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Homeschooling Popularity Soars by 51% Since 2017, Outpaces Public, Private Schools; Venture Capital Firms Invest in Booming Homeschool Industry

Venture capital firms capitalize on homeschooling trend with $255 million investment in OutSchool since 2015; homeschooling grows in non-white populations and areas like New York, with dissatisfaction in school environment, academic instruction, and liberal influence cited as reasons.

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Overview

  • Homeschooling has experienced a massive surge in popularity, with the number of homeschooled children soaring by 51% since 2017, far outpacing the growth of private and public school enrollments which only increased by 7% and decreased by 4%, respectively.
  • Venture capital firms have seized this opportunity, investing in education startups like OutSchool, which has received $255 million in funding since 2015. Other microschool platforms, like Kaipod and Primer, raised about $5 million and $19 million, respectively.
  • Homeschooling's rise is being attributed not only traditional faith-based reasons, but also to dissatisfaction with school environment, concerns about liberal influence, accommodation of learning disabilities, and cases of bullying and school shootings.
  • Online curriculum platforms like Miacademy, Power Homeschool, Time4Learning, Outschool, IXL, Little Patriots Learning, and Veritas Press have expanded their offerings, making homeschooling more efficient and tailored to individual student needs.
  • The largest growth in homeschooling since 2017 has been seen in Washington, D.C., New York, South Dakota, and California, with increased adoption by non-white populations, including a significant jump in black households.