Most families enroll their kids in a traditional school, whether it’s a public, private, or charter school. But since the pandemic, more parents have taken their kids out of those classrooms and are homeschooling their kids. 

The number of homeschooled students drastically increased around the time of COVID-19 school closures and have remained high. Right now, it’s estimated that there are between 2 and 3 million homeschooled students in the U.S, a little over 5% of students, according to the Washington Post. In the 2018-19 school year, right before the pandemic, that number was a little over 3.5%. 

Today on The Metro, we’re looking into why parents are deciding to homeschool their children more frequently.

Guests:

Angela Watson: Senior Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Education Policy. She researches the impact of schooling and learning, with an emphasis on homeschooling.

Leslie Vaughn: A parent who has been homeschooling her kids, at some part of their lives, for nearly 30 years. Vaughn is a mother of 8 and she’s also the wife of WDET news director Jerome Vaughn. 

Lily Altavena: Educational Equity Reporter for the Detroit Free Press that worked on an investigation into the neglect of a homeschooled student. 

We also asked listeners:

Would you homeschool your kids? Why or why not? 

Kristy in Lathrup Village said, “I did homeschool my kids, so they are high functioning adults in society. One is a lawyer and one works for a major company and is a composer and a musician.” 

Join the conversation by calling 313-577-1019 or leaving us an Open Mic message on the WDET app. 

More headlines from The Metro on Feb. 3, 2025:

• WDET reporter Bre’Anna Tinsley spent some time in Southwest Detroit during a recent immigrant rights rally. She joins the show to discuss how the community is reacting to President Donald Trump’s 10 executive orders centered on immigration. 

• Mike Colias is the deputy bureau chief covering auto companies for the Wall Street Journal’s Detroit bureau. He joins the show to talk about his new book “Inevitable” and how the transition to electric vehicles is happening.

• As we get closer to the NBA All-Star break on Valentine’s weekend, the Pistons are 7th in the East. It’s a far cry from their previous two seasons. Detroit Free Press Pistons beat writer Omari Sankofa II joins the show to talk about the team.