Kennewick Schools See Home School Withdrawals Double in 2020

We are still awaiting data from Richland and Pasco, but Kennewick Schools have seen their home school numbers more than double.

For the year 2019-2020, Communications/PR officials say they had 310 Declarations of Intent. That is the form a parent must fill out for students ages 8-18 when they intend to leave the District for homeschooling. It is not unusual for that number of students to opt out, they tend to be 'replaced' by new students coming to the District or children reaching school age--so it evens out or grows each year. There are a variety of reasons parents opt for home schooling.

However, this year, KSD says that number (so far) has been 647, an increase of 337. No doubt much of it is due to COVID, and the issues surrounding distance learning. These numbers only represent specific home schooling. They do not include children who enrolled in private schools in our area. (St Joes, Liberty Christian, TC Prep and others).

Much of that traffic took place during late spring, or especially the summer. Parents who were not happy with the distance learning moved their children to private schools, who saw a large influx of students. These schools started on time, and for the most part, have had students in class, full time, since September.

When we obtain numbers from Richland and Pasco, we will update this story.