The rise of homeschooling and alternative schooling in America

You read the ingredients. You question the school lunch. You want your kids outside more, moving more, and spending less of their childhood staring at screens. Eventually, those questions lead somewhere bigger: who should design your child’s day?

Homeschooling is still growing

The shift is real. Johns Hopkins’ September 2026 update found homeschooling enrollment increased in 17 of the 22 states reporting data for 2025–26.

Growth across those states slowed to 1.5%, from 6.3% the previous year. This is a continuing shift, even after the pandemic emergency ended.

Why families are opting out

Parents have plenty of reasons. Federal survey data identify concerns about school environments, dissatisfaction with academics, moral instruction, and family life as common motivations.

Vaccination schedules are hard to ignore. Rules vary substantially by state and schooling arrangement. Texas allows exemptions from school vaccination requirements for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs. California does not allow personal-belief exemptions for classroom attendance, but exempts home-based private schooling and independent study without classroom instruction from its entry vaccination requirements. Pennsylvania applies immunization requirements to homeschoolers, while allowing medical, religious, and philosophical exemptions. Choosing an alternative school does not automatically change which rules apply.

Homeschooling gives parents a way to act on those priorities instead of waiting for their local school to change.

Alpha’s two-hour academic day

Many wealthy technology entrepreneurs are attempting to revolutionize the shared classroom.

Alpha School, associated with MacKenzie Price and billionaire software entrepreneur Joe Liemandt, concentrates core academics into two hours using personalized learning software. Afternoons focus on practical skills and projects.

Its promise is compelling: master the material, then spend the rest of the day doing something with it.

Alpha claims students learn twice as fast as their peers, a school-reported result that deserves independent scrutiny.

More specifically, Alpha reports 2.6 times typical academic growth on nationally normed MAP tests and says its classes rank in the top 1% nationally. Selection bias matters: families choosing Alpha are not a random sample, and differences in resources, parental involvement, and students’ starting points could influence results. Those figures alone cannot establish how much improvement the school’s approach causes.

Inside the Musk school experiments

Elon Musk’s Ad Astra in Bastrop, Texas, takes another approach, emphasizing hands-on STEM and Montessori-style learning.

The original Ad Astra at SpaceX evolved separately into Astra Nova, an independent online nonprofit focused on curiosity and problem-solving. That distinction matters: families can explore Astra Nova without relocating to Musk’s neighborhood.

More ownership, more time

Acton Academy offers learner-driven classrooms where children take substantial responsibility for their education.

These models invite a bigger question: how much of the conventional school day does a particular child actually need?

The most interesting promise is time: for building things, playing sports, making music, and pursuing interests deeply. Families should examine how each school delivers that promise, including its use of screens.

Does homeschooling drive results?

Homeschooling can produce excellent students, but research does not establish that the setting itself reliably causes better achievement. Many studies involve self-selected families; parental involvement, resources, and prior schooling complicate comparisons.

Social outcomes are more encouraging than the lonely-homeschooler stereotype suggests. A longitudinal study by Harvard-affiliated researchers associated homeschooling with more volunteering and several other favorable adult outcomes.

How does homeschooling look in practice?

A workable week might combine parent-led reading and math with a science co-op, a writing tutor, and afternoons at the park. Families can use an established curriculum for structure, share teaching responsibilities with other parents, or pool money for small-group instruction. Parents still need to coordinate the schedule and track progress.

Tutors can cover subjects parents feel less confident teaching. AI can help explain a fraction problem, generate practice questions, or suggest a lesson around a child’s interests. Keep an adult checking its answers and the child’s understanding, with screen use serving a specific purpose.

Friendships need a recurring place on the calendar: Tuesday co-op, Thursday park meetup, soccer twice a week, and regular playdates with the same families. For example, three nearby households could rotate hosting a weekly project afternoon. The practical challenge is building a dependable community and arranging supervision around work.

Hotbeds of alternative schooling

Central Texas: Austin has Alpha and multiple Acton campuses, with Ad Astra in nearby Bastrop. Texas gives homeschool families substantial autonomy; its education agency does not regulate home schools. This is a strong starting point for families curious about founder-built models.

Phoenix and Scottsdale: Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program can support education at home and private-school options. Alpha also lists a Scottsdale campus. Examine eligibility, approved expenses, and the community around each program.

South Florida: Florida’s Personalized Education Program provides funding for parent-directed learning, with annual learning plans and testing. It is legally distinct from ordinary home education. Alpha lists Miami, Palm Beach, and Boca Raton locations.

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