Guilford County Schools promoting course offerings to homeschool students

Guilford County Schools is raising awareness about the option for homeschool students in the area to take classes in the district. 

The program is called GCS Flex, but while the name is new, the concept isn’t. 

Homeschool students have always been allowed to take courses with their local public school. Superintendent Whitney Oakley says the district is just marketing that option now, and trying to make it more accessible for families. 

“I think what we're learning, especially post-pandemic, is that people are seeking flexibility and choice, and we can accommodate that," Oakley said. 

Homeschool high school students can enroll in three to four classes a year in their zoned public school. The idea is that they’d have access to classes their homeschool might not offer, like Mandarin or a highly advanced math, for example. 

“So it's really tailored to meet kind of that individual student’s needs, plus gives them access to those extra and co-curricular activities, like athletics, JROTC, art, band, mental health services that we offer here," Oakley said. 

The program also benefits the district. Homeschool students taking half of a full-time course load are counted as regular students, which boosts enrollment numbers. Public school funding is directly tied to attendance. 

“We recognize that public education is up against, I mean, private voucher expansion, for example," Oakley said. "So we're in a place where we want to make sure families know that we have these options and these choices and we feel like we’re the best option available.”

Non-public education enrollment is on the rise across North Carolina. 

In Guilford County, about 5,000 students were homeschooled last year — an increase of more than 5% from the year before. 

Amy Diaz covers education for WFDD in partnership with Report For America. You can follow her on Twitter at @amydiaze.