Mixing education

Students that learn at home have different reasons to do so. It is not necessarily popular with public school administrators that have small school populations to begin with, but in Carbon County School District No. 2, (CCSD2) there is an effort between the school system and parents to make sure the students get the best education no–matter where they actually sit down and learn.

A Principal's View

Traci Schneider, principal for Elk Mountain, Hanna and Medicine Bow elementary schools said she wants to be inclusive with parents and students that choose home school.

"Home school is not really good for small schools, but I appreciate parents have their reasons, so I want to do my best to find ways we can include students in our activities when we can," Schneider said, "because it is trying to do what is best for the student when it all comes down to it."

Schneider said, before parents decide to home school, she wishes parents would come to the school and see if there is a way a child can be a public school student.

"We know there can be problems like bullying, but that is something we want to fix," Schneider said. "We aren't opposed to fixing things because we want things to run smoothly. I guess, I wish parents would sit down with us and have a conversation with us on how we can have a partnership that helps the student."

Schneider said the goal of public school systems is to lay a foundation that meet the needs of all kids so that they are successful as they continue their education.

She would like to see community organizations that center around activities that include all children.

"There are things we can do to create a partnership and I think that is where we start," Schneider said. "It is creating opportunities for conversation."

She does think, if a parent is going to home school, they should come and talk to the school. Not just once, but several times before deciding to home school.

"If they can give us efforts to make things better and we don't prove ourselves, then by all means make that decision to home school, but at least give us a chance," Schneider concluded.

Administrator's View

CCSD2 Superintendent Jim Copeland admits he has a bias for public schools, having spent 40 years working for public school systems in three different states.

"Basically, I have devoted my whole career and life to public schools and I believe in them," Copeland said. "I have had three kids go through three different schools and all graduated."

Copeland said he believes that public schools act as a balancer of opportunities for all students.

"It is what I really believe that makes this country so great, is we open our doors and we educate the students that come in," Copeland said. "We don't pick and choose, we don't only educate the smart ones or easy ones, and we have a lot of challenges in public education, but I believe it gives them opportunities that if they were in other countries, they might not get. To me I see education as the equalizer for all of our students."

Copeland said he believes it is a parent's right to decide what is best for their children.

"I have seen, over the decades, the good public schools have done for students," Copeland said, "but saying that, I have also been witness to some students who do very well in home school, so I am not trying to say it doesn't work, but again I have to say I am biased in favor of public schools and really believe in them."

Copeland said he feels sometimes parents that come to CCSD2 who are currently home schooling don't always give the system a chance.

"In a place like Elk Mountain or Medicine Bow, and even a larger campus like Hanna, there are a lot of situations where they are similar to home schools, where if a parent wants a part or say, as opposed to Cheyenne or Casper where the student can be just a number," Copeland said. "I wish parents that walk in with their minds made up to home school would just give us a chance to work with them. We have a lot more flexibility than maybe given credit."

Combining Home and Public Schools

Kinsey Hendricks is doing home school with her five children at some point in their education.

Hendricks, a Hanna resident, said she has her kids in elementary school, but she home schools when they reach middle school.

"Elementary school is a fabulous experience for our kids," Hendricks said. "Then we typically pull the kids out during 6th, 7th and 8th grade. We have our oldest going into 9th grade at the high school."

Hendricks said that the reason she and her husband wanted their children home schooled during the middle school years was that they felt not all life skills they felt were necessary were taught in the public school

"If we lived in a larger city, there is a chance we could find a private school that would fit our criteria, but we don't, so we fill the vacuum ourselves," Hendricks said. "It isn't we don't like the school system's curriculum, but a lot of the life skills we would like to see our kids learn on how they approach challenges, and how they carry through these skills, how to adapt, are not taught the way we feel is necessary."

She said a reason she has her oldest back in high school is that it is a challenge for home schooled kids to get the same look from colleges as they would if they come from public or private school, especially when it comes to scholarships.

