A former public school band teacher, Brooks said she was largely inspired by the grim pandemic realities of her kids’ schooling: Her 7-year-old, born late in the year, was stuck in kindergarten even though she knew the alphabet and could already read. Her 9-year-old was being bullied at a private Christian school, while her oldest, a 16-year-old rising , was simply too busy for typical school calendars.

“At the end of last school year, I was like, ‘I don’t think I can do this again,’” Brooks said.

So she quit her job — her husband still teaches music — and began homeschooling all three girls.

Brooks’ experiences sync with those of many parents who have turned to homeschooling since the pandemic. A from the online education platform Outschool found that this group is increasingly concerned about the quality of education their kids are getting in school. They’re also more likely to be politically centrist or liberal and less likely to homeschool for religious reasons.

Other recent research suggests that they’re also more likely to be non-white: The U.S. Census Bureau in 2021 reported that homeschooling among Black families in the school year following the start of the pandemic, from 3.3% in spring 2020 to 16.1% that fall.

In the , which tapped 622 homeschool families in August, Black families comprised 9% of respondents, but the results didn’t probe whether there has been a rise in these families. The survey did find, however, that parents’ concerns around racism in school during the pandemic rose: Among pre-pandemic homeschoolers in the survey, just 2% said racism was their No. 1 reason for leaving school; among newer homeschoolers, the figure was 5%.

And it found that the reasons families began homeschooling in the past year are “shifting away from being a values-driven decision to an environment-driven decision.”

Among other findings:

• 12% of new homeschooling parents said their decision was primarily because their child’s neurodiversity wasn’t supported in traditional schools, up from 7% before the pandemic;

• Just 1% of new homeschooling parents said their No. 1 reason was based on religious beliefs, down from 14% of parents already homeschooling who said the same;

• 47% of new homeschoolers described themselves as “progressive” or “liberal,” up from 32%;

• 6% of new homeschoolers said they had conservative views vs. 27% of pre-Covid homeschoolers.

Significantly, few parents said their decision, either in 2020 or 2022, was based on politically charged issues such as vaccines or schools’ political stances.

Traditional schools’ ‘hot mess’

Outschool co-founder Amir Nathoo said the findings suggest that parents are homeschooling for many reasons, including having children whose learning differences “weren’t being satisfied by the local school.”

Homeschooling families have traditionally valued its flexibility, Nathoo said. “But now what we’re seeing come bubbling up is just: Pure quality is a top concern.”

Alessa Giampaolo Keener, who directs the Maryland Homeschool Association, said the pandemic “changed a lot about homeschooling,” including the number of families willing to give it a try: In March 2020, just before widespread school closures, she counted fewer than 28,000 homeschoolers statewide. That figure now stands at about 45,000.

Keener noted that the recent uptick, especially in Black homeschoolers, stems from many public schools being caught “completely unprepared” in 2020. Educators “absolutely did the best that they could, given the circumstances. But it was a hot mess for a lot of kids.”

Tracking homeschooling is a bit slippery. The National Home Education Research Institute about 6% of school-aged children, or 3.1 million students, homeschooled in the 2021-2022 school year, up from 2.5 million in spring 2019.

The journal Education Next, using Census Bureau data, that the percentage of U.S. households with at least one child being homeschooled essentially doubled from spring 2020 to fall 2020, from 5.4% to 11.1%.  

Many of these parents said they were finding education at home “to be an exhausting undertaking.” One-fourth said they didn’t plan to continue.

But Alex Spurrier, who studies policy at the consulting firm Bellwether, said recent polling shows the pandemic has helped break a kind of psychological link in parents’ minds between education and a five-day, in-person school week. For many families, learning from home “worked really well and probably opened their eyes to a different way forward.” 

As a result, he said, “it doesn’t look like we’re on a path to heading back” to pre-pandemic ideas about homeschooling.

One-on-one attention, bullying trump religious reasons

Michael McShane, director of national research for the research and advocacy group EdChoice, said the Outschool findings his organization has done recently.

“When we asked people why they homeschool, things like religious reasons or political reasons, those were at the bottom of the list,” he said. At the top: School shootings, bullying, school violence, and wanting more one-on-one attention for their children.

