EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is the second of three parts examining home schooling in rural Maine and its growing popularity.

JAY — Parents who choose to homeschool their children say that decision is not a rejection of learning or teachers, but a search for an environment that better aligns with their children’s academic, emotional and family needs.

Molly Sparling, of Fayette, who has homeschooled her three children for 15 years, said adapting education to each child made a significant difference.

“I think this is one of the best parts of homeschooling,” Sparling said. “Being able to adapt the work to individual interests and learning styles.”

Families who homeschool in Maine describe a wide range of motivations, but many say their decision was shaped less by ideology and more by experience.

Homeschooling refers to parent-directed education that takes place outside traditional public or private school settings, with families legally responsible for instruction and annual assessment.

Lisa Berry, of Jay, who homeschooled her children for more than two decades and later operated Freedom Academy under Maine’s Option 2 private school model, said families often come to homeschooling after discovering that educational systems are not equally flexible for all households.

“Academic mastery mattered, but not in a rushed or checklist-driven way,” she said. “One of the greatest advantages of homeschooling is the time it allows, time to fully grasp a subject before moving on and time to explore interests more deeply when curiosity takes the lead.”

Parents said one challenge families encounter is that many educational systems operate on uniform schedules and standardized expectations, which can create friction for those with different moral, philosophical or family convictions.

Berry said concerns are often not limited to academics.

“Most people would agree that success, in life or education, is really about being able to function well in the world, holding a job, supporting yourself or a family, contributing to your community, and engaging meaningfully with the people around you,” she said.

That broader definition of success, she said, shaped how her family approached education.

Parents also pointed to long-standing federal education frameworks, including policies that grew out of the No Child Left Behind era, which emphasized standardization, testing and compliance as ways to ensure accountability.

While those policies were designed to ensure students were not overlooked, families said they can leave little room for individualized decision-making.

Berry said rigid timelines and standardized pacing can create challenges for children whose learning does not follow a uniform path, particularly when progress is measured primarily through benchmarks rather than understanding.

ACCESS AND CONSEQUENCES

Several families said their move into homeschooling was not the result of long-term planning but of policies that left little room for transition.

Parents said that tension becomes especially visible when families are morally or philosophically opposed to being required to comply with medical or institutional schedules determined outside the home. Maine, for example, does not permit religious, moral or philosophical exemptions to vaccine requirements for children attending public schools and other licensed educational programs, including some online public school programs. Critics argue the restriction takes away personal freedoms and undermines parental rights.

Parents described situations in which access to public education changed quickly, sometimes with limited notice and with few alternative pathways available within the traditional system.

Some said they felt decisions affecting their children’s education were made at the state or institutional level without consideration for individual medical histories, family circumstances or deeply held beliefs.

Those state policies, homeschool parents said, make some of their children ineligible for attendance in traditional school environments.

Several families emphasized that they did not view their decision as opting out of education, but as preserving continuity for their children when access to public schools was no longer available due to immunization requirements. In those cases, homeschooling became not a preference but a necessity — a way to ensure learning could continue without interruption.

Cherry Poirier, of Livermore Falls, said her family’s decision to homeschool was driven by what they believed was in their child’s best interest rather than a desire to make a broader statement.

Some families also turn to national organizations such as the Home School Legal Defense Association, which provides legal information, education law updates and legal representation for member families in all 50 states.

Parents said access to national legal resources can offer reassurance when navigating education policies that feel complex or subject to change.

Poirier said her family initially tried public school for their youngest child.

“I had enrolled my youngest into school for fifth grade as it was a transition year and we wanted her to experience public school before she entered middle school,” Poirier said.

The experience, she said, did not go well.

“She struggled academically, socially and emotionally, so we pulled her out at the end of her fifth-grade year,” Poirier said. “We found that she was much more active with her homeschool curriculum and that she did much better in small homeschool groups rather than larger public school settings.”

Poirier said homeschooling allowed her daughter to grow without pressure, “into the person she is meant to be without the pressures of the public school environment,” she said.

Sparling, the mom from Fayette, said the flexibility of homeschooling allowed her children to pursue academic strengths while receiving support in more challenging areas.

“I want to set my kids up with the knowledge and skills they will need to launch well into the world,” she said.

Sparling said Maine’s homeschooling requirements have been manageable for her family.

“I have found the state of Maine system to be easy to navigate,” she said. “I don’t believe the state is overbearing in their requirements.”

Parents also emphasized that learning at home often extends far beyond textbooks. Poirier said homeschooling gave her family the opportunity to focus on real-world skills and creativity.

“We have spent time visiting and learning about the city life, important independent life skills and focusing on skills that my daughter finds fulfilling, like art,” Poirier said. Her daughter earned second place in the junior pencil portrait category at the Farmington Fair, she said.

For many families, homeschooling also altered family dynamics in meaningful ways.

“It is such a gift to be able to foster close relationships as a family,” Sparling said. “I have enjoyed sharing my love of learning with my kids, and seeing them become lifelong learners as they have grown.”

Several parents said homeschooling also reshaped sibling relationships. Without age-based classrooms separating children by grade, siblings often spend more time learning and interacting together — encouraging cooperation, patience and connection without age-based social barriers.

STATEWIDE SUPPORT

Homeschooling in Maine does not operate in isolation. Families often rely on statewide organizations to navigate legal requirements, connect with other households and access educational resources.

Ed and Kathy Green of Homeschoolers of Maine, a nonprofit founded in 1990, said families across the state are increasingly seeking alternatives to traditional schooling.

“Families are increasingly becoming more at odds with what’s happening in traditional schools,” they said. “Those considering alternatives are looking for flexibility, safety and security, and better physical and mental health and well-being.”

Homeschoolers of Maine was created during a period when homeschooled families faced widespread misunderstanding, legal uncertainty and inconsistent enforcement of education law.

“The 1980s had been a decade of constant harassment and legal challenges for pioneering homeschoolers,” the Greens said. “By 1990, it was clear that both homeschoolers and the general public needed an organization that would provide accurate information, support and services.”

Today, Homeschoolers of Maine provides guidance for new and veteran homeschooling families, maintains regional contacts across the state, and offers access to Maine-certified teachers who conduct required annual assessments.

The organization also provides curriculum counseling, academic coaching, high school and college planning support, and parent-teacher training.

To help address isolation, particularly in rural areas, Homeschoolers of Maine organizes statewide and regional activities, including bowling, skating, hikes, field trips and educational events. The organization also maintains a public calendar where homeschooled groups across Maine can share local opportunities and gatherings.

The Greens said homeschooling has shifted significantly over the past four decades.

“What began as a misunderstood, misjudged, inappropriately regulated and mismanaged educational choice made by a few families with limited access to resources has led to a well-paved path to success for thousands,” they said.

They said Maine continues to see steady growth despite heavier regulation compared to other states.

“While the average national increase in homeschooling was just over 5.4% last year, Maine increased by over 8%,” they said.

Parents consistently said the core issue is choice, the ability to select an educational path that aligns with a child’s needs and a family’s values.

As homeschooling continues to grow in Maine, families said they hope conversations around education expand beyond test scores and compliance to include trust in parents and recognition of diverse learning paths.

Families interviewed emphasized that homeschooling is not about declaring one system superior to another. Many said public schools serve thousands of children well but that education cannot be one-size-fits-all.

“There are so many ways to learn in this world,” Poirier said. “Don’t let anyone tell you that school is the only way.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Writer Rebecca Richard has homeschooled her eight children and is an administrator at Freedom Academy.