2nd Annual Homeschool Open House Held

By NICK YAMASHITA

The Progress

A group of about two dozen Moapa Valley parents participated in a homeschooling open house even on Tuesday evening, August 10 at the Old Overton Gym.

Event organizer Cally Wade was happy to coordinate this venue for parents to come and get questions answered about homeschooling as well as support that is available to parents.

Attendance at the event was down sharply from the numbers seen at a similar fair held last year.
“There were several things playing a part in that,” said Wade. “Tonight there were several school events, church activities, and other mandatory meetings going on. I scheduled this event before any of the other events were scheduled. But that is the way it goes.”

Several experience home-school parents set up display tables offering information on the curriculum, programs, and resources. The local 4-H organization was also in attendance to present information as well as the Nevada Homeschool Network.

4-H was promoting all of their clubs and organizations as well as activities planned.

Chief among these was the upcoming Community Mental Health Resource Fair which will feature world-renowned guest speaker Kevin Hines on September 9 at 5:00 pm at the Clark County Fairgrounds at 1301 Whipple Ave. This event is being co-sponsored by the MV Community Education Advisory Board, UNR Cooperative-Extension, Clark County Parks and Recreation, PACT Coalition, and of course, 4-H.

“We know that the mental health of students is greatly affected right now,” said Dianna Walker, 4-H Agent and Coordinator for the area. “We really want to focus on mental health this year.”
Katie Matheson, a Board Member for the Nevada Homeschool Network, provided information about what parents have legal rights to do regarding homeschooling.

“We advocate for those who are homeschooled and practicing homeschooling,” Matheson said. “A lot of times government officials try to do things which are not legal by controlling homeschooling. We are there to mitigate and help remind them that what they are doing is illegal and against federal/state law regarding homeschooling.”

Matheson said that one of the hardest challenges is the constant changing of administration. “We get an administrator educated on homeschooling law and then another administrator replaces him who has no education in homeschooling,” she said.

The Nevada Homeschool Network works with parents and government officials, education administrators, and more to make sure all rights of homeschooled kids are protected.

“The most common questions I get asked are such things as a good place to start, favorite curricula, how it works for teens in high school like getting a GED or High School Diploma, and more,” said Cally Wade.

By the end of the homeschool open house, several parents as well as current homeschoolers had learned new things that would benefit them in providing better education for their kids.

“The biggest thing I wanted to do is get people talking about what is happening and not happening in public schools,” mentioned Wade. “It is obvious that there is a lot going on in public schooling which many do not agree with. It is hard to homeschool, but it is so worth it!”

Homeschooling has in popularity extensively in Southern Nevada due to what a vast amount of parents have called a complete failure by Clark County School District in educating youth during the pandemic and currently. According to the US Census, Homeschooling went up from 2.5% before the pandemic to currently 13.1% and is still continuing to grow.