McShane said his school choice work has changed his outlook on things like the socialization that homeschoolers enjoy. His conversations with their parents shine a light on the often “tremendously negative” experiences many students have had in school. “I can’t tell you how many parents were like, ‘Let me tell you about the socialization my kid got: It was getting the crap beaten out of them,’” he said.

Homeschooling researchers have also long noted that a top reason Black families often give for turning to homeschooling is in schools — particularly against young boys of color. Black homeschoolers, McShane said, often say they “just didn’t think their schools were respecting them, or respecting their kids, or treating them fairly. And so they wanted to kind of strike out on their own.”

Bellwether’s Spurrier said more families are likely interested in more flexible learning environments like homeschooling or microschools if the barriers to entry are lower. He’s keeping an eye on places like Arizona and , which are both experimenting with generous education savings accounts for families. 

Singing, dancing, being kind

In Atlanta, Brooks has discovered an focused on helping Black homeschoolers thrive — she has even begun posting humorous videos that encourage other Black homeschool moms. “It’s been awesome, just being able to talk to people that look like me, that are probably going through the same thing.”

Like many families find, homeschooling has allowed her kids to focus less on grades and more on interests.

Brooks now posts joyous TikTok and Instagram videos of herself and her kids as they ,,, and meet people like Georgia gubernatorial candidate at public events. They’ve lately been trying out in an informal family .

Brooks said she’s also able to focus more on character education, a top priority that she said doesn’t get much love in school.

“We learn how to have conversations with each other,” Brooks said. “And I’ve seen from the beginning of the school year til now that they’ve changed drastically. They’ll catch themselves if they’re not being nice to their sister. They’re like, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell like that.’ Those kinds of things are happening without me telling them. And so I just know for sure it’s working.”

If he’s re-elected this November, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he’ll push for a state budget with $65 million dedicated to fighting pandemic learning loss, hiring new guidance counselors and recruiting teachers.

In a Monday speech outlining his top education priorities for next year’s legislative session, Kemp said he will aim to increase the number of counselors treating students’ mental health issues.

“In speaking with school administrators, teachers and staff, one of the top concerns I consistently hear is the mental health needs of our students. While we have made key investments in this vital effort over my first term, we can and must do more,” Kemp said in remarks at Statham’s Dove Creek Elementary. “Counselors in schools across our state today do much more than just assist students with issues they may be facing psychologically. They are undeniably a critical asset to the overall health, well being and long-term success of our future leaders.”

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In 2020 and 2021, Georgia schools provided one counselor for every 419 students, according to the American School Counselor Association. That’s close to the national average of 415 students per counselor, but a far sight off from the recommended 250 students per counselor.

An extra $25 million could help to close that gap, said Stephen Owens, education policy analyst at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.

“I think that’s a great, I would say, first step, because the pandemic specifically highlighted that we can’t just educate kids’ brains if they’re dealing with mental health issues, if their bodies aren’t taken care of,” he said. “It showed just how much we need that social-emotional learning, mental health professionals. I’m never going to complain about $25 million dollars being added into the budget for school counselors, but hopefully, that isn’t treated as the job is completely finished.”

Kemp’s K-12 budget proposal also includes a $15 million grant designed to help recruit paraprofessionals, workers who assist teachers in the classroom and otherwise help students in a variety of ways, advance to become full-time teachers.

“We currently have more than 9,000 paraprofessionals with four-year degrees working in our schools, but the cost and length of time required for these hard-working Georgians to become certified educators is a major obstacle for many,” he said. “To help these parapros offset their significant certification costs, my budget proposal for next year will include $15 million for a $3,000 reimbursable grant program. These funds will help get more teachers in the classroom, and assist Georgians already passionate about (helping) our students achieve career success.”

Owens applauded the idea.

“I think it’s a good read that there are financial barriers to keep from people being in the classroom in a paraprofessional role,” he said. “And when you consider just how helpful parapros can be as a way to rethink the teacher pipeline, these are folks in the classroom, if they can be set up that way, kind of in a grow-your-own program, to become teachers, that just makes everything better because they know the context. They live in the communities. We don’t have to maybe set up tax credits to get folks from UGA to move down to rural Georgia, maybe we could invest in the people who are already there in the classroom.”

