Number of home schools reaches all-time high in Iredell

By: From staff and wire reports | Mooresville Tribune
Published: August 04, 2009

» Comments | Post a Comment

More than 41,000 N.C. families home-schooled their children in 2008-09, the largest number in the 23 years state officials have kept a tally.

Wake County leads the state, with 3,771 registered home schools teaching an estimated 7,571 students, according to a report released Monday. Mecklenburg was second, with 2,956 schools and 6,296 students. Iredell County tallied 862 schools and 1,499 students.

All N.C. counties had home-schoolers, with just over 77,000 children participating. That's up from about 71,600 the previous year, an increase of almost 8 percent.

Next week home-schoolers from across the state will gather in Mecklenburg County for the third annual "Love to Learn" conference at Central Piedmont Community College.

The steady growth in home-schooling doesn't necessarily represent a flight from public schools. Enrollment in state school systems, charter schools, private schools and home schools have all increased in recent years, with the ratios remaining roughly steady.