LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Many families are preparing for their school's new normal, but not everyone will be doing distance learning.
"I had so many friends who do public school who called me and were like oh my gosh we're homeschoolers now," said Laura Runco with Henderson Homeschool Explorers.
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Runco has been homeschooling her children for several years, but she says she'd had several people reach out to her for help since the pandemic started.
Typically, homeschool students only make up about 3% of school-aged kids across the nation. According to the National Home Educators Research Institute, that number could be over 10% this year.
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Clark County School District says its seen a steady increase in interest for homeschooling, even before the pandemic started.
Online public school can offer the best of both worlds: public school and homeschool.
"The way it works is you get your classes and courses, you do your work at home, but your teachers online go through the classes with you," said Coye Shelton, a recent graduate of Nevada Virtual Academy.
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"I could pretty much do my homeschool wherever I was, and whenever I wanted to," Shelton explained. "If I wanted to wake up early and get all my courses done for the entire week, I could do that."
Even if your family is doing distance learning, Laura Runco says you can still incorporate some homeschool concepts.
She says to schedule Zoom lunches with your kid's friends so they don't feel isolated, and work in some brain and body breaks throughout the day.
