Enrollment in the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Connections Homeschool Program doubled this academic year, according to Connections Principal Rich Bartolowits, who presented to the KPBSD Board of Education during their Tuesday meeting.

Bartolowits said during his presentation that for the 2019-2020 academic year, there were 875 students enrolled in Connections Homeschool Program, representing about 9.9% of all KPBSD students. For the 2020-2021 academic year, there were around 1,777 students enrolled, representing about 22% of KPBSD students, he said.

The surge in enrollment, Bartolowits said, put a strain on the school, which has three offices across the peninsula. Curriculum and supplies for home-school students, for example, were back-ordered nationwide. The addition of more staff to the three offices, as well as the addition of more support hours to the Seward office provided some relief.

Bartolowits also emphasized that remote learning and home-schooling are not the same thing. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many district schools to shift to 100% remote learning last fall due to high community spread of the virus. Other families, however, opted to home-school.

The key difference between the two, Bartolowits said, is that during remote learning, teachers are still guiding students’ curriculum. With home-schooling that guidance is done by parents. With home-schooling, Bartolowits said, families are responsible for setting students’ schedules, choosing materials and defining success.

Other benefits of home-schooling, Bartolowits said, include the extreme personalization of curriculum, more opportunities to include life experiences into curriculum and a greater opportunity for social and emotional learning.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.