Homeschooling continues to increase in California amid the pandemic
According to the California Department of Education, more parents are turning to teaching their children at home during COVID-19.
Many students are continuing to learn virtually due to COVID-19.
But data from the California Department of Education shows that more families are transitioning to homeschooling.
Martin Whitehead has homeschooled his children for 20 years. He's also on the board of the Homeschool Association of California.
"Our website hits have doubled to tripled the presence and questions on our social media have doubled and tripled versus last year," said Whitehead.
Whitehead explained there are a few options to choose from when transitioning to homeschooling.
One way is establishing your own private school.
This requires filing an affidavit with the state usually between Oct. 1st to Oct. 15th.
Data shows that October 2020 filings for these affidavits with five or less students has more than doubled compared to 2019.
State officials said that affidavit filings with five or less students is a good measure of homeschooling. And some schools are entirely for those learning from home.
Thousand Oaks resident Kiley Duncan is a teacher for Sage Oak Charter School based in Redlands. She recently transitioned her own children to the school's homeschooling curriculum last fall.
"It was going to be just a leap of faith and I am so pleasantly surprised with how it's been going. We actually just celebrated the first semester being done. So, we're halfway through the school year," said Duncan.
According to data from Sage Oak Charter School, they saw an increase in enrollment from about 3,000 students to 3,300 students in the last year.
The school said it has another 3,300 students on the waitlist.
"Pick and choose what really works for you, your family, your particular child," said Whitehead.
