According to the US Department of Education, over 1.7 million students, or 3.4% of the school-age population, are homeschooled in the US.1 Pennsylvania has been identified as the fifth “strictest” state for homeschoolers with several requirements that seem to relate more to political issues rather than to educational quality.2 According to one analysis, Pennsylvania has over 22,000 homeschooled students out of a school-age population of over 2 million, for a 1.1% participation rate, or about 1/3 of the national average.3
As Libertarians, we fully support the choice to homeschool and this led the Libertarian Party Committee of Chester County to invite guest speakers, Claudia Joye and Becky Albrecht, from the local Chester County Homeschoolers. Joye has been a leader in this group since 1988 and homeschooled her three sons for a total of 16 years before they all went to college (two to Villanova and one to the Berklee College of Music). She continues to support the group as secretary and editor of their monthly newsletter. Albrecht taught her six sons and one daughter at home for a total of 23 years. She is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Delaware County Community College and continues to support homeschooling groups with her wisdom and experience. Joye and Albrecht will be sharing their experiences and struggles as homeschoolers and answering questions.
The talk is open to the public and will take place at the committee’s monthly meeting on the second Tuesday of the month (May 14, 2019) upstairs at Ryan’s Pub, 124 E. Gay Street in West Chester. Formal proceedings begin at 7 pm but many members meet earlier to order dinner (individual checks) and to engage in casual conversation. The public is welcome to join us to learn more about homeschooling and how we can better support this option in our communities.
Date/Time: May 14, 2019, 7pm (with optional arrival at 6:30pm) Location: Ryan’s Pub, 124 E. Gay Street, West Chester PA (upstairs)
1 As of September 2018, 2012 was the most recent published year for US Dept. Education statistics. https://hslda.org/content/docs/news/2013/201309030.asp
2 https://www.onlinecollege.org/the-8-strictest-states-for-homeschoolers/
3 https://a2zhomeschooling.com/thoughts_opinions_home_school/numbers_homeschooled_students/
