ASHLAND — Mallory Warrick never thought she’d homeschool her children.
Then, when her oldest son went through an evaluation process to get into preschool, it changed her mind. The family decided public school wasn’t a good fit.
Warrick had friends who homeschooled their children, and decided to give it a try. But, she still wanted opportunities for her and her children to build a community. That’s where she got the idea to start a homeschool co-op.
It started with around eight to 10 children who met once a month.
Now, six years later, the co-op Warrick started has 37 students involved. Warrick has no plans to stop.
“The goal is to continue the co-op as long as it’s of interest and people are still wanting to come,” Warrick said. “It’s something I’m passionate about and I want to keep helping families.”
Homeschooling in Ohio
In Ohio, parents who want to homeschool their children have to notify their local school district and be in compliance with state law, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
Parents have to notify the district every year that they are homeschooling their child, provide 900 hours of instruction per year and provide an assessment of students’ work.
At that point, families choose a curriculum and a course of study for their students.
The state considers online schools to be community/charter schools, rather than equating them with homeschooling.
A bill that passed in the state legislature this year, House Bill 33, created a new law governing standards for home education. According to the Ohio School Boards Association, it codifies some existing requirements and revised and added others.
Local districts still have to be notified about students receiving home education.
The new law also provides that if there is evidence students aren’t receiving education in required subject areas at home — English, math, science, history, government and social studies — they can be subject to “governing truancy.”
Stephanie Shaffer, one of the members of the Ashland Homeschool Co-Op that Warrick runs, said part of what the co-op offers is help for parents navigating the state’s rules for the first time.
Shaffer, a former nurse and stay-at-home mom, said her family chose to homeschool with the hope of developing a better relationship with their children. She said a benefit of the co-op has been finding support from other parents.
“We’re all in it together, but we’re also all in different stages,” Shaffer said.
How COVID affected homeschooling
Numbers from the Thomas Fordham Institute during the 2021-2022 school year indicate over 47,000 students in Ohio receive their education at home. That’s a drop from the 2020-2021 school year, but still higher than pre-COVID numbers.
In fact, studies show that homeschooling after the pandemic has remained at higher levels than before the pandemic. The Urban Institute, for example, noted that between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, homeschool enrollment increased by 30%.
Warrick said the trend has held with the Ashland Homeschool Co-Op too.
“The homeschooling movement, especially post-COVID, is growing,” Warrick said.
She said in Ashland, more students became involved during COVID-19 than were involved before it. That number has dwindled, but remains higher than before the pandemic, Warrick said.
Most students find their way there through word-of-mouth and the group’s Facebook page, according to Warrick.
Ashland Homeschool Co-Op
Mainly, Warrick said, the co-op’s purpose is to offer a sense of community in a flexible environment.
While many she researched met once a week and did the same curriculum, Warrick wanted to make sure families still could choose their own pathways. So, families involved in the Ashland Homeschool Co-Op don’t meet as often.
Families meet the second Thursday of each month from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Different parents take turns covering science, art and the Bible for students. Students range in age from kindergarten through sixth grade.
They also give themed presentations during the monthly meetings to their peers on topics like books they’ve read. Warrick said the presentations help students hone their public speaking skills.
Warrick and Melissa Abbott also plan field trips for the students to go on.
They’ve been to the MAPS Air Museum in Green, Ohio, and the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus.
For Bethany Cominsky, another mom whose children are part of the co-op, the field trips are a highlight.
Cominsky and her husband both went to public school, but decided to homeschool their children.
“We wanted to make sure our kids were more influenced by us than by other teachers,” Cominsky said.
Cominsky said she’s friends with Warrick, which is how she got connected with the co-op. They use an online program for many of their classes, supplemented with book work, table work and the co-op.
She added she thinks homeschooling has improved her relationship with her children, and allowed her an up-close look at their different learning styles.
“It’s been a really fun experience,” Cominsky said.
Shaffer said homeschooling for her family has taken a lot of adjusting to figure out what works best.
The co-op provided support for her as she navigated that process. With other parents in a similar situation, she said she’s picked up a lot of ideas about helping her children learn.
“It gives us all a chance to have something in common and to learn from each other,” Shaffer said.