As home-schooling grows, new hybrid model offers ag-based approach

For Sarah VanDerVliet, opening a home-school academy near Humboldt is a calling to serve.

To serve her family, her faith and her community.

The former Tri-Valley School District ag teacher is opening the Buffalo Christian Homeschool Academy this fall, a hybrid in-person and at-home K-12 school for almost two dozen students. The goal is to provide a little bit of structure and social time, with the two days of in-person learning, and a little bit of faith and family time, with the rest of the week dedicated to parents as teachers.

It’s a project that began like many do – slowly, and then all at once. First, a parent suggested she open her own school, but she was happy with her work at Tri-Valley and didn’t really consider it. Then, she watched as former parents and neighbors chose to homeschool over the years, again suggesting she give it a try.

Finally, it just started to come together – concern about how little time was left after a full day of school for faith, an understanding that she had an obligation to her four children to provide them with an education that matched their family values and a desire to share that meaning with others.

But the deciding factor was when she realized her daughter, who is on an individualized education program, or IEP, would not get a diploma but rather a certificate of completion because she received modifications in school. Students whose IEP require a modification of the state standards do not receive diplomas, but not every IEP has that requirement.

“I think God put different things in my path, and that was the path that made me realize I need to do this for her,” VanDerVliet said, “This is why God gives us our children – to educate them. I’ve learned a lot in the past three months on what our expectations are in a faith way, and that is one of them, and I am ready to uphold that duty.”

The school, which you can find on Facebook, wasn’t her first idea – she and her husband, who own a farm near Humboldt, considered agritourism. But then she heard about the hybrid model. “I thought, yes, that is what we are going to do,” VanDerVliet said.

She began to do research and attend conferences and realized while the model is newer to South Dakota, it isn’t unusual in the rest of the country.

In 2021, homeschooling reached an all-time high, according to data from the Associated Press. And even with the return to in-person learning, homeschooling is still above pre-pandemic levels. Three percent of U.S. students are homeschooled traditionally, and it has risen to 11 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In 18 states that shared data through the current school year, the number of home-schooling students increased by 63 percent in the 2020-21 school year and then fell by 17 percent in the 2021-22 school year.

And about 40 percent of parents overall support some form of hybrid education, according to Michael McShane, author of the book “Hybrid Homeschooling” and director of national research for EdChoice, a nonprofit supporting school choice policies.

Home-school guidelines are set by states, and while those who chose to home-school used to be primarily driven by religion, that has changed over the years, with the pandemic contributing. Parents cite understaffed schools, discomfort with in-person learning and curriculum disagreements as reasons to home-school, according to an EdChoice survey.

The demographics also have changed, according to The Christian Science Monitor, which writes, “Home-school participation rose across all racial and ethnic groups, including to more than 16 percent of Black households and more than 12 percent of Hispanic households.”

So it’s no surprise that VanDerVliet has found a plethora of information to help her get started. Students will attend school in a converted farmhouse in Colton from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, where she will provide support services. “This is where my educational expertise will help me pick up on different things,” she said. “We want parents to understand – this is a partnership, and it’s their academy.”

The learning itself will include an agricultural focus. “We will raise and process chickens and do unit studies and learn about Native Americans and state history and living off the land,” she said. “Eventually, we want to build (a school) right on the farm to incorporate more of the ag aspect.”

All of that appealed to Laura Benson of Colton. She has three kids age 8, 6 and 1. Last year, she home-schooled her daughter.

“I wasn’t even sure why,” Benson said. “My daughter went to public kindergarten and loved it, and at the end of the year, I just felt this call that I needed to look into it. I never thought I would be a home-school parent.”

It took some adjusting, but then she realized how much they loved the flexibility and extra time with their children. “Of course, my kids are still little, so I need to take it with a grain of salt,” Benson said with a laugh. They also loved how involved they were: “My husband and I get to be leading their growth and development and their learning. We know 100 percent what they are being taught and who they are with.”

They will attend Buffalo Christian Homeschool Academy’s hybrid school this fall. “The hybrid school allows us to still have that but also for the kids to be with other kids and get to be around more of a community and do some of these things hand-on,” Benson said.

Plus, it works with their lifestyle.

“It’s not a traditional school, so if we are in harvest or want to go on vacation for a few weeks, it’s not like we can’t leave because they are in school,” Benson said. “We have total flexibility to raise our kids differently. It’s a hard mindset shift, but once you make it, it’s so clear and doable.”

Like VanDerVliet, she found help and hope in the tight-knit community of other home-school families. “I was in a co-op, and that was my saving grace,” Benson said. “As a first-timer, you just doubt yourself so much, and I needed the other families to realize that I could do it and to realize it’s normal and you aren’t crazy.”

And both parents stress that home-schooling allows a different kind of flexibility for students too. VanDerVliet mentions other families whose kids have excelled in dance or rodeo, with additional time to dedicate to it, or an ability to take extra time to master one subject or work grade levels ahead in another.

“One mom had a son who was able to play five instruments by the time he was out of home-school,” she said. “If you take a child and let them soar, I’ve seen their brains, and they are amazing. They can be our next generation of leaders, and they’re going to knock your socks off.”

Her hope is to provide that kind of environment and to continue to work with and rely on various state and local groups for guidance. She said one group wants to open a resource center in Sioux Falls for people who want to start home-schooling. “The home-school world is amazing,” VanDerVliet said. “Everyone is willing to help.”

The school will have students in every grade except fifth and sixth. Some of the families are home-schooling already, and others are coming from public school. They are at capacity but have begun a waiting list. The school is a registered nonprofit with a three-member board. The hybrid model also makes home-schooling more accessible to families who may not be able to be home with their children every day.

Benson said her daughter had some concerns about being home-schooled, but she ended up loving it, and she’s looking forward to attending the academy. Like VanDerVliet, Benson had some concerns about the curriculum in public school and how much time it took.

“I just realized how much I am not part of their day,” Benson said. “Don’t get me wrong, I need time away, but you realize how much other people are influencing your kids when they are so little. And there are so many changes in our schools we don’t have control over. I want to teach her what we believe, and when she is older and confident in her core character, she can face those things.”

For VanDerVliet, she said the Bible calls her to teach her children. “We are supposed to be in the Word every day,” she said. The home-school curriculum allows that. “It’s in the history and science books, and English books. Even in math, they have to go look at a Bible verse and think about it. It’s just infused with every subject.”

Home-school students are able to participate on public school sports teams and other activities, in part because of the Homeschool Act, or Senate Bill 177, passed in 2021 by the South Dakota Legislature. The state guidelines are here.

Benson believes the hybrid model along with myriad educational resources will work for her family.

“I think what Sarah (VanDerVliet) is doing is going to change the world,” she said. “It’s already happening in the country, but here in the Midwest, she is showing what these microschools can look like.”

As for VanDerVliet, she’s ready.

“I’m really not scared – and that is all on God because I should be,” VanDerVliet said. “I have a confidence I’ve never had before. This whole path, when they say the Holy Spirit is guiding you, and you listen to him, this school has done that for me. I tell the kids, this is God’s school, and this is happening because this is what he wants me to do. I’m just trusting he is going to take care of us.”