BIRMINGHAM HOMESCHOOLERS COMMUNITY
A new chapter
in homeschooling
BY JEANA DURST
Did you know that there are 7,000 families in
the Birmingham metro area who homeschool
their children? Maybe you are among the parents
who have made that choice too. Or perhaps you
family. Whatever the case, what you need to know
is that homeschooling has evolved tremendously
in the past decade, and the resources and
opportunities for parents are more vast than ever.
This month’s Birmingham Home School Fair
is just one example of the type of support that
is available. Kristy Trent, coordinator for the
Birmingham Homeschoolers Community and a
homeschooling mother of four, shares her take
on what parents need to know.
In the past 10 years there’s been rapid growth
and a shift in the homeschooling community, she
explains. “Prior to today, homeschoolers tended
to be more isolated. Now, a lot of things in our
culture bring parents to a place of examining where
they want to put their values as far as their children
16 Bham Family March 2020
go,” Trent says. And, increasingly, homeschooling
families want to provide more social, schoollike
experiences. “A move toward that has really
grown. In the past three years, we now have three
independent home school sports programs in
Birmingham where kids can play football, basketball,
and girls’ volleyball,” Trent says.
Also, there’s an increase in co-op programs,
which are places where students can be in
a classroom setting with an instructor for a
few days a week. Because the co-ops are not
connected to a school, they are open to all
homeschoolers regardless of how they are
enrolled. For instance, Trent explains, “My
daughter can go to a co-op at the Church of
Brook Hills where she can take classes with a
homeschooler who lives in Leeds.” With several
co-ops in the area, one of the challenges is
creating awareness.
The Birmingham Homeschoolers Community,
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