Families in Wharton County homeschooling their children have more options and support thanks to two women who recognized a need for assistance and created the Legacy of Faith Homeschool Co-op.
The Texas Education Agency shows that more than 50,000 students withdrew from public schools each year between 2022-2023, with parents opting to home school them. During the pandemic of 2020-2022, more than 83,000 were taught at home.
Living in El Campo, Kayla Hutton and Jamie Thigpen gathered with other home schooling parents once a week to socialize their children and share teaching ideas and methods.
“Well, we both home schooled and felt a need for more support … we needed something, not quite a school, but something where we could school our kids together more than once a week,” Hutton said.
There wasn’t a specific group of home schoolers in the area, but they knew there was a need from listening to other parents and reading comments on social media.
“We weren’t sure what we wanted to do with our kids, but we knew they needed a setting where they could learn with their peers, but not be subject to state testing and things like that,” Thigpen said.
Both women attend Grace Point Community Church in El Campo and they started talking about creating the cooperative in February, getting their non-profit status by March 2. When Grace Point pastors Mike and Shana Smith learned what the women were working on, they offered them a space to start their co-op.
The co-op serves 30 families with 50 students registered, Tuesday through Thursday, in classrooms at the West Loop church. Class sizes are small and are made up of pre-k through high school students and there is a nursery on site. The co-op has families coming from Louise, Wharton and East Bernard in addition to El Campo.
Parents volunteer their time to teach at the co-op and Hutton said there are a lot of educated moms teaching. Volunteering is a requirement to be a part of the co-op.
“We have teachers, we have nurses, we have physical therapists and they’re definitely capable,” Hutton said.
The school uses the Abeka curriculum, published by Abeka Book, LLC of Pensacola, Fla., serving all grades in the co-op.
In addition to the curriculum, students and teachers have electives on Thursdays, providing P.E., art, music and, very soon, theater.
“We have Hailey Roberson, with children’s theater, the Plaza Theatre, and she’s coming in next month to teach theater,” Thigpen said.
Students in grades 2-12 are currently taking part in an elective survival skills class where they learn basic and advanced skills, receive a survival kit and take part in a field trip to Brakenridge State Park.
“We want our kids, as seniors, to be able to go and apply and get accepted to a four-year schools,” Thigpen said.
Thigpen’s son Wyatt was home schooled through high school and after graduation applied to Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Texas A&M and University of Texas San Antonio and was accepted at all of them.
“So that’s something that we’re preparing our kids for, whether they want to go straight to the workforce, go to a four-year, go to a two-year, enter a technical program. We want to make sure that they’re prepared,” Thigpen said.
The co-op provides transcripts for graduating students and classes are standardized so that no student learns differently or gets preferential treatment by parent teachers.
Tuition at Legacy of Faith Homeschool Co-op is supply based. Because parents are required to volunteer in teaching positions, tuition is priced according to supplies needed for each student per year and costs $250 for pres-school through eighth grade and between $500-$600 for high school grades.
The homes-school co-op will host a fundraiser Candle Pour Party from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Grace Point Community Church, 820 West Loop, El Campo. Tea and dinner will be provided. For more information contact Jamie Thigpen at 979-257-7790 or email thigpen.jamie924@gmail.com.