DELAND, Fla. – The number of families who choose to homeschool has risen drastically since the pandemic.
But this week’s Getting Results Award winner says many are having a tough time finding support services to help them navigate the workload.
That can be especially difficult if you’re looking for specific cultural enrichment.
Rasheeda Denning says her mom always told her if it’s not there, create it. So she did. Denning is the founder of the Black Homeschoolers of Central Florida (BHCFL).
“I’ve been homeschooling for 26 years and we would go to different homeschooling conventions and different things like that. There would be 10,000 homeschoolers, and we’d be the only Black family,” Denning explained. “So I just knew that there had to be some Black families out there somewhere. And so that’s why I was intentional in making the name, just to kind of see if I can find some families. I wanted my babies to know that there were some other Black homeschooling families.”
Turns out, there were plenty. In fact, one 2019 nationwide study shows that 41% of homeschooled students are Black, Asian, Hispanic, and others (i.e., not White/non-Hispanic), according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Denning started the nonprofit 15 years ago. She would use the library or other community spaces to meet with families and provide support material, tutoring and extra-curricular activities.
There was always a waiting list for families wanting to participate.
This month, Denning finally has a permanent home. She opened a resource center on South SR-15A in DeLand.
We were there as she welcomed visitors during an open house.
“Everything that you see in here has been in storage or in a cargo trailer,” Denning said, gesturing to a bookshelf stacked with print copies of math and English study aids. “So every time we rent a space, I mean, you rent it for the day, you can’t leave anything there, so we have our classes, and then we pack up, and then we pack it back up and down and up and down.”
“That was a lot,” Denning continued. “So to be able to have a space that you can actually have everything out, have a place that you can go to your office and take care of business, it’s just a blessing.”
Catoya Owens learned about the resource center on social media. She’s been thinking of homeschooling her three sons.
“I have a lot of values and beliefs that I feel like I want to be able to instill in my children and make sure that they are prepared in this world,” Owens said as she and her family toured the office space.
Seeing all the resources available made her more comfortable with her decision.
“I think that it’s amazing. I think it’s amazing because it’s a fear that a lot of parents and families want to venture out and homeschool, but are afraid because they don’t know what to expect,” Owens said. “They don’t know how difficult or what challenges to prepare for. So I think just having a resource and a place to come and get that information is amazing.”
Denning says one of the most popular benefits to participants are the extracurricular activities, community building and field trips. Black Homeschoolers offers cooking, fencing and golf classes, gardening, and regular professional guest speakers as well as African cultural arts programs.
“This is what it’s all about, connecting building, learning and growing together, and that’s what we do,” Denning said. “We connect the families, they find us and then we continue to build throughout the year. So we’re busy. They’re with us all the time. So they’re like, family.”
BHCFL held its annual Family Retreat week last month. Campers like Samuel and Lisa Abraham along with their kids ages 8, 6 and 4 enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities including archery, canoeing, obstacle courses and movie nights.
We were there for the Campfire Roundup which included an African drumming demonstration. About two dozen kids and adults gathered in a circle singing and clapping under large oak trees as the sun set behind them.
The Abrahams started homeschooling their oldest daughter during the COVID pandemic and decided to continue it with her younger siblings as they got older.
“We just started learning the benefits of home school and being able to cater the teaching to our children,” Samuel Abraham said. “So they could learn the stuff that we’ve learned. Things that they’ve pulled out of school. Our kids can write cursive, they can read an analog clock. It sounds small, but these are things that are being pulled out of the school system that we’ve still incorporated in their lives. So it’s cool. It’s different.”
The Abrahams say finding community with like-minded families has been one of the biggest benefits.
“One question when you talk about kids, when they’re doing homeschooling, is the socialization,” Lisa Abraham said. “Whether or not they have the ability to socialize with other kids, and being a part of an organization like this is you’re bringing them to other kids who are homeschooled as well. So you can see, they just light up and they participate, and it gives you an opportunity to just allow the kids to be in an environment where they could just thrive with other kids outside of just being home and being homeschooled.”
For more information:
- BHCFL Homeschool Resource Center, 1609 S. SR-15A, Suite 7, DeLand, FL 32720
- Phone: (386)837-6270 or (386)873-2016
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