According to the U.S. Department of Education, over the past few years the number of homeschooled students has exploded from 1 million students nationwide, to 1.5 million. This accounts for nearly 3 percent of our country’s school aged population. So, you might find yourself wondering, why the sudden interest in homeschooling? The answer is engagement. Children who are homeschooled, have been proven to be significantly more engaged in their academia than those students who attend public or private schools.

Why Homeschool?

Laurie Siegel, owner and operator of the website Homeschool NYC, claims that the reasoning behind the spike in online homeschooling (and other sorts of teaching styles)are due to the parent’s desire for their children to remain engaged in learning – not based on religion or other reasoning. Students that take online homeschool courses such as online math courses or online English courses, are able to progress through curriculum faster than other students. Being able to work at a pace that is suitable for each individual results in much less wasted time, per say. This means that the student is able to meet academic goals and reach milestones faster than he/she would be able to if they attended public or private school. The result is that the student is able to spend more time doing things that they love, such as extra-curricular activities or more focused studies.

Additionally, according to the U.S. Department of Education another main contributing factor to parent’s homeschooling their children is due to distracting school environments. Parents believe that such things as drugs, overcrowding, and peer pressure, prevent their children from fully engaging in the curriculum. Therefore, crippling their ability to reach their maximum potential, academically speaking that is. Websites like, FutureSchool.com, offer your child the ability to work at their own pace in an environment free of distractions, ultimately allowing them to maximize their learning potential, is the best way to keep them interested in learning.