South Texas ISD offers virtual academy as homeschool numbers rise

MERCEDES, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A growing number of students are taking classes at home.

The Texas Homeschooling Coalition estimates over 750,000 Texas children are being homeschooled.

School districts across the Rio Grande Valley have reported that enrollment numbers dropped significantly following the pandemic, and the biggest chunk of those students were now homeschooled.

The Johns Hopkins School of Education reported over 4% of Texas students are homeschooled, based on census estimates. However accurate numbers can be hard to ascertain.

Texas does not require parents to report their children as being homeschooled, and the most recent numbers from the National Center for Education Statistics are from 2019. Before homeschooling took off, following the pandemic.

“There’s a lot of families who would like to keep their children at home," said Maribel Zapata Valdez, Principal of the Virtual Academy at South Texas Independent School District. "Whether it would be homeschooling families or families that need an alternative to a standard education in a brick-and-mortar campus.”

The Virtual Academy is a completely online school that Valdez said offers a chance to merge homeschooling with a traditional school district model.

“They still get to stay at home and learn virtually. A hundred percent from home," Valdez said. "However, they’re learning all the curriculum necessary to successfully complete a high school diploma.”

The Virtual Academy has also partnered with South Texas College to allow students to earn an Associate's Degree or certification.

Valdez said the idea for a Virtual Academy was already there before COVID. But the pandemic accelerated the process.

“A lot of families have had the experience of what it was to learn from home during COVID time. We have taken that model and just progressed it," Valdez said.

This is the fourth year of the Academy. The school will graduate its first senior class this year.

According to the NCES numbers, 25% of parents cited safety as the top reason they chose to homeschool. Followed by nearly 20% who listed providing religious or moral instruction as their top reason.

The Virtual Academy provides all the equipment its students need, including a laptop, tablet, digital calculator, and digital hotspot in case they do not have internet access at home.

One of the concerns parents have expressed about homeschooling is the lack of socialization. The Virtual Academy gives students the chance to get together in person once a week if they want. The school also offers the occasional field trip so students can hang out with their classmates.

The Virtual Academy is currently enrolling students for its first day of class on Aug. 19.