In recent years, the footprint of education has begun to shift. After the Covid pandemic in 2020, parents began to re-evaluate what learning looks like, and while a majority of families still utilize government-funded public schools, an increasing number are choosing to shift into more parent-led options, private schools, or a combination of the above. In 2019, 2.5 million students were homeschooled nationally, jumping to 3.7 million in 2021. Private school enrollment accounts for approximately 4.7 million students, with the balance attending public school.
In the Oct. 2 issue of the Gothenburg Leader, we took a look at the newest private school in our area, Foundations Christian School. This week, we will expand into the homeschool scene with the Gronewolds, Gothenburg natives that have branched out into a new educational normal for their family. Next week, we will continue the series by exploring our public school option. The goal is to share the different and increasingly wide array of schooling opportunities that are available for your children locally, so you can make an informed decision on what fits your family best.
Homeschooling was not a serious option for Rebecca Gronewold when the time came to enroll her eldest, Gabby, in kindergarten.
“Neither Bryan nor I were homeschooled when we were growing up, so it’s not something we ever really considered,” she said. “I loved being a mom and I hated the thought of her being gone for eight hours a day, so we momentarily considered it. But everybody else was sending their kids to school, so you just go with the flow.”
That flow would continue for the next few years, even as they added their second daughter, Elsie, who joined Gabby at public school in the same grade. Although overall public school seemed to be going great, under the surface bubbled a few issues that would prove challenging in the Gronewold girl’s journey. Elsie struggled with some anxiety about learning, and unbeknownst to her parents, Gabby was experiencing some bullying. Fast forward to 2020, and the Covid pandemic changed daily life for all parents. Schools across the county closed their doors, switching to online classes at home, changing the landscape of learning for all students. Gabby and Elsie Gronewold were in the second grade, and their mom found the new normal unexpectedly fulfilling.
“We saw, when they were doing the satellite school through Covid, the benefits of being in our home, together, for eight hours a day. And I loved teaching my kids!” she exclaimed. “I loved having conversations with my kids, knowing what they were reading, telling stories along with what they are doing…making those correlations between what they are learning and how that applies to our life now.”
In the 2021-2022 school year, she made the change permanent, joining the thousands of other families switching to homeschooling. Gronewold still worked part-time, so a little finagling was needed to make the change work. Both her mother and mother-in-law stepped in to fill the gap, teaching for one day each, with Gronewold covering the other three days of the week.
After researching curriculums online, she settled on the Sonlight Curriculum, a faith-based system heavy on reading books and learning through application. As a relative homeschool pioneer in the area, Gronewold joined a cooperative in Maxwell for support and activities. Now, as the homeschool footprint has broadened in Gothenburg, she collaborates with multiple families here for ideas, get-togethers, and support.
There are pros and cons to everything, but the biggest stigma associated with this type of alternative education is lack of socialization.
“I remember Brian saying, ‘I don’t want our kids to be weird!’” Rebecca recalled with a laugh. “And I just said, ‘Well, they have me for a mom, so they’re probably going to be weird.’”
In reality, Gronewold has found that the stigma is radically unfounded, if the family is committed to broadening horizons and providing opportunities for the kids to interact with others in everyday life. The biggest benefits she has found have been watching her kids grow in their faith, their security of who they are, and their ability to form relationships with people of differing ages. The family loves the hands-on learning homeschooling allows, including science projects, field trips, camps, and activities.
In addition, the ability to focus on each child, nurturing their strengths and working through any scholastic challenges has created a safe learning environment that is both rewarding and successful. Two more children have since joined their sisters, with Carly (5th grade) and Maxon (3rd grade) both traversing their educational career fully homeschooled. In a slightly different trajectory, their recently added foster son, Spencer (4th grade), is enrolled full-time in public school.
Gabby and Elsie, now in the 8th grade, have started going part-time to Gothenburg Public School in addition to their base homeschool curriculum, to participate in band, choir, and quarter rotation classes including art, teen living, Spanish, computers, current events, and mechanics. The girls have also tried out sports, with Gabby preferring volleyball and Elsie joining in as manager for the softball team.
Offering her children the best of both worlds is not a contradiction for Gronewold, as she works with the school to make sure that the education they receive is the best for each individual.
“I always encourage parents who talk to me about homeschooling to keep a positive relationship with the public school,” Gronewold shared. “Something that has stuck with me in my homeschool journey is that such a small percentage of kids are homeschooled, and a very large percentage go through the public school. So as a society, as a community, we will only thrive if our public schools are thriving. We want our public schools to be healthy; we want our public schools to be doing a good job. We should be their biggest cheerleaders, regardless of whether our kids are in the public school system or not. It’s important to support families that are homeschooling, and it’s also very important to support teachers, staff and families that are in the public school.”