-Courier -

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Until recently, Bruce Hirsch hadn't seriously considered home schooling. Content sending his 7-year-old son, Jonathan, to public school at Haw Creek Elementary in Asheville, the retired doctor doubted whether he'd have the patience to facilitate his son's at-home curriculum.

But after seeing North Carolina's proposed school reopening plans for next school year, he has begun exploring his options.

"I would really love my kid to go to public school this year, but from a variety of things I've read from the governor and his staff, what they're doing I think is basically absurd," Hirsch said. "Until things get back to some sense of normalcy, I don't want (Jonathan) being treated at school as if he was a leper."

As North Carolina families sort through uncertainties surrounding the 2020-21 school year, some anticipate already increasing home-schooling rates will soar as a result of the pandemic. Parents crashed the state portal for filing new home schools on July 1, the first day the portal was open. "The system is not currently available due to an overwhelming submission of Notices of Intent," read the message from the State of North Carolina Non-Public Education System.

Education consults and home schooling advocates say they're fielding more inquiries about at-home learning than ever before.

"I feel like COVID has kind of been a catalyst for many families," said Angie Cutlip, an education consultant in Wendell. "They now feel like they can have more consistency if they know they'll do homeschooling throughout the year."

Cutlip suggested parents gained confidence in their abilities to home-school after monitoring their children's remote learning throughout the spring.

"I think by having to work with their kids, many said, 'Oh wow, I can do this at home,' " she said.

HOME SCHOOLING RISE

Registering a home school only takes minutes online, with parents needing to give their school a name, prove they hold a high school diploma or GED, and provide the ages and genders of each student being home-schooled.

State law mandates home-schoolers take annual standardized math and reading tests and keep immunization and attendance records.

North Carolina home-schooling enrollment has risen nearly every year since the state's Supreme Court formally permitted home-based education in 1985. Last year, 149,173 students homeschooled, which would make home schooling the second-largest school district in the state. Over the past decade, home school enrollments jumped 83%, with 2019-20 seeing a 5% increase over the prior school year.

Once attended predominantly by religious families looking to separate their children from secular public school curriculum, current home schools draw students for a variety of reasons. Last year, 44% of home schools registered as non-religious according to the N.C. Division of Non-Public Education.

Coronavirus may add another factor.

CHOICES AND CHALLENGES

Interested in offering Jonathan a secular curriculum grounded in fundamental reading and math, Hirsch joined a Western North Carolina home-schooling Facebook group where he connected with long-time home-schooling parents. Hirsch picked up workbook recommendations and strategies on staggering the traditional six-hour school day.

"I don't know if I can teach him as well as the school can," Hirsch said. "It takes a certain kind of personality to do it."

He added Jonathan would miss the typical socialization of the school day.

Hirsch and his wife, Ofri, will await details on Buncombe County Schools' reopening plan before making their decision on home schooling. In turn, Buncombe County Schools and districts across North Carolina look toward upcoming state guidelines before announcing their specific reopening plans.

In June, Gov. Roy Cooper directed all school districts and charter schools to develop three potential reopening plans: Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C.

Plan A calls for all students to attend schools at the same time. Plan B limits schools to 50% of their maximum capacity, as students may alternate attending schools for portions of the day, week, or month. Plan C is exclusively remote learning, a system many families have grown accustomed to since mid-March, when school buildings first closed amid COVID-19 safety concerns.

These guidelines will be a baseline; any of the state's 115 school districts may choose a more restrictive plan though none may choose a more lenient option.

With district lessons set to begin on Aug. 17, some believe parents will delay their schooling choice right up until classes resume.

"I think many families are going to slow walk their decision as long as they can," said Brian Jodice, executive vice president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina. "We're still waiting to see what schools are going to look like in our state."

Parents of students on individual education plans (IEP) say they're eyeing home schooling as a path to ensure their children's unique needs are met.

"Distance learning will not work for my 16-year-old," said Emily Davis, of Cashiers, NC, whose son Cameron has autism. "On the other hand, I'm not excited about the prospect of him going back either." Davis explained Cameron has sensory issues that would make wearing a mask difficult.

Other parents aren't waiting to pull children from traditional schooling. Last week, Jennifer Petosa withdrew her daughter, Azalea, 8, from the private Asheville Waldorf School. Petosa didn't wish to pay tuition for an atypical educational experience, be it virtual or in-person.

"It is all very confusing right now," Petosa said Azalea's homeschooling future. "I know logistically what I need to do, but actually teaching my child might be a struggle."

NEW MODELS

A potential home-schooling boom arrives as North Carolina school districts already look to reverse dipping enrollments. Since 2014-15, state public schools have taught approximately 30,000 fewer students, a decline of about 2%. Each exodus brings a loss of funding, as districts receive dollars on a per-student basis.

During this same time period, home-schooling enrollment in North Carolina spiked 40%.

Adapting to heightened competition from home schooling, as well as charter and private schools, districts have developed virtual and blended models, where home-schoolers can take a few districts courses -- online or in physical classrooms -- and then be eligible to participate in public school athletics and extracurriculars.

"That's why we launched the Blend + Ed option, because we did see that there was an increase in people that were being home-schooled but still wanted that interaction with their local school," said Catherine Murphy, director for communications at Moore County Schools.

In response to COVID-19, multiple North Carolina school districts -- including Moore, Wake, and Cumberland -- introduced additional virtual school options for families wary of sending students to school buildings.

Buncombe County Schools will allow every student to access online lessons, regardless of the governor's future guidelines.

Yet virtual learning would not keep Jonathan Hirsch away from home schooling. Bruce Hirsch thought this past spring's online lessons left much to be desired and would file his intent to home school if all district lessons begin remotely.