Pandemic pushes some local residents to find steady learning in homeschooling

ISchool officials have had to be flexible during the pandemic.

Many districts are offering virtual and in-person options, but some schools are still having to make transitions to remote learning.

And some governors like Henry McMaster of South Carolina are calling for in-person classes five days a week. This all has caused some parents to look for a permanent learning solution: homeschooling.

Parents have been weighing and re-weighing their school options for the past year.

“She eventually was actually sick for over a month. So, I pulled my daughter out of public school in January, and she’s never been back,” Parent Ebony Patterson-Harvey said.

At DeKel mPact Services, parents can supply their own curriculum and school plan and the staff just offers support.

“Parents have all rights over their child’s curriculum. And we’re just here as a support system to help carry out curriculum with the parent,” Saundra Kelly, co-owner DeKel mPact Services, said.

But the owners at this homeschool service say they’ve seen a flood of parents new to the homeschooling gig since the pandemic began.

“95 percent of our students are first-year homeschooling,” Kelly said.