Cedar Rapids, IA, USA  
Digital Edition Digital Edition
Log in Log In My Account My Account
Subscribe Today
The Gazette The Gazette
The Gazette The Gazette
  • COVID-19
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Food & Drink
  • Business
Digital Edition Digital Edition
Log in Log In My Account My Account
Subscribe
CLOSE
The Gazette
Subscribe
My Account
  • News
    • All News
    • Election 2020
    • Coronavirus
    • Business News
    • Community
    • Crime and Courts
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Nation and World
    • Time Machine
    • Search Archive

    Our Journalists

    • Rod Boshart
    • Lee Hermiston
    • Erin Jordan
    • James Q. Lynch
    • Trish Mehaffey
    • Vanessa Miller
    • Kat Russell
    • Grace King
    • John Steppe
    • Gage Miskimen
    • Marissa Payne
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Iowa Hawkeyes
    • Hawkeye Football
    • Hawkeye Basketball
    • Prep Sports
    • Prep Volleyball
    • Prep Football
    • Prep Basketball
    • Prep Wrestling
    • Iowa State Cyclones
    • UNI Panthers
    • Small College Sports
    • Minor League Sports
    • Outdoors

    Sports Desk

    • Mike Hlas
    • Jeff Johnson
    • Jeff Linder
    • J.R. Ogden
    • K.J. Pilcher
    • Leah Vann
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Editorial Mission
    • Guest Columnists
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Political Cartoons
    • Staff Columnists
    • Staff Editorials
    • Submit a Letter or Column

    Our Columnists

    • Todd Dorman
    • Adam Sullivan
  • Food and Drink
    • All Food and Drink
    • Chew on This
    • Recipes
    • Restaurants
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Business Notes
    • Companies
    • Personal Finance
    • Economy
    • Employment
    • Energy
    • Manufacturing
    • Openings & Closures
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Small Business
    • Transportation

    Our Journalists

    • Rod Boshart
    • Erin Jordan
    • John Steppe
  • Obituaries
    • All Obituaries
    • In Memory Of
    • Submit an Obituary
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • Daily News Podcast
    • Fact Checker
    • Hlastradamus Odds
    • Iowa Prep Sports
    • On Iowa
    • On Iowa Politics
    • On UNI
    • Pinning Combination
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Art
    • Books
    • Museums & Galleries
    • Music
    • Theater
    • Things To Do
  • Living
    • All Living
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Milestones
    • People & Places
    • Pets & Animals
    • Recreation
    • Religion & Belief
    • Travel

    Our Writers

    • Diana Nollen
  • Kids Gazette
    • See All
    • Kids Cooking Series
    • Kids Galleries
    • Printables
    • Activities
    • Articles
    • Submissions
    • Resources
  • Photos
    • All Photos and Videos
    • The Iowa Photo
    • Photo Store

    Our Photojournalists

    • Andy Abeyta
    • Liz Martin
    • Rebecca Miller
    • Jim Slosiarek
    • Gazette Visuals
  • Milestones
    • All Milestones
    • Anniversaries
    • Days To Remember
    • Engagements
    • Holidays
    • In Remembrance
    • New Arrivals
    • Thank Yous
    • Submit a Milestone
  • Data
    • Arrests
    • Building Permits
    • Interactive Maps & Charts
    • Salaries
  • Gazette Sites
    • Classifieds
    • Corridor Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Gazette Gives Back
    • Gazette Rewards
    • Gazette Store
    • Green Gazette
    • HER
    • Iowa Wedding Experience
    • Holiday Light Finder
    • Hoopla
    • Iowa Ideas
    • Photo Store
  • Special Events
  • Special Sections
  • Other
    • About The Gazette
    • Archives
    • Article Removal
    • Business Directory
    • CR Arrest Database
    • Mobile Apps
    • Customer Care
    • Order Back Issues
    • Privacy Policies
    • Puzzle Answers
    • Sponsorship Requests
    • Submit a Letter
    • Weather
Daily News PodcastDaily News Podcast
Daily NewslettersDaily Newsletters
Log out

FOLLOW US

The Gazette
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Food and Drink
  • Business
  • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
  • Entertainment
  • Living
  • Kids Gazette
  • Photos
  • Milestones
  • Data
  • Gazette Sites
  • Special Events
  • Special Sections
  • Other
  • All News
  • Election 2020
  • Coronavirus
  • Business News
  • Community
  • Crime and Courts
  • Education
  • Government
  • Health
  • Nation and World
  • Time Machine
  • Search Archive

