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As Noem’s School Choice Bill Divides Educators, Some Districts Cooperate with Homeschool Families

This is the fifth story in a five-part series about the growth of alternative instruction in South Dakota.

Children play a guessing game on a white board at Acton Academy in Sioux Falls at an exhibition presentation in May 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

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Nearly 15% of school-age children in the Meade School District 鈥 504 students 鈥 are enrolled in alternative instruction instead of attending a state-accredited private or public school.

Because state funding is partially based on enrollment, those children would bring roughly $3.5 million in funding to the district if they attended a public school.

That鈥檚 money that could cover staff salaries and resources, maintenance and repair of school buildings or extracurriculars, said Heath Larson, executive director of Associated School Boards of South Dakota.

Rising Alternatives

This is the fifth story in a about the growth of alternative instruction in South Dakota.

Further stories examine the , concerns about , growing alternatives for , and the .

Larson and other public education advocates are concerned that as more families remove their kids from traditional schools to pursue alternative instruction, school districts will continue to lose funding.

鈥淥ur state must continue to adequately fund public education,鈥 Larson said, 鈥渢o ensure that our schools are able to meet the needs of all students and provide school districts the resources and support they need.鈥

Alternative instruction nearly tripled in South Dakota over the last decade from 3,933 students in 2014 to 11,489 鈥 now making up about 7% of school-age children in the state. That includes online, hybrid and microschools that are unaccredited, or accredited by an entity other than the state.

The trend accelerated in 2021 when South Dakota lawmakers deregulated alternative instruction, making it easier for parents to remove their kids from public schools and harder for public school systems to monitor alternatively instructed students.

This winter, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem wants to create education savings accounts (ESAs). The $4 million program 鈥 part of a to make public funds available for private school and alternative instruction 鈥 would provide about in its first year to pay for a portion of private school tuition or curriculum for alternative instruction.

Ahead of the annual legislative session, which begins Tuesday, Noem鈥檚 ESA proposal is public school advocates against their counterparts from private education and alternative instruction.

鈥淚 will personally fight tooth and nail to make sure that public education stands forever, if I can have my way,鈥 said Rob Monson, executive director of the School Administrators of South Dakota. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to see an attack this year, I believe, on the public school institution bigger than we鈥檝e ever seen.鈥

Public school advocates worry the program will balloon and siphon money away from public schools, while primarily benefiting students who are already enrolled in private school or alternative instruction without state support.

Monson told South Dakota Searchlight that families should work with their local school boards to make the changes they hope to see.

Some school districts and alternative-instruction families have been doing that: experimenting with ways to cooperate. They鈥檝e created hybrid arrangements that allow students to participate in both alternative and public education, while school districts retain some of the state funding they would lose if the students had no involvement with a public school.

Students shift between public & alternative school, study says

The conversation surrounding homeschooling growth at the state Legislature has largely been framed as an exodus from public school systems. But that isn鈥檛 entirely accurate from a national perspective, said Angela Watson, director of the Homeschool Research Lab at in Maryland.

The vast majority of nontraditional students nationwide are 鈥渟witchers,鈥 Watson said: children who shift between public school, alternative instruction and back again. Between 36% and 43% of students surveyed for a were homeschooled for only one to two years.

Rebecca Lundgren started a hybrid school in Dell Rapids this school year. Lundgren removed her three children from the public school system in 2019 but allowed them to choose where they go to school.聽

Josie, Rebecca鈥檚 15-year-old youngest child, plans to continue alternative schooling through graduation but takes some classes at the hybrid and public school. While she likes the routine of public school and spending time with friends, homeschooling allows her to learn at her own pace. She is diagnosed with ADHD, dyslexia and auditory processing disorder.

鈥淚 struggle a bit sometimes with my learning. I like learning in a classroom setting, but sometimes the noise and people become too much,鈥 Josie said.

Rebecca added that it鈥檚 important to her that her family is active in Dell Rapids and supports all educational paths, not just investing in her own children鈥檚 education. That, she said, ensures the best education for everyone.

鈥淚 think homeschoolers need to support public school students and I think public school needs to support homeschool,鈥 she said.

Lundgren鈥檚 oldest child graduated from homeschooling in 2022. Her middle child returned to public school full-time the same year.

That 鈥渟witcher鈥 perspective 鈥渃ompletely changes the conversation,鈥 Watson said. It鈥檚 an important distinction for lawmakers, homeschool advocates and school administrators to understand for funding and policy decisions, including virtual schooling or re-enrollment requirements: the students who leave might return.

鈥淚f we understand those kids are going to probably end up in public schools, I think including them as much as possible is probably a good move for all concerned,鈥 Watson said.

Harrisburg finds success in nontraditional 鈥榩ersonalized learning鈥

Alternative instruction advocates say their growth can spur public schools to respond with changes that improve public education. The Harrisburg School District鈥檚 鈥減ersonalized learning鈥 model is an example. The district adopted the approach from a charter school in Maine.

The district uses personalized learning for most elementary students. They learn math and reading 鈥 and some other subjects 鈥 at their own pace. Students complete activities, assignments and 鈥渕astery checks鈥 individually before advancing. If they don鈥檛 master the unit, they keep working.

