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More students are now homeschooled in New Bedford than anywhere else in Massachusetts — including much larger cities like Boston or Worcester. And New Bedford’s homeschooling rate accelerated last year, even as rates in other cities declined from pandemic-era peaks, according to state data.
The most recent tallies show that New Bedford approved 298 students for homeschooling during the 2022-2023 school year, which outpaces Boston’s 273 and is more than double Fall River’s 121.
Homeschooling in New Bedford has increased 200% since 2020. Meanwhile, statewide rates are up 50% in that same time frame, which includes recent declines from pandemic-era highs.
Since the pandemic, many families have cited health circumstances, special learning needs, and even the divisive political climate as motivating factors for choosing an alternative path.
“A lot of families are choosing homeschooling because they are aligned more liberally and they want children to get a diverse experience,” said Rachel Medeiros, one of the founders of the Elements Learning Collaborative, a Dartmouth homeschooling drop-off program. This school year, more than half of Elements’ students are from New Bedford. “Other folks are conservative Christians, and they want to make sure their kids aren’t learning about gender or aspects of history or culture that they wouldn’t teach their children.”
Such political motivations for homeschooling have become more apparent in recent years, Medeiros said.
Yet many other families who retreat from public education do not cite their politics, Medeiros added. Safety concerns, shooter drills, special education needs, and feelings that a formal education lacks “life skills” are some of the major reasons, she said.
Across the country, homeschooling surged during the pandemic — a time when children and their families were already making classrooms out of kitchen tables. In Massachusetts, for example, a previously stable number of homeschoolers — about 7,500 for several years — popped to over 17,000 in fall 2020.
In the years since, a slow ebb indicates a new normal: many students have returned to classrooms.
New Bedford’s remarkable climb to the top of the statewide list bucks this trend. Unlike Boston, Worcester, and even Fall River, where homeschooling has started to decline, New Bedford is continuing to add more homeschoolers.
In fact, the number of homeschoolers in New Bedford shot up more last year than it did in 2020. Now, New Bedford counts more homeschoolers than the state’s capital, despite having a school district four times smaller. Neither Fall River, Lowell, Lynn, nor Brockton has recorded even half as many homeschoolers as New Bedford.
The Light analyzed statewide data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and found that homeschooling has increased in 252 of the 351 districts since the 2019-2020 school year. For 80 of these — including New Bedford, Dartmouth, and Westport — the number of homeschoolers has doubled or more.
What does this look like for South Coast families?
The Light reached out to homeschooling families on the South Coast through art programs, advocacy groups, and online communities. Most contacted families preferred to remain anonymous or not participate. But a select few responses hint at the broad reasons that families are homeschooling.
In New Bedford, Soraya Dossantos said that highly regimented and academic-focused learning did not match her vision of what education should be. “Public school or formal education — whether private or public — doesn’t provide all the necessary things that I think my child needs to be a peacemaker in the world,” she said.
Dossantos, a proud Cape Verdean, said that she did not believe the teachers and curriculum in New Bedford would reflect her son’s background. “We don’t see the infrastructure as aligned to dismantling structural racism,” she said.
Dossantos’ son is one of almost 300 homeschoolers in New Bedford, a number that has tripled since the 2019-2020 school year.
In Dartmouth, Kati Pike started teaching ahead of the curriculum when her daughters were home during the pandemic. She never thought they’d homeschool full-time, but now she has no plans to send any of her children back to the Dartmouth public schools.
“We’re Christians, so we have a biblical worldview,” Pike said. “Some of the stuff I’m hearing going on with schools isn’t in alignment with our Christian values, so at this point I wouldn’t send them back.” Specifically, Pike said teachings about gender and race were worrisome.
Pike’s three children are now among the 80 kids in Dartmouth who were homeschooled last year, up from 40 in the 2019-2020 school year.
In Somerset, Amy Lavoie said her decision had nothing to do with politics. The schools were not providing adequate service for her daughter’s special education needs, so she took control back into her own hands.
Working at her own pace has hugely benefited her daughter, Lavoie said. She added that her daughter enjoys the quality time they spend together during their school day.
The Lavoie family counts as one of Somerset’s 47 homeschooling students, a number that nearly doubled from the 2019-2020 figure of 24.
