Across the Mission Valley about 400 homeschoolers head back into their academic year with opportunities for sports, jobs and a new online program.  

Family friends Jamie Hess and Erika Mitchell have been homeschooling their kids for more than a decade. The Hess and Mitchell kids are just 9 students out of the 420 homeschool students in Lake County, according to the Fall 2024 Lake County School Enrollment.  

Hess has four boys and two girls from the ages of 11 to 21 years old and Mitchell has one boy and two girls from the ages of 12 to 18 years old.  

Hess explained she made the decision to educate her children at home long ago when her oldest son, who is now 21 years old, was a couple years old. She realized then that they would spend more time in the principal's office than in the classroom if he attended public school.  

But on top of what’s best for their kids, both families agree that having freedom over curriculum and their schedule works best for them.  

Hess explained she has integrated two different Christian curriculums for her kids, which her third oldest son, Baylan, regards as one of the most important freedoms of homeschooling.  

“You get to choose your curriculum, so we can do Christian-based, and that's 100% what everybody should do,” Baylan said. “That's what we do, and that's one bonus about it, you're not restricted on your curriculum.”  

Freedom is an important topic for the parents and the students in these homeschool families. Mitchell notes that the flexible schedule allows her kids to work and get out into the world, which they count as a work-study credit, Hess said.  

“Both our boys have done construction, and they come out and they realize what they don't want to do, well before they're 18,” Mitchell said. “And maybe they have no idea of what they do, but they've done some life.”  

While both explain their boys haven’t been super interested in college, Mitchell requires her kids to meet the number of credits required for the Montana University System. This is because a higher number of credits are required for college admission compared to the requirement for high school graduation.  

Mitchell believes this is an important requirement for her kids to meet because they could change their minds at the last minute or later in life and decide to attend a university.  

For Hess, the freedom to schedule instruction goes beyond allowing some of the kids to work. She also said it has worked out for some of her children to attend therapy without them missing hours in the classroom.  

“Your schedule is free to be able to fit what works for your family. So, even within each kid, if they sleep in until 10, they still can get up and do schoolwork,” Hess said. “And for teenagers, I think sleep is so important.”  

Both families note that they generally follow the Ronan School District academic calendar because then their kids' friends are in class at the same time and it’s beneficial for the kids' sports schedules.   

In 2021, the Montana Legislature passed a law to allow homeschooled students the ability to participate in public school sports and extracurricular activities, which is something both families have taken advantage of.  

Mitchell’s son, Ben, plays baseball at Ronan High School and her husband has also coached the team. Ben explained that this opportunity has allowed him to build a social life. With Hess and Mitchell’s kids being close in age they have grown-up together, but sports offer a wider opportunity to socialize with more kids their age.   

The Charter Academy option 

A big change this year for homeschool families is the opportunity to enroll their kids in the Ronan Charter Academy, which has been a topic of much discussion in their community circles and family units. This is an online program that was marketed to homeschoolers in the area.  

Mitchell explained that each family or even child is different and has different needs. She does see the benefits of the charter school and both moms note the ability to take Brigham Young University (BYU) college classes is a great option.  

Mitchell said this could be a great opportunity for a parent struggling with their child's attendance or if they have an older kid who wants a more self-paced online option, but she and her husband decided it wasn’t right for their family. Since she has some kids who already graduated from her homeschooling curriculum, she explained that she has seen the benefits of it and doesn’t want to make that change.  

However, for Hess, Baylan is ready to get the last few credits he needs and graduate. So, this year they decided to try the charter school for him.  

“For Baylan, he was already asking last year to find an online curriculum so that he could be self-paced because he's already started working,” Hess said. “But when you start looking at some of that, I mean, it’s expensive.”  

Josh Illig, the director of the Ronan Charter Academy, explained that many of the students they have enrolled are homeschoolers. Illig said at the end of the school year he called every homeschooler in the area that he had a phone number for and discussed the charter program.  

“Paying for an accredited curriculum to get that state diploma can be quite costly,” Illig said. “I think getting that at no cost to a family and being able to select their classes that way is a huge benefit.”  

He notes another benefit for homeschool parents is the guidance they can offer for classes a student is required to take. Illig understands that one con of the charter is families not wanting to move away from a religious-based curriculum.  

The charter has provided a number of options through Harmony Education Services, which allows students and families an opportunity to choose between blended online classes or BYU. Another benefit of enrolling in the charter is that it allows students to attend co-curricular activities, such as prom, band and FFA, and not just extracurriculars, like sports.  

Illig explained that through Harmony, Ronan pays for the subscription, and the family receives an allotment of money to choose courses. He said most students come out with a good amount of extra money which they can use for educational purposes such as school supplies or field trips.