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These criticisms may be tempered by the fact that the home schooling movement encompasses less than 3% of our total student population (NCES, 2006) and home schooling is but one of many educational choices now available to parents today. Rotherham (2006) reminds us that the American desire for customization and variety in goods and services is universal and that education should no less respond to that demand, whether traditionalists like it or not. Regarding democratic voice and participation, even Apple admits that the movement has been politically active defending the position and interests of its conservative perspective (p. 219).
All in all, home schooling accounts for the largest of the three reform movements addressed here and has now garnered broad-based support (Belfield & Levin, 2005). The movement’s impact could serve to urge American education to become more responsive to the needs of its students by becoming more diverse, open, and flexible. But reflecting once again on parental motivations for this choice, could we not give pause to the idea that religious education is valued and deserves an opportunity for position and respect in American culture?
Charter Schools
The Center for Education Reform (CER) has provided up-to-date information on charter schools. According to their report, Charter Schools Today: Changing the face of American Education (Allen & Heffernan (Eds.), 2006), the charter school movement is in its adolescent phase and is still unfolding. In the fall of 2005–2006, the number of operating charters stood at 3,617 and was spread across 40 states plus the District of Columbia with over a million students enrolled. This is an increase from the previous year of 217 charters (Georgiou, 2005), attesting to continued interest in this type of schooling. One intriguing fact from the CER report was that states with multiple charting authorities have 4.5 times more charter schools than those who only allow school board approval. Also noted was a rise in the number of universities/colleges that are agreeing to be sponsors.