All homeschooling families must receive approval from their local public school district. For each year of homeschooling, families must submit educational plans. Local school committees can approve further regulations, such as progress reports or testing.
New Bedford does not currently have any additional regulations.
Families will not receive financial support from their district if they choose to homeschool. The exception is homeschooled students with disabilities: districts have a legal obligation to identify and provide resources to them. So when a student with an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) begins to homeschool, the local district must continue to fund aspects of their education — which could include specialized therapies or other academic needs.
Like all children, homeschoolers must attend school from 6 years old until their 16th birthday. Homeschooled children are not required to pass MCAS tests to graduate, since they do not receive a public-school diploma.
What does this mean for New Bedford schools?
“Any spike in data like that is concerning,” said Andrew O’Leary, the superintendent of New Bedford Public Schools.
Overall, O’Leary attributes the trend of increased homeschooling in New Bedford to “broken bonds” between schools and families caused by pandemic disruptions and remote learning. High levels of chronic absenteeism in recent years, he said, are likely part of the same trend.
“Enrolling in your neighborhood school, maintaining that connection, and building those relationships [with teachers and principals] — all of that is somewhat frayed,” O’Leary said. “It doesn’t lend itself to easy data analysis and easy judgment.”
O’Leary said unique factors might be driving New Bedford’s homeschooling surge. The housing crisis, for example, has forced many local families into temporary accommodations, and homeschooling may be an easier solution than moving schools.
Very high rates of chronic absenteeism in New Bedford could be another factor. O’Leary said families likely feel disconnected from school. “It would follow that families then say, ‘Well, our connection with the school is not strong, so we’re going to opt out entirely.’”
O’Leary said the district is analyzing homeschool data to search for trends. He shared a breakdown of homeschoolers by grade level. The two most common grades for homeschooling were sixth and ninth. Overall, elementary schools had more homeschoolers than either middle or high schools.
There was no indication that New Bedford homeschoolers were opting out of any individual schools more than others, O’Leary said. “Students applying for homeschool come from a wide range of schools, with no discernable trends.”
The district did not provide information on whether homeschooling rates were higher in any subgroup or demographic. That data could shape outreach into specific language communities, neighborhoods, or disability groups.
“If you’re a family and you’re saying, ‘The public school system isn’t for me,’ to be honest, those are families we want to hear more from,” O’Leary said. “What is it about the school system that is not for you? What can the school system do better? We are always eager.”
When a family is approved to leave the district, the public schools lose the funding that goes along with that decline in enrollment. In most districts, the small slice of homeschoolers constitutes a negligible decrease in funding. But in New Bedford, the near 300 homeschoolers are almost 2.5% of the district — that's about double the statewide rate.
“If we're seeing an increase in students or families choosing to go elsewhere, there's a fiscal implication,” said Superintendent O’Leary. He said New Bedford is tracking the financial effects of homeschooling on the remaining students.
New superintendent makes the case for public schools
“My opinion is not going to surprise you,” said O’Leary in an interview with The Light: “The best place for a New Bedford student is in the New Bedford Public Schools.”
O’Leary talked about his own children, including two New Bedford High students. “I still remember when they started at Carlos Pacheco [Elementary School]: my level of anxiety that they were leaving home and going to school … I get it.”
“Parenting comes with a lot of anxiety,” he continued, “and we need to do a better job as a school system of acknowledging that.”
O’Leary, who has spent 20 years working for the district, became superintendent in January after six months as interim superintendent.
When a family is approved to leave the district, the public schools lose the funding that goes along with that decline in enrollment.
“We have to do a better job of pitching the true experience of a student in a comprehensive district like New Bedford.” He pointed out that students socialize and build diverse friendships, receive wraparound services and school supplies, have access to free lunches, explore new “reading lounges” at several elementary schools, and participate in afterschool programs and sports.
“As I’m touring our New Bedford classrooms, there’s just such a diversity that I don’t think homeschooling can compete with.”
“So if you’re a parent and you have those anxieties, I would say those anxieties and concerns are real, they’re valid. You have legitimate concerns. But we can address those concerns. We can meet all of those needs. I’m confident.”
Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org