Our Journalists

  • Rod Boshart
  • Lee Hermiston
  • Erin Jordan
  • James Q. Lynch
  • Trish Mehaffey
  • Vanessa Miller
  • Kat Russell
  • Grace King
  • John Steppe
  • Gage Miskimen
  • Marissa Payne
  • All Sports
  • Iowa Hawkeyes
  • Hawkeye Football
  • Hawkeye Basketball
  • Prep Sports
  • Prep Volleyball
  • Prep Football
  • Prep Basketball
  • Prep Wrestling
  • Iowa State Cyclones
  • UNI Panthers
  • Small College Sports
  • Minor League Sports
  • Outdoors

Sports Desk

  • Mike Hlas
  • Jeff Johnson
  • Jeff Linder
  • J.R. Ogden
  • K.J. Pilcher
  • Leah Vann
  • All Opinion
  • Editorial Mission
  • Guest Columnists
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Political Cartoons
  • Staff Columnists
  • Staff Editorials
  • Submit a Letter or Column

Our Columnists

  • Todd Dorman
  • Adam Sullivan
  • All Food and Drink
  • Chew on This
  • Recipes
  • Restaurants
  • All Business
  • Agriculture
  • Business Notes
  • Companies
  • Personal Finance
  • Economy
  • Employment
  • Energy
  • Manufacturing
  • Openings & Closures
  • Real Estate
  • Retail
  • Small Business
  • Transportation

Our Journalists

  • Rod Boshart
  • Erin Jordan
  • John Steppe
  • All Obituaries
  • In Memory Of
  • Submit an Obituary
  • All Podcasts
  • Daily News Podcast
  • Fact Checker
  • Hlastradamus Odds
  • Iowa Prep Sports
  • On Iowa
  • On Iowa Politics
  • On UNI
  • Pinning Combination
  • All Entertainment
  • Art
  • Books
  • Museums & Galleries
  • Music
  • Theater
  • Things To Do
  • All Living
  • Health & Wellness
  • Home & Garden
  • Milestones
  • People & Places
  • Pets & Animals
  • Recreation
  • Religion & Belief
  • Travel

Our Writers

  • Diana Nollen
  • See All
  • Kids Cooking Series
  • Kids Galleries
  • Printables
  • Activities
  • Articles
  • Submissions
  • Resources
  • All Photos and Videos
  • The Iowa Photo
  • Photo Store

Our Photojournalists

  • Andy Abeyta
  • Liz Martin
  • Rebecca Miller
  • Jim Slosiarek
  • Gazette Visuals
  • All Milestones
  • Anniversaries
  • Days To Remember
  • Engagements
  • Holidays
  • In Remembrance
  • New Arrivals
  • Thank Yous
  • Submit a Milestone
  • Arrests
  • Building Permits
  • Interactive Maps & Charts
  • Salaries
  • Classifieds
  • Corridor Careers
  • Garage Sales
  • Gazette Gives Back
  • Gazette Rewards
  • Gazette Store
  • Green Gazette
  • HER
  • Iowa Wedding Experience
  • Holiday Light Finder
  • Hoopla
  • Iowa Ideas
  • Photo Store
  • About The Gazette
  • Archives
  • Article Removal
  • Business Directory
  • CR Arrest Database
  • Mobile Apps
  • Customer Care
  • Order Back Issues
  • Privacy Policies
  • Puzzle Answers
  • Sponsorship Requests
  • Submit a Letter
  • Weather
Daily News PodcastDaily News Podcast Daily NewslettersDaily Newsletters
LOG OUT

FOLLOW US

More Stories

Marion school board votes 5-2 to no longer consider ’Mavericks’

University of Iowa presidential finalist Osofsky tackles questions of free…

24-hour COVID-19 vaccine clinic to take place this weekend

'A way to start over again’: Collaboration aims to replant…

Iowa’s public works needs ignored too long, White House reports

House GOP calls for freezing funding for ‘bloated’ regents universities

More than 750,000 Iowans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Biden wants infrastructure deal, but GOP doubts persist

Home / News / Education / K-12 Education

More families turn to home schooling in pandemic

Eastern Iowa home-school assistance programs see drastic increase in enrollment

Grace KingBy: Grace King Apr. 8, 2021 6:15 am Updated: Apr. 8, 2021 5:01 pm
More families turn to home schooling in pandemicMore families turn to home schooling in pandemicMore families turn to home schooling in pandemicMore families turn to home schooling in pandemicMore families turn to home schooling in pandemic
Michelle Haveman reads Monday to her kids (from left) Zion, 9, Abram, 6, and Moriah, 12, on their patio at their home in Coralville. The Havemans have been home schooling for nearly a decade. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

CORALVILLE — After home schooling their five children for almost a decade, Michelle and Joshua Haveman fielded a lot of questions at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic from friends who were deciding whether to turn to home schooling for their kids also.