Teachers closely follow data from placement tests, mastery checks, assignments and activities to understand how to work best with each child, said Harrisburg Superintendent Tim Graf.聽

The switch benefits teachers as well, said McClain Botsford, a third grade teacher. Botsford taught in a traditional classroom in Nebraska before moving to the Harrisburg district three years ago. She said she鈥檇 鈥渘ever go back,鈥 because she feels less frustration and burnout working with students individually.

Teachers also become subject matter experts because they鈥檒l teach one topic, like fractions, through second and fifth grades, rather than learning the entirety of math standards at one grade level. Students move between four second-through-fifth grade teachers in a 鈥渃ohort鈥 as they focus on mastering a subject.

The children work on assignments and watch videos on their tablets when they aren鈥檛 working with teachers in small groups. Because of that, there can be less behavior issues during math and reading since children are focused and challenged, Botsford said.

Because the district is the fastest growing in the state, it has the funds to invest in different educational techniques, Graf said. Not all school districts have that luxury.

Just over 300 students, or 4.64% of the school-aged population in the Harrisburg School District, are enrolled in alternative instruction this year.

鈥楶ublic education is meant to serve all children鈥

Sheridan Keller鈥檚 children are homeschooled, but her son is enrolled in a business class at Florence High School near their town of Wallace in eastern South Dakota. Both of her sons play sports and band, one daughter participates in middle school music classes, and her youngest daughter attended kindergarten once a week last school year.

Her children are involved in the school because her superintendent clearly communicates with her about her children鈥檚 needs, she said. Florence Superintendent Mitchell Reed expressed a similar sentiment.

鈥淧ublic education is meant to serve all children in a district,鈥 Reed said, 鈥渘ot just full-time students.鈥

School districts are required to allow alternative instruction students to participate in sports and extracurriculars, and to enroll in classes. Those reforms were included in an alternative instruction .

When an alternative student participates in a public school class or sport, the school district claims that student鈥檚 鈥渃redit hour鈥 and receives state funding to support the child鈥檚 participation.

But the relationship between public schools and homeschool families can depend on the district, Keller said. Her daughter joined the Florence kindergarten class once per week to make friends. She attended field trips and class parties, as well as normal days in the classroom. She was also included in the kindergarten graduation program.

鈥淥ur school is very good to us,鈥 Keller said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just things like that that really make a difference.鈥

Meade experiments with online learning

Online education is growing in the alternative instruction world, said Lisa Nehring, the owner and founder of True North Home School Academy. The online school teaches roughly 600 children grades second through 12th nationwide on subjects including math, literature, science, foreign language and soft skills, such as career exploration.

Students typically enroll in a few courses at a time, with three classes being the most popular 鈥渂undle,鈥 said Nehring, who lives in Parker. Science, English and foreign language are the most popular courses because they鈥檙e harder to teach at home.

鈥淎nd then they鈥檒l do co-ops or dual enrollment or the parents will teach them themselves,鈥 Nehring said.

Thousands of students across the state use virtual learning each year through the state鈥檚 , whether the classes replace an unfilled teaching position within a school district, are used for student credit recovery to graduate, or make courses available that are not offered at the local school district.

Alternative instruction students can take courses, as long as they register through their public school district. The student鈥檚 request for online access can be denied, depending on the school district鈥檚 policy.

Jen Beving, a homeschooling organizer and deputy state director for Americans for Prosperity-South Dakota, advocated for mandatory online education access for alternative instruction students at the state level two years ago. Virtual schools would bridge the gap between public and alternative instruction, allowing the public school to retain some oversight of the students, she said. For example, schools can monitor students鈥 laptops and engagement through the program.

The Meade School District is piloting a program similar to Beving鈥檚 idea this school year.

The school district launched its Meade County Homeschool Connections program, which allows alternative instruction families to enroll their children in kindergarten through eighth grade online classes on a part-time or full-time basis.

A facilitator coordinates the program to connect with families who partially enroll their children for in-person classes. The district purchased an online teaching program, Acellus, to teach the courses. It mixes self-paced videos and interactive components.

鈥淚f a kid is struggling with a component, the program will recognize that and backfill with additional support and content,鈥 said Whitewood Elementary Principal Brit Porterfield, who鈥檚 closely involved with the Connections program. 鈥淚t identifies skills they鈥檙e struggling with and provides more material and targeted lessons as a way to improve mastery. It caters itself to students鈥 needs.鈥

The program 鈥 including the facilitator and technology 鈥 costs about $106,000 a year, said Superintendent Wayne Wormstadt. It鈥檚 capped at the equivalent of 30 fully enrolled students, and will not accept children outside of the Meade School District. Increasing the school鈥檚 student enrollment by 30 allows for about $200,000 in state funding, Wormstadt said.

As of the beginning of the school year, 20 students were enrolled. Most students are enrolled in reading and math classes.

The pilot program will run for two years before being reviewed.

鈥淲hether the student is in public all school years or homeschooling, these children are going to be the future leaders in our community,鈥 Wormstadt said, 鈥渟o I feel this pilot is an important part of what we should be doing not just inside our school building walls but inside the school district as a whole.鈥

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: info@southdakotasearchlight.com.

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