Homeschooling sees major increase due to COVID-19

Homeschooling on the rise in Arizona thanks to pandemic

Homeschooling is on the rise in the US and in Arizona due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PHOENIX - The pandemic sparked a new interest in homeschooling, and the appeal for parents to find solutions that meet their kids' health and safety needs.

One mom says her son has actually improved since homeschooling.

Catriona Simental has been homeschooling her second-grader Antonio since last August.

"We just decided to take it on ourselves and see if we could give him more one-on-one time."

The decision was made after home learning during the pandemic became a struggle for Antonio to keep up with.

"We decided to take it on ourselves because the virtual learning wasn't cutting it, especially for a kindergartener and first-grader who can't read," Simental said.

And the Simentals are not the only ones making the shift.

According to the US Census Bureau, the numbers for homeschooling have increased significantly. Back in May 2020, just over 5% of children reported homeschooling. By fall, this number jumped to over 11%, doubling the US households that were homeschooling compared to the previous year.

On top of the pandemic, the main reason the Simentals love the change is because of the flexibility it provides for their family.

"It is more freedom. Like he gets to sleep in until 9. We like to stay up late so we have plenty of family time so he gets to sleep in and we don't do school work until after lunchtime. At the ened of the day, we have more time to play and watch movies."

Since making the change, Simental says now Antonio has caught up with the curriculum and has even excelled past his grade level in certain subjects.

"It has been really nice with open communication."