As children, families, and educators settle into the rhythm of another school year, I’m noticing the “back-to-school” season looks a bit different than it did when I was kid or even during the decade I spent advocating around education policy.
Homeschooling has seemingly become the fastest-growing educational model in America, with more than 2 million additional homeschooled students in the US compared to 2012. The trend has been partly fueled by Black families, who showed the most dramatic increase in homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic, thousands of microschools have also emerged nationwide, boosting their number to nearly 125,000. About a quarter of these small schools offer some type of faith-based education, and the vast majority are serving families at—or below—the average income for their areas.
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