Parents are turning to alternative education practices as COVID-19 continues to be a perpetual reality in society.
The number of students participating in traditional home education programs and distant education programs is slowly on the rise in Cochrane.
Rocky View Schools' (RVS) Community Learning Centres principal Greg Rankin said since 2020, there has been an increase in the number of students taking part in the public school division's supervised Home Education Program.
He said there are currently 120 students in the RVS Home Education Program across all of RVS' attendance boundaries.
"Pre-pandemic, we had closer to 80 students in Home Education," he said.
As for the Calgary Catholic School District, that division also saw an increase in both parent-led home education and distance education in grades 1 to 9 for the 2020-21 school year – a 100 per cent increase overall, explains the team at CCSD's St. Anne Academic Centre.
According to Rankin, there are many reasons and circumstances why families choose a learning option outside of in-person school. He explained it is the duty of the school divisions to identify the various learning needs of students and be innovative in meeting those needs so that all students can achieve their absolute best.
There are two types of home education as outlined on the provincial government's website. The first is supervised by a school authority and is publicly funded. The second is not supervised by a school authority and is not funded.
In the funded option, the parent provides a home education program with the supervision of the school.
In the non-funded option, the parent plans, manages, provides, evaluates, and supervises their children's schooling. They must develop a home education program that will allow the student to have appropriate learning outcomes, but are not required to submit any program plans to the Minister of Education. Funding is not provided to students or families if the student is enrolled in an online program.
Susan Richardson is homeschooling her two children through RVS' traditional Home Education program. She has been homeschooling her children for the last seven years, in part because she felt her kids were not being challenged enough in the traditional school setting.
"Children's minds, they just absorb so much, so quickly," Richardson said. "I think why we're seeing such a big increase lately is because the system just isn't there anymore. Children aren't learning what they're meant to be learning. The schools are not teaching history and geography and things of importance now, it's all pushing gender studies."
Richardson added that homeschooling her children has allowed them to reach higher levels of success rather than in an in-person environment because she can hone in on their interests.
"Everybody can do it, admittedly I'm not looking forward to algebra," chuckled Richardson. "I found lots of resources that we can work together to get through it because everything is available to you.
"I think the most important thing for parents to realize is that your children aren't going to stay children forever, and if you can give them the love and guidance that they need now to succeed as phenomenal adults, now is the time to act. They're not getting that support, they're not getting that nurturing environment in a school."
Richardson receives $850 per child in funding. She explains this money must be put toward learning resources and/or extracurricular activities. She must also submit a plan with her teaching objectives throughout the year.
"It's not just a matter of, 'Oh yeah you get $850, let's go on a holiday.' No, you have to be able to submit your receipts and have a reason why you bought what you did," Richardson explained.
When it comes to extracurricular activities and homeschooling, Cochrane Home Educators is just one of many other groups catered to home-educated families. The organization offers a gym program for students ages five to 14 and older, though this program has temporarily been cancelled due to the pandemic. A number of get-togethers and family barbecues also take place within the group.
Richardson used to take part in this group and said when she left three years ago, there were over 300 families registered – a number she believes must be twice or three-times higher now.
Freedom Teachers is a business that specifically caters to homeschooling children for parents who are looking at alternative education. A teacher, who cannot be named for various reasons, said part of the problem with online schooling is that it takes a heavy toll on kids' mental well being. He explained that at the beginning of the pandemic, on a daily basis, he would be missing thirteen kids. A lot of this pertained to COVID-19, but he said now the ethic has changed in schools as well.
"There's a lot of division, on a school level, as a teacher, you do see the environment changing," he said, adding that the mental well being of teachers is also plummeting because some may not agree with the common narrative.
"A lot of our collective agreement is based on that mental well-being and that safety. I know a lot of teachers that are just going to school, doing what they have to do and coming home. They're not doing anything extra."
