Parents consider homeschooling as districts ditch remote learning

As many school districts return to full-time in-person learning after months of remote learning, some parents are considering home schooling their children.

News 12 Staff

Aug 19, 2021, 10:17 PM

Updated 1,212 days ago

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As many school districts return to full-time in-person learning after months of remote learning, some parents are considering home schooling their children.
Sheri Sohn Chablis began home schooling her middle school-aged son just months before the pandemic hit.
"The whole threat of school shootings, and just a gut feeling I had that I need to pull him out, and that was the end of 2019 and people thought I was crazy,” Chablis says.
Come March 2020, and just about every parent was adjusting to the new normal of remote learning.
"I registered my son for the school district and allowed him to do remote,” Chablis says.
The New City mother is now at a crossroads as the Clarkstown Central School District is ditching remote learning. She worried about her son, John, who has an auto-immune disorder.
"I know there are plenty of parents fighting the mask issue and I am sure there are plenty of kids that are going to follow whatever their parents say,” Chablis says.
Dr. Gina Riley, with CUNY Hunter College, studies home schooling, and she says many parents are more comfortable with home instruction after more than a year of remote learning.
"We have seen a rise throughout the United States, approximately 5% of individuals were home schooling prior to the pandemic. After the pandemic that went up to 10%,” Riley says. "The COVID-19 period gave parents this test trial time."
Now parents like Chablis are faced with a decision with weeks before school starts.
"I'm listening to the news, I’m listening to the numbers, listening to the virus going up and up and up and I’m waiting to see where it all lands."
Kids ages 12 and up can get vaccinated. Chablis’ son just received his first dose.