HomeschoolExpert.com, an online platform that equips parents with homeschooling resources and support, today announced the results of a national educational survey of parents with school aged children. The study found that 42% of parents have either reduced or stopped work completely to educate their children from home. Of those, 30% have reduced their hours by 50% or more, with 16% stopping work altogether.
“Clearly, a large percentage of Americans are changing their livelihoods and lifestyles to homeschool as a result of COVID, despite some schools re-opening,” said Anne Crossman, CEO and founder of HomeschoolExpert.com. “These results speak to parents’ concerns during this season as well as the massive need to equip them with resources to teach from home.”
This need is supported by the data; only about a third of parents (37%) felt confident in their ability to support schooling at home, and 44% said they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the current quality of their children’s instruction at home.
The survey also found that 72% of parents whose children currently attend traditional schools are considering some form of schooling at home. Among the top concerns for parents was the social development of their children during COVID, with 50% saying they are “extremely” or “very” concerned.
Of those parents already schooling from home during COVID, 21% are homeschooling with a parent/caregiver as the primary educator, 74% are schooling online through a public school, and 5% are schooling online through a private school.
“Parents are looking for resources to ensure their children have a healthy educational experience at home this year,” Crossman said. “Arguably, the teacher is the most important part of a student’s education–all the more reason for us to equip parent teachers to manage their children’s school day at home. Whether or not parents teach the core content, they still need to know how to manage the school day. We built Homeschool Expert to teach parents how to teach–so they can school at home confidently and with excellence.”
HomeschoolExpert.com features a comprehensive variety of resources for both new and seasoned parent teachers, beginning with the video Quick Start Guide to get parents successfully homeschooling in under 25 minutes. Following the Quick Start Guide is a video series that equips parents to homeschool confidently their first year with practical advice that takes less time to watch than a superhero movie. The full video series includes monthly webinar “Expert Access” for parents to get continued training and support throughout the school year. The website offers additional free resources, such as articles and podcast interviews with experts.
In response to recent data about reduced work hours and to support families in this stressful season, Homeschool Expert has reduced the cost of their training for parents by 40% Homeschool Expert also announced that it will donate 10% of profits to nonprofit education programs to support the needs of at-risk students.
Crossman has authored a new book, “Homeschool Like An Expert,” (available September 2020), that shares much-needed insights on effective homeschool practices, supplementing the “Homeschool Like an Expert: Video Series” with additional tools and resources to help all parents educate at home.
For more information on Anne Crossman and homeschooling resources, visit HomeschoolExpert.com. For full survey results, click here.