by Angela Lasch

When was the last time you thought about why you do what you do? Why do you spend so many hours per week helping homeschool families? What does the future of your group look like? Maybe these questions keep you awake at night. Perhaps you have never thought of these questions. You are just going through the motions. Knowing why your group does what it does will help lead it into the future. 

We can all agree that we are living in uncertain times. Private home education has been legal for more than 40 years. Each decade has brought new challenges. As leaders in the homeschool community, you have played a significant role in staying the course for your families. 

Since 2020, we have seen a considerable influx of new homeschoolers. What I hear from most homeschool group leaders is that these families are homeschooling for different reasons and want different things than homeschoolers of the past. Each generation of parents desires different things from the generations before them. How do homeschool groups meet these needs, but not deviate from their purpose? 

What is your purpose? 

Why does your homeschool group exist? Is it to help families privately homeschool their children? How do you help them? Are you a PSP that holds records? Are you a support group that offers co-op classes and field trips? 

Or are you trying to offer more? Are you also encouraging families to use specific curricula? Are you offering drop-off programs? As we see more and more parents wanting more options, remember your purpose carefully. If you feel led to provide more, evaluate if you are still a “homeschool program” or are becoming more like a traditional private school. 

We all know the word “homeschool” means different things to different people. But the more your homeschool group looks like a “school,” acts like a “school,” and offers things only a “school” does, the more it may be time to ask yourself if you are still a “homeschool community.”

Staying the course

When there is a great need, jumping in and attempting to fix the problem can be tempting. Most homeschool group leaders I know have a big heart. Group leaders desire to help families homeschool in any way they can.

Has anyone ever called your group and said they wanted to start homeschooling and then asked where they drop their students off? We chuckle at that question. But if, for these new parents, all they know are homeschool drop-off programs that tell them what to do and what curriculum to use, they will never know there is another way. 

Because of this trend, we are seeing a rise in pods, micro-schools, hybrids, etc. Most of the families enrolled in these programs identify as homeschoolers. Have you ever felt pressured to try and emulate any of these programs because that is what the parents want? 

In a time when groups are trying to be “relevant,” I encourage you to stay true to your purpose and be the “remnant.” However, if you must be relevant, please stay true to your purpose!

What does it look like to be the remnant?

Stay true to your mission regardless of what others are doing. This does not mean you never change at all. Change is always necessary, sometimes even painful, to continue your mission. But once you know your mission, it is much easier to not deviate from it, no matter how tempting it may be. 

Adjusting with the times while staying true to your mission

If a group has been around for more than 20 years, chances are there are new generations of younger parents in the program. Those in leadership might not even homeschool anymore. In cases like this, the leadership can be set in their way. For instance, they might always have a potluck or serve sandwiches at the end-of-the-year celebration. But along come the new parents asking for tacos. The leadership might protest, saying, “But we’ve always done it this way.” Food options might seem like a silly example, but I’ve heard this is a legitimate problem for some groups. Just serve the tacos! Tacos don’t affect the mission! 

However, what if you run a PSP with co-op classes? Do you require the parents to stay? What if some new families complain because they have heard of other programs that provide drop-offs two to three days per week. Then they try to get your group to change. If you give in, you are not fulfilling your mission of helping these families homeschool their children at home. I encourage you to speak up, even if it’s hard, and let these parents know they are the best teachers for their kids. Homeschooling them is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If they drop them off, they are missing out on the best parts of their student’s day. If it looks like a school and acts like a school, it isn’t homeschool!

That is not a popular opinion, but this is an example of being the remnant. Just as when we first began homeschooling, it may not have been widespread, but we believed the Lord led us to stay home with our children. Hold onto Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” “Everyone else is doing it” has never been our motto. 

Hold onto God’s promises

The following verses are just some ways God has spoken to me over the years when faced with difficult decisions or I’ve felt pressured to “give in” and do something I hadn’t felt the Lord leading me in. I pray these verses encourage you to stay faithful to your calling while leading your homeschool group. 

John 16:33 – I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Psalm 32:8 – I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Psalms 37:23-24 – The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Isaiah 40:31 – But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

James 1:2-3 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

I pray that each of you stay the course and remember your purpose. If you ever have questions or need to discuss the future of your group, please reach out to CHEA. We would love to talk and pray with you.