HAMBURG, N.Y. (WKBW) — More parents are opting to home-school their children, but how do you do it?
"It's actually a lot easier than I thought," said Tara McEwen of Hamburg. She started homeschooling her sons Nicholas and Alan this school year.
At Buffalo Public Schools, 15 students have made the switch because of the state's new vaccination law. Like Ameer Hamideh, who was denied a medical exemption.
"It's definitely affected a lot of parents and students and we're definitely seeing them make that choice to home-school," said Jessica Parnell, CEO of Bridgeway Academy, an online home-schooling program.
Here's how you do it, per the state.
- Write a letter of intent to your school district
- Draft a lesson plan
- Have the district sign off on it
- Parents must do quarterly reports with the district
- Parents must do a yearly assessment
McEwen says the process took her about three weeks. It costs her around $100 per child. She says the resources aren't hard to find.
"Ollie's has been my best friend. We get a lot of resources from online and ideas," said McEwen.
But not all parents have the time to teach their kids one on one. Busier parents might look for online programs like Bridgeway Academy.
"You can schedule it around your schedule. If you are a working parent or a busy parent, home-schooling can happen in the evenings, the parent can support them early in the morning, late at night," said Jessica Parnell, CEO of Bridgeway.
Their programs start at $900 per child.