"It is not impossible by any stretch, but it can be more challenging," Hendricks said. "Our goal is to teach some of these life skills that maybe we feel the school system can't really provide on the way that it is set up, and then have them reenter the school system and then transition to the college system that is established."

Hendricks said she has confidence in the teachers she has interacted with over the years, but she feels they are often constrained by the system.

"If the system is broken, the teachers do as much as they can, but there is only so much they can do," Hendricks said. "The way the school system is, it isn't always set up for quick adaptation and, in this world, that can be essential."

She said the home school curriculum is not easy, but she feels the years her children are in a home school program they are learning to take responsibility for their education as they start their teenage years. Hendricks said this will help them when they graduate high school and go to college.

"If kids don't learn to be motivated on their own, it will be very tough on them when they go to college," Hendricks said. "There is no way around that."

She pointed out that, if a parent or parents have a job that is always on the go, home schooling can be the best way for a child to get an education instead of bouncing in and out of different school systems.

Choosing Home School Years Ago

Pam Paulson, a resident of Hanna, had her children home schooled while she lived in Montana some years before. She did not like how the system was set up and said there was a large home school population because of the dissatisfaction with how students were taught at Montana's schools in the area she lived.

"What I liked about home schooling was the freedom to choose the curriculum that I was going to teach my kids," Paulson said. "At the time, the curriculum I picked out was more challenging than what was being taught at the public school. You had one book that has to fit 20 kids, whereas in home schooling you can fit the pace that is right for your child."

She said there were a lot of options for her to work with that allowed her to tailor to each of her children's needs.

"My experience with home schooling for the most part was that the kids came out more academically stronger than if they had stayed in the public school system of Montana," Paulson said. "I was kind of worried about the social aspect, but, as I said, we had a huge community of home schoolers that we did a lot of activities together."

She said, given how unhappy she was with the Montana public school system, she is glad home schooling was an option.

Pure Home

Schooling

Dawn and Ryan Kenneda, who live in Elk Mountain, home schooled their two daughters who are now attending college.

"I think the first thing in understanding why Ryan and I chose to educate our kids at home is to understand that we have a fundamental belief that we are ultimately held accountable for how we raise our children," Dawn said. "Their character, their education, their ability to become successful citizens is our responsibility."

Dawn is happy with the results of the years she home schooled.

"Ryan and I have educated our two daughters at home from kindergarten through high school," Dawn said. "Ellen graduated in 2017 with a GPA of 3.96, ACT of 27 and is in her sophomore year at Laguna College of Art and Design as an illustrator with an entertainment emphasis. Morgan graduated in 2018 with a GPA of 4.0, ACT of 27 and is in her freshman year at California Baptist University as a Biomedical Science major. She is also a Daniel Scholar recipient. We feel our biggest achievement is that our girls have become women of integrity, grit and compassion."

Dawn said the idea to start home schooling started when they lived in Laramie.

"The school system had just implemented full day kindergarten because of federal funding and we both felt that a full day was just too long for a five year old, so we chose to home educate," Dawn said. "After that, I had so much fun, I just couldn't stop. We discovered that, through home education, we could adjust our school times to match better with Ryan's crazy schedule. It was not uncommon for us to do school on Saturday and have Tuesday or Wednesday off to be with Dad. This worked great through the younger years."

The Kennedas felt home schooling worked better for their family because of jobs their parents had.

"Starting out at the bottom of the career ladder with the Game and Fish Department, it was expected we would be moving several times a year for the first couple of years," Dawn said. "As a child, I had been bounced around to different schools as we followed my dad's career and I knew it was a big detriment to my education and we didn't want this for the girls, so home education allowed us to keep consistent no matter where we were or how often we had to relocate."

Dawn was pleased with home schooling as the years went by.

"As we got into homeschooling, I was amazed at the number of excellent curriculum and programs available," Dawn said. "If I chose something that I realized wasn't effective or wasn't working, I could toss it and start on something different rather than be stuck with it for the rest of the year."

She said a benefit of home educating for the family was the field trips. The girls would finish a lesson and, to solidify that knowledge, the family would go to places like the Denver Aquarium and Zoo. American history ended with a trip to the east coast. The favorite trip was one to Pearl Harbor after learning about WWII.

