Hybrid Schooling: Can You Homeschool and Go To Public School?

Hybrid schooling, also called blended learning, hybrid learning model, and hybrid homeschooling, may be a valid option for your student. In this homeschooling model, homeschoolers split their time between learning at home and attending a physical brick-and-and mortar school location. Hybrid home school is an alternative to just public school or just homeschool.

PARENTS GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING HYBRID SCHOOLING

No doubt by now you’ve heard the phrase hybrid schooling.

It especially seems to be a hot topic lately as more and more parents look for public school alternatives for their children. But, there may be some confusion around what is hybrid public school and what is hybrid home school.

So let’s start at the beginning with what does what does hybrid school mean?

What is hybrid schooling?

Hybrid school is sometimes called part time school for students in the essence that kids spend part time at a physical location. With hybrid schooling, students split their time between a traditional brick-n-mortar school setting (“regular school”) with face-to-face training and home learning with remote online classes and assignments.

What is hybrid homeschooling?

There are also hybrid home schools, which are schools specifically for homeschoolers that spend part of their time learning at home and at a physical location for a mix of home time and school class time with peers. In some cases, these are schools that focus on homeschooling. In other cases, these are homeschool co-ops that offer hybrid learning.

READ THIS NEXT: What does Homeschool Co-op mean?

Can a child be partially homeschooled?

Partial homeschooling can be hybrid homeschooling or a mix of at home classes and classes outside the home. Hybrid homeschooling may be associated with a public school (actually called virtual public school) or an independent organization. Or, with partially homeschool, parents can teach some courses at home and choose to have students attend courses outside the home and taught by others.

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What does hybrid school look like?

For hybrid schooling, students spend a preset schedule of time at home and then designated time at school. Hybrid school schedule examples be something like Tuesday and Thursday in a conventional  school setting and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at home completing studies.

Can you homeschool and public school at the same time?

Hybrid schooling is a way to allow students to home school and go to public school (called virtual schooling at home). However, be aware that hybrid schooling affiliated with a public school system is not true homeschooling. It is attending public school, but completing all or part of the work from home. This means that your child will be following the same rules, regulations, and testing standards as your local public school. So, if you want true homeschooling, you do not want to choose a hybrid school that is affiliated with a public school system.

There are some hybrid schools that are created as a home school alternative and act more as a private school option.

These work the same way as any other hybrid schooling option—kids attend a physical school location part of the week and complete work from home the rest of the time.

They just aren’t affiliated with the local public school system.

However, there are many homeschool parents who believe that this is not true homeschooling because it takes control away from the parents on what and how children are learning at home.

You need to decide how much control you want to have over your homeschooling and what kind of homeschooling best meets your needs.

What is the difference between hybrid and online class?

Sometimes hybrid schooling is mistaken for online classes. Although hybrid schools may use online classes, they are not the necessarily the same thing. There are stand alone online classes that homeschoolers may take from home that are not affiliated with any hybrid or public school system.

For example, a homeschooler may follow a specific curriculum for math, but then take an online course for Spanish from an independent organization.

Conversely, many hybrid school systems today incorporate a mix of online classes and in-person classes. A student may complete work with textbooks while they are in the physical class and then complete online classes on the days they are at home.

Hybrid Homeschool Pros and Cons

Just like any homeschooling schedule, there are also hybrid homeschool advantages and hybrid homeschool disadvantages.

A U.S. Department of Education study on online learning found:

• Students in online conditions performed modestly better, on average, than those learning the same material through traditional face-to-face instruction.
• Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction.
• The effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad across different content and learner types.
• Online learning can be enhanced by giving learners control of their interactions with media and prompting learner reflection.

Hybrid Homeschool Pros:

• Curriculum and courses are typically set, making it easier on parents.
• Parents still get the benefit of influencing at least part of the student’s learning.
• Students get the benefit of seeing peers on a regular basis.
• Allows teachers to provide a large mix of digital learning resources for students to access.
• Schedules are set, making it easier for parents to work and homeschool.
• Gives kids a break from both environments to keep it interesting.
• Helps kids practice multitasking and organizational skills.
• Forces students to practice communication skills and be more open to contacting teachers with questions and issues.
• Exposes kids to online learning, which helps them later for college and business.

Hybrid Homeschool Cons:

• Curriculum and courses are typically set, giving parents less control over a child’s education.
• Need to have the technical components (computer, wifi connections, etc.) needed for connecting to the hybrid school on home days.
• May be subject to public school rules and regulations, like standardized testing.
• Can be a difficult to juggle multiple kids on different schedules like a hybrid schedule and homeschool schedules of kids at home.
• May be difficult for kids who have a hard time being organized.
• Parents may have a difficult time with the flexible work schedules needed.
• May require working parents to send kids to daycare or get child care on student home days.
• Some private hybrid homeschools can be expensive.
• Takes away the flexibility of homeschooling, like being able to travel whenever you want or study what you want, when you want.
• Prevents students from working at their own pace or can bleed outside of “normal” school hours if a student is behind.

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Hybrid schooling is a valid option for education, but just be aware that it is often not considered true homeschooling in that you may not have complete control over what you child learns.

Also, you need to be clear if you want to be affiliated with the local public school or not.

So, when choosing a hybrid school be sure to understand if it is a public school that offers learning from home or if it is a privately run school or business that offers a home school option of classes.

Which one you choose will depend on how much control and input you want to have over your homeschooling.

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