The Havemans were asked about how they manage as both teacher and parent and how they find a routine that fits school and work — and the rest of their lives.

“It was one of those times where you’re looking at what’s going on in public schools and we were very thankful we didn’t have to overhaul and completely change our lives and education approach,” Michelle said.

Sisters Moriah, 12, (left) and Zion Haveman, 9, on Monday check on seeds they’re trying to grow for a science project at their home in Coralville. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Iowa schools closed in March 2020 as cases of COVID-19 began to rise. As the 2020-2021 academic year approached, families had several schooling options including in-person learning, hybrid learning where students learned part time in-person and part time remotely, temporary online learning, virtual academies or home schooling.

Although the Havemans didn’t have to overhaul their education plan because of the pandemic, they still had some adjusting to do. Before the pandemic, Michelle said, they frequently met with other families in their home-school program, the Mid Prairie Home School Assistance Program in Kalona. They also took field trips, and the kids were involved in extracurricular activities outside the house. The pandemic put those group activities on pause.

But Michelle said home schooling is “probably much easier” than online learning, where students learn virtually from home with the guidance from a classroom teacher. With home schooling, Michelle gets to “call the shots,” she said. She gets to say, “’Let’s keep going because it’s going really well,’ or ’Let’s stop here for the day.’”

Michelle Haveman fills a glass of water Monday for a science experiment with her kids in the kitchen at their home in Coralville. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked new interest in home schooling, which had remained steady at 3.3 percent of U.S. households since 2012, according to the Census Bureau. But the number of households home schooling in the United States at the start of the 2020-2021 school year almost doubled compared to with year before, the bureau reported last month.

The Mid Prairie Home School Assistance Program in Kalona, where the Havemans are enrolled, has grown about 30 percent over the last academic year, increasing from 409 students in October 2019 to 534 currently.

The Cedar Rapids Home School Assistance Program also saw about a 30 percent increase in students this year, going from 240 to 315 families.

Jeannie Johnson, Cedar Rapids home-school lead teacher, said the district received an exemption from the state for resource teachers to each have up to 27 families they touch base with throughout the year.

Resource teachers meet with home-school families eight times throughout the school year. Typically these meetings are face-to-face, but because of the pandemic they have been held virtually this year.

State law allows a home-school resource teacher to have up to 20 families. The program is hiring another staff member for the 2021-2022 school year to manage the growth, Johnson said.

Half of the families who enrolled in the Cedar Rapids home-school program for the first time this year have already re-enrolled for the 2021-2022 school year, Johnson said.

“We have families who have gone above and beyond, loved it and seen the benefits of it,” she said. “Some are planning on going back to the school (building) next year, but home schooling was what their families needed this school year.”

Home schooling is a “big sacrifice,” Johnson said. Some parents are trying to balance working from home because of the pandemic with teaching their students.

Some parents teach three times a week, others five times a week, and still others only in the evenings, Johnson said.

“They want to do what’s best for their kids and families.”

Michelle Haveman looks through a completed assignment Monday with Zion, 9, in the kitchen at their home in Coralville. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

The Iowa City Home School Assistance Program went from 72 students to more than 240 students enrolled for the 2020-2021 school year, program administrator Chris Pisarik said in an email.

Pisarik said families new to home schooling this year have said that the flexibility of a home-school schedule is what drew them to the program.

“We’ve had families who have indicated this approach really works well for them, and they plan on continuing home-school or dual enrollment for the foreseeable future,” Pisarik said.

Next year, “we anticipate we will definitely have more than the 72 students we had enrolled with us pre-pandemic,” Pisarik said.

The Haveman family turned to home schooling eight years ago after moving from Missouri to Iowa.

Joshua Haveman, Michelle’s husband, was an administrator at a small school in Missouri, and when the family relocated it was a perfect opportunity to give home schooling a try.

As a former school administrator, Joshua said he saw how much of a school day is “eaten up by logistics,” such as transitioning between class periods, lunch or recess and getting a classroom of students on the same page “literally.”

“A lot of people have a strong conviction about home schooling,” Joshua said. “That was not us when we started. We wanted to try it for a year, and just kept trying it every year for the past eight years.”

Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com

Abram Haveman, 6, tries to clear a jumprope Monday held by his sisters Zion, 9, (left) and Moriah, 12, as they let out some energy on their trampoline before lunch at their home in Coralville. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Grace King

Grace King

Reporter, The Gazette

K-12 Education Reporter.

