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Highlands Today

Schooling At Home

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

Debra Schroeder checks her son's, Isaac Schroeder, 9, school work as her daughter Abigail, 2, looks on at their home recently in Sebring.

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By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: November 9, 2008

SEBRING - For the Schroeder children it's another typical day of school, which means they are not in school - they are being home schooled.

In the family room, 6-year-old Levi watches a video of the Alphabet Song while 13-year-old Hannah studies English in a textbook and 9-year-old Isaac works on his reading skills. Ethan, 15, studies the Bible in his bedroom and Buck, 17, is tackling world history at the dining table.

The Schroeder children are in grades kindergarten, third, eighth, ninth and 11th.

Their teacher and mother is Debra Schroeder, who not only has a full house of school-aged children, but also two future students with 4-year-old Noah and 2-year-old Abigail.

As the Highlands County School District experiences a drop in enrollment, the Schroeders foresee no drop in their home school enrollment with Debra expecting another child in April.

Schroeder said she and her husband agreed to home schooling before their first child reached school age.

"We always thought about home schooling," she said.

Schroeder has family members who home school their children and she served as a substitute home school teacher when the mother had to occasionally work outside the home.

The Schroeders believed home schooling was their best option because they could personalize the curriculum and don't have to expose their children to "everything" in the school system.

"They don't have to do all the busy work that's in the schools a lot of time," Schroeder said. "So you just focus on the education and the important stuff."

The family has to pay for school books and other instructional materials such as DVDs.

"We don't get anything from the county or district," Schroeder said. Some states do provide funds to families who are home schooling such as Iowa, which pays $600 per student, but the curriculum materials have to be returned.

Schroeder estimates this year's home schooling costs are about $2,000 because a few of her children are using materials purchased from A Beka Book, which is a Christian-based company that sells textbooks and teaching aides.

Some years it has only cost about $500 or $600 she said. It doesn't cost as much when a younger child moves up a grade and they use a book that was previously purchased for an older child.

Hannah said her daily time on school work varies.

"It depends on how much I have and how hard it is; usually, I do four to five hours to get it done unless I have extra studies I need to do," she said.

Hannah said she does have homework.

"With the A Beka, I listen to a class on the video and then they give me a homework assignment to do after the video is done," she said.

Hannah is also studying history, pre-algebra and science.

Commenting on home schooling Hannah said "it's fun; I like it because I get to learn how to cook and help my mom teach; I want to be a teacher."

After studying the Bible, Ethan worked on U.S. history.

"I'm studying how the Supreme Court works," he said.

Sitting on the carpeted floor in his bedroom, Ethan said homeschooling is fun but, "you have to work hard and get it all done, but I feel more comfortable being at home doing my school than I would out somewhere else.

Ethan said the school day usually starts at 8 a.m. and continues until 1 or 2 p.m. with a break at 11:30 a.m. for lunch.

The only nearby neighbors don't have any children, Ethan said, "usually we meet most of our friends at church; we have a lot of friends at church; we go Wednesday nights and Sunday."

Buck will be taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test as he plans to major in biology when he goes to college to study to become a chiropractor.

Schroeder believes her children do not miss out on the socialization aspect of going to school because they are involved with the youth group at their church. Also, Buck and Ethan are active on Sebring High School sports teams and Hannah participates in a cheerleading group and a dance group.

The decision to home school should be made with both parents in agreement, Schroeder believes.

Part of the decision was that Schroeder would have to stay home and could not work outside the home.

"You have to make sacrifices doing that," she said. You don't have a dual income, but on the positive, you don't have daycare costs and she doesn't have to pay for a work wardrobe.

Also, home schooling takes a lot of time and Schroeder doesn't like to teach basic reading skills.

"It's the time thing for me and you have them all the time; the kids are here all day long; you don't get a break," she said. "But, there are ways to get breaks especially when they get older and they go into sports or piano lessons or whatever they decide to do."

Rising Numbers

The Florida Department of Education estimated that 56,650 students were home schooled in 2007-08, which is an 80 percent increase compared to the 31,440 home-schooled students in 1997-98.

In Highlands County, the number of home schooled children has fluctuated little this year compared to the past two school years, averaging 268 children.

Eli and Margaret Sager were both home schooled so it was a natural progression to home school their own children.

"I was a teacher before I had children so it's something that comes naturally to me," Margaret Sager said. "Most of all because we really want to instill Christian values in our children and we feel that is on the decline in the public schools.

"It's our lifestyle; we kind of have a little bit different lifestyle; we own our own business; so it just fits for us."

The Sagers have three school-aged children: 5-year-old Catherine will be starting first-grade in January; 6-year-old Phebe will be starting second-grade in January and 9-year-old David who is in the fourth-grade.

By searching online for used instructional materials, Sager said she is able to home school fairly economically, spending only about $100 for all three children.

Sager also believes both parents have to agree on the decision to home school their children.

"I know I rely heavily on my husband supporting me and encouraging me because it is challenging and I know without his support it would be that much harder," she said.

If David is having trouble understanding something his father will step in to help out.

"He's got a different way of looking at things and thinking about how things work, especially with math and boys," Sager said of her husband. "I think boys and girls definitely think differently and my husband has had a lot of insight to help me with my oldest son with different methods of teaching."

Sager and Schroeder are members of the Christian Home Educators Fellowship of Florida, which began its first official co-op in September.

Parents and children meet twice a month at Bible Fellowship Church in Sebring for classes on a wide range of topics. Field trips are held for most topics covered.

There is a $50 yearly registration fee to join the group, which covers the cost of materials for the co-op and membership in Florida Parent-Educators Association.

Schroeder said everybody teaches their kid whether it is at home or whether they go to school somewhere, you are still in charge of your child's education.

If they are in school you have to be on top of who their teachers are, what your child is learning, she said. "I'm just cutting out the middleman here."

Marc Valero can be reached at 386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com

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