Why Parents Choose to Home School? 

SAFETY ISSUES According to the United States Department of Education, safety issues were the number one priority for parents considering home schooling.  In-class and other on-campus assaults were the number one reason  parents withdrew their children from the public school domain and entered them into online schooling programs.  At-school accidents and contagious disease were frequently listed as safety-related reasons. EARLY GRADUATION/DUAL ENROLLMENT A second reason parents gave for choosing home schooling was the ability to move at a faster pace.  Early graduation topped the list of reasons given by parents of "gifted and talented" student populations.  Additionally, parents have given high marks to online home schooling services which provide "built-in"  dual enrollment programs with accredited colleges and universities. SPECIAL NEEDS OPTIONS The overwhelming majority of parents who choose home schooling do so to obtain modifications to instruction for their special needs students.  Typically, the desired modifications include shortened assignments, more time for assignments and assignments which are ability leveled by subject. ETHNIC DIVERSITY Morning by morning, according to the National Home Education Research Institute, there are about two million home-schooled students in the United States who receive home instruction.  An estimated 1.9 million to 2.4 million children (in kindergarten to grade 12) were home-educated during 2005-2006. Home schooling is quickly growing in popularity among non-Whites, too. About 15 percent of home-school families are non-White/non-Hispanic. “About 10 percent of home-schooled children are Black,” explained Jennifer James, president of the National African American Home Schoolers Alliance. “I’m seeing more and more Black parents interested in home schooling their children because public schools aren’t working.” She added, “Parents see their child doing well until the fourth grade and then they’re barely interested in going to school. Home schooling is something they can do. We have 3,000 families in our network. We’re primarily online, but we are solely used as a tool for parents to find information on curriculum, textbooks and other resources.” <http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2952.shtml>