Marion school board votes 5-2 to no longer consider ’Mavericks’

How did the oldest mosque in the U.S. end up…

Learn more about the other pillars of Islam

Ramadan starts tonight. An eighth-grader explains what it’s like to…

’1619 Project’ creator Nikole Hannah-Jones says reparations for slavery must…

All articles by Grace

Give us feedback

We work hard to provide fair, accurate coverage because we value your trust. If you find an error or omission in our reporting, please tell us here.

Submit a story idea

Do you have a story idea that we should look into? Please tell us here.

Related Stories

Pandemic impact on enrollment, achievement complicates Iowa school funding

Pandemic impact on enrollment, achievement complicates Iowa school funding

James Q. Lynch Government & Politics Jan. 7, 2021 7:32 am

Black students find their voice at the Academy for Scholastic…

Black students find their voice at the Academy for Scholastic…

Grace King Education Feb. 7, 2021 2:27 pm

Iowa House passes bill to expand charter schools after lengthy…

Iowa House passes bill to expand charter schools after lengthy…

James Q. Lynch Government & Politics Mar. 25, 2021 8:39 am

K-12

’1619 Project’ creator Nikole Hannah-Jones says reparations for slavery must…

’1619 Project’ creator Nikole Hannah-Jones says reparations for slavery must…

Grace King

K-12 Education Apr. 9, 2021 6:48 pm

More families turn to home schooling in pandemic

More families turn to home schooling in pandemic

Grace King

K-12 Education Apr. 8, 2021 5:01 pm

Over 600 students in quarantine in Iowa City schools

Over 600 students in quarantine in Iowa City schools

Grace King

K-12 Education Apr. 8, 2021 4:58 pm

'I want every school to do what you do,’ state…

'I want every school to do what you do,’ state…

Grace King

K-12 Education Apr. 6, 2021 4:36 pm

Education

Iowa universities promise more traditional fall experience

Iowa universities promise more traditional fall experience

Vanessa Miller

Higher Ed Apr. 12, 2021 11:08 am

Hari Michele Osofsky is first University of Iowa presidential finalist…

Hari Michele Osofsky is first University of Iowa presidential finalist…

Vanessa Miller

Higher Ed Apr. 12, 2021 8:27 am

Iowa high school trainers miss connection with athletes during COVID…

Iowa high school trainers miss connection with athletes during COVID…

Jeff Johnson

Iowa Prep Sports Apr. 11, 2021 10:06 pm

University of Iowa hasn’t finalized athletics loan terms, interest rate

University of Iowa hasn’t finalized athletics loan terms, interest rate

Vanessa Miller

Higher Ed Apr. 9, 2021 6:45 pm

News

More than 750,000 Iowans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19

More than 750,000 Iowans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19

Kat Russell

Health Care and Medicine Apr. 12, 2021 7:16 pm

Biden wants infrastructure deal, but GOP doubts persist

Biden wants infrastructure deal, but GOP doubts persist

AP

News Apr. 12, 2021 6:54 pm

Tennessee school shooting kills 1, wounds police officer

Tennessee school shooting kills 1, wounds police officer

AP

News Apr. 12, 2021 6:53 pm

Police: Minnesota officer meant to draw Taser, not handgun

Police: Minnesota officer meant to draw Taser, not handgun

AP

News Apr. 12, 2021 6:51 pm

Sports

Kelly Proesch finds her own niche, writes her own success…

Kelly Proesch finds her own niche, writes her own success…

Jeff Linder

Sports Apr. 12, 2021 9:21 pm

Kirkwood ready for national volleyball tournament

Kirkwood ready for national volleyball tournament

K.J. Pilcher

Sports Apr. 12, 2021 7:42 pm

Enyi Uwazurike taking on bigger leadership role for Iowa State

Enyi Uwazurike taking on bigger leadership role for Iowa State

Ben Visser

Sports Apr. 12, 2021 6:49 pm

Liam Robbins transferring from Minnesota to Vanderbilt, not Iowa

Liam Robbins transferring from Minnesota to Vanderbilt, not Iowa

Mike Hlas

Hawkeye Basketball Apr. 12, 2021 3:56 pm

FOLLOW US

The Gazette is Iowa’s independent, employee-owned source for local, state, and national news coverage.

© 2021 The Gazette

All Rights Reserved.

  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy
  • Web Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 116 3rd St SE
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
  • customercare@thegazette.com
  • (319) 398-8333
  • Live Chat

Links

  • Puzzle Answers
  • CR Arrest Database
  • Article Removal Request
  • Archives
  • Green Gazette
  • Corridor Careers Jobs
  • Work at The Gazette
  • Customer Care

© 2021 The Gazette

All Rights Reserved.

  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy
  • Web Accessibility
Folience A Folience Company