Kemp cited state data showing the number of third graders reading on grade level dropped to 63% from 73% from 2019 to 2022, which he said was the result of pandemic learning loss, and said he will direct another $25 million to grants aimed at getting these students back on track.

“Schools with students in this category may apply for these grants to leverage additional tutoring services, non-traditional staff, or supplement existing learning loss services,” he said. “By working with our local school systems and providing targeted funds to bring these kids back up to grade level, I’m confident that we can lend a helping hand to the students who need it the most.”

The governor also listed several proposals he said will strengthen schools’ ability to keep students safe, including updating state law to include intruder alert drills, providing voluntary anti-gang and school safety training for new and current teachers, assigning the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security agency to review school safety plans and recommending continuing education and training updates for all school resource officers every two years.

“These reforms will make our schools safer, but also strengthen the state-local partnership to improve communication and sharing of best practices when it comes to improving school security,” Kemp said.

Kemp’s Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, released her slate of educational in June.

Her K-12 priorities include increasing the state base salary for teachers from $39,092 to $50,000 and raising average teacher pay from $62,500 to $73,500, which her campaign says will shift Georgia from 21st in the nation in teacher salaries to the top 10.

Abrams has also called for programs to help paraprofessionals earn their teaching certification while they work by expanding existing programs and grants. Her platform also includes partnering with colleges and universities to recruit students to teach in rural areas.

Next year’s legislative session is set to begin in January featuring lawmakers elected this November.

One major change that could come out of the 2023 General Assembly was not mentioned during Kemp’s remarks, but a powerful group of state senators is set to hold its second of three meetings Friday to discuss changes to the long-running Quality Basic Education formula that how the state’s share of education dollars are disbursed.

“We still have this kind of giant hole in the way that we fund schools by the fact that we don’t have any additional funding to educate students living in poverty,” Owens said. “And so I’m hoping that the Senate study committee, who has shown interest in that exact mechanism, can bring this more to the forefront as a way to really set up our funding system to do right by Georgians for the next 30 years of this formula.”

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com. Follow Georgia Recorder on and .

Georgia teachers will soon be heading back to their classrooms with some extra cash for supplies.

Gov. Brian Kemp visited Ola High School in Henry County Friday to announce a $125 grant using his office’s share of COVID-19 federal relief funds for full-time public school teachers and staff members who provide instructional and supportive services to students on a daily basis.

Kemp told Ola teachers and faculty he hopes the funds will help out in the first school year since the pandemic not affected by distanced or remote learning.

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“We hope this $125 back-to-school supply supplement will aid in these efforts and help us close the learning loss gap caused by the pandemic,” he said. “When it comes to protecting our children and their bright futures, we will not quit or slow down. That work will continue well into the new school year and those that follow.”

The money can be used for classroom materials and supplies or for products to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

During a brief classroom tour, Ola High Spanish teacher Dorcas Acosta told Kemp she already has plans for some of the money.

“I have my eye on these great manipulatives for the classroom with little questions on these boxes, kind of impromptu questions in Spanish, which gets them ready for real world impromptu questions,” said Acosta, who is also Ola’s teacher of the year. “So, it’s all about their little secret weapon and being globally competent and culturally aware. That’s what I’m excited to do with it.”

Kemp announced a similar $125 disbursement using federal COVID-19 aid in January. The latest installment will work the same way, and teachers will receive a notification about the money through the education funding platform ClassWallet in the coming days, the governor’s office said.

Kemp’s office did not release the cost of the payments, but the previous $125 grants amounted to just over $15 million.

The money for both sets of payments came from the federal government’s Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. Kemp’s office said $59.7 million remains in the fund, and more awards are set to be announced in the coming months.

Kemp is locked in a fierce with Democrat Stacey Abrams, who has criticized Kemp’s focus on controlling classroom content as wrongheaded and called for further pay raises for educators beyond the $5,000 achieved during Kemp’s term. Abrams’ education platform calls for an $11,000 increase in average teacher salary, which she says would put Georgia in the top ten states for best teacher pay.

An of 950 Georgia adults conducted July 21 through 24 had Kemp and Abrams in a virtual tie – Kemp had 45% of the vote to Abrams’ 44%.

But an among 902 likely Georgia voters conducted July 14 through 22 gave Kemp a bigger lead, 48% to 43%.

 is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com. Follow Georgia Recorder on  and .