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Home Schooling in Connecticut
August 22, 2000
Approximately 2,000 school-aged children do not attend any of Connecticut's public, private, charter or magnet schools, but stay at home to learn from their parents. Nationwide, 1.7 million American children are being taught at home and that number grows by as much as 15 percent each year. Home schoolers far outnumber the 400,000 students attending charter schools, which are mistakenly considered the most common alternative to public schooling.
Colleges have already noticed that home-schooled students score higher on entrance exams. For the past three years running home schoolers have scored an average 22.7 (on a scale of 1 to 36) on the American College Test, compared with 21 for their out-of-the-home schooled peers.
The evidence is increasing that home schooling not only equals public education, but in some ways surpasses it. It is common, for example, for home schooling parents to pool their money to hire experts and guest lecturers. If parents do not feel qualified to teach a certain subject -- say biology -- they can find a professional who will teach their child everything he or she needs to know about that specific topic.
One of the most common concerns about home schooling is that it deprives children of healthy social interaction. The Connecticut Home Educators Association (CHEA) and The Education Association of Christian Home Schoolers (TEACH) exist to have social gatherings and athletic games, so that home schooled children can meet other kids their age. Judy Aron has been home schooling her son and two daughters in West Hartford for three years. Aron, a member and leader of CHEA claims, "socialization is not an issue with home schooled students. They are exposed to many generations of individuals whom they can interact with." Aron adds that "home schools are not supposed to replicate high schools. There are some things public schools do better than home-schools and vice versa. It all depends on the child and what they get out of the experience."
CHEA and TEACH also exist to support and provide families with information about home schooling. There are over five hundred families in Connecticut that participate and share educational responsibilities, but within this five hundred there are many approaches. One family might home school a child up until the 8th grade and then send him or her to a public or private high school. Another family might be so dissatisfied with public schools in general that the parents will home school the child right up until he is ready to leave for college.
Connecticut is one of the friendliest states for home schooling. Parents can file a letter of intent with the Department of Education with as little as 10 days' notice to begin education at home. There are no state-mandated procedures other than a recommended annual portfolio review by a local principal or superintendent.
Dissatisfaction with the declining quality of public education is only one reason parents choose to home school. Others include concerns about a child's social development and the desire to have a greater impact on moral and spiritual values. Some families leave the public system because of religious beliefs; others to avoid violence, sex, drugs, and alcohol. Mary Beth Nelson, who home schools her daughter in Oxford, is president of CHEA. "Peer pressure is one of my main concerns," she says. "Families want the best education for their children," says Ellen Pappalardo, Hartford area CHEA coordinator. "Sometimes this is the educational excellence of teaching them at home."
CHEA receives as many as 20 inquiries a week, with an onslaught of calls in July and January due to the start of each school semester. The organization's phone number is (203) 781-8569. TEACH can be reached at 860-231-2930; its website is www.teachct.org.
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The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute's mission is to "promote economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut." The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is classified by the IRS as a 501 (c) (3) public charity. Contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law.