Dawn said home schooling taught self discipline to her daughters.

"In home schooling, if you don't get your math done today, it will be there tomorrow and the next day and the next," Dawn said. "You have to get your work done. Time management, delayed gratification, long term goals, and planning were valuable skills that really helped both girls be successful in college and in the workplace."

Dawn said being able to integrate their religious beliefs into lessons plans was another positive effect of home schooling.

"Our desire to finish up through high school was the ability to teach history, science, math, literature and whatever other subject we covered with a biblical world view," Dawn said. "We could be amazed at the complexity of our universe and how it all fits together and point to the God who made it all and made them. We could discuss natural law, Darwinian evolution, global warming and all other topics, showing the girls all the different viewpoints."

She said at one time socialization was a worry.

"It was probably our biggest concern, but, after a few years, we realized it really was a big myth," Dawn said. "We found that the girls being home with me allowed me to constantly reinforce manners, clear verbal skills and gave great opportunity to form friendships with a variety of age groups. We kept the girls active in home school groups, 4H, church groups, athletics and music throughout their education."

Dawn said there were times she looked out the window, saw the bus drive by and think it would be easy to just put her daughters on the bus.

"The benefits for us far out-weigh the sacrifice. We drove junker cars, limited our budget to only include essentials, and bought everything used," Dawn said. "All of our extra money was saved so we could purchase curriculum, field trips and other educational resources, but it was so worth it."

Public School at Home

D'Ron and Jason Campbell educate their four children at home, but it is not a curriculum they set up. Their kids are a part of the Wyoming Virtual Academy out of Lusk, which is a K-12 national program. It is a part of the public school system.

"The kids go to a virtual school," D'Ron said. "I can look at all the kids and know every day what they are doing and who they are talking to online. I can log on and see when they are talking to an actual teacher."

Jason said they can log into a class and monitor the progress being made.

"Because it is a public school, we have to log in attendance every day," D'Ron said. "I have to go in every day and log attendance, what lessons they accomplished, what classes they attended and it is a true school.

"They have a brick and mortar presence in Lusk," Jason said. "But it is a virtual school."

The Campbells are issued books and computers as they would be in a public school. Kaitlan Campbell, the oldest who is in high school, said low income families can be compensated for the cost of their internet bills.

Jason the flexibility of the virtual school can work well for the family. He gave an instance where the whole family had to go out of town and all the kids got prepared to make up the school day.

"The lessons are all recorded, so not only can see it after it was taught, but they can review it as many times as it takes to understand the material," Jason said. "It kind of nice to have this flexibility and it really appealed to us when we first started looking at this."

The Campbells have been in the Wyoming Virtual School program for six years. Kaitlyn was in 5th grade and the family looked at the program because they felt their daughter was bored in school and they wanted to remedy the situation.

The fear that socialization with peers might not occur has not happened.

Freshman Jaden Campbell, said she feels living in Saratoga and participating in sports, she gets plenty of socialization.

"We don't just sit in this house and never go out," Jaden said. "The cool thing about K12 is we go on field trips and get to meet others and I have made some excellent friends."

Another benefit of K12, concurrent college credit can be earned through Eastern Wyoming College. These credits can be transferred to University of Wyoming.

The Campbells talk to the teachers of the courses every week. They said there is very strong interaction with the educators.

It is not easy said the Campbells. There has to be strong commitment from the parents to oversee and be learning coaches.

"I am grateful my parents take the interest to make sure I do everything I am supposed to do," Jaden said. "The curriculum is pretty challenging and you have to put the effort in and my parents make sure I do."

Jason said he feels that the curriculum prepares the students of K12 to college.

Home School can be a controversial subject

To small schools that have low populations, there is real concern that home schooling hurts enrollment that can mean keeping a school open or not. Still, it is hard to tell a parent they don't know what is best for their child, especially as curriculums get more tailored to individuals needs.

Home schooling won't be replacing public schools any time soon, but there is little doubt it is having an effect in education.