Home Education Continues to Thrive
Statistics show there are approximately 2 million homeschoolers in the United States. The landscape of Christian home education continues to change dramatically, with continued growth in national homeschool conferences and conventions, co-ops, conservative organizations and hundreds of curriculum options.
This vibrant growth means many students entering colleges are homeschool graduates.
BJU Welcomes Homeschool Graduates
With about one-third of the BJU student body made up of homeschool graduates, the enrollment department has recently upgraded efforts to establish better connections with the growing homeschool community, locally and beyond, through the development of the Homeschool Engagement Team.
Working under the direction of a local consulting group and enrollment leadership, the team has developed a network of opportunities and relationships both on and off campus called Homeschool Connect.
BJU Homeschool Connect
The purpose of Homeschool Connect is to encourage homeschooling families through educational enrichment opportunities, family discipleship and college planning support. Through engagement with homeschool leaders, parents, faculty and staff, the team coordinates several opportunities:
- Faculty-led sessions for local 7th–12th grade students on campus
- Special homeschool student events and behind-the-scenes tours
- Complimentary invitations to multiple arts and cultural events on campus, including SMART performances
- Sports clinics and music seminars
- Science and technology labs
- Parent discipleship and educational workshops
- College and career planning and individualized support
Meet the Team
Rena Stiekes taught speech and language arts classes for several years, and is currently a homeschooling parent, co-op teacher and pastor’s wife. She has helped establish Homeschool Connect events the past two years and serves in a part-time advisory and planning role with the team. For questions about Homeschool Connect or other homeschooling-related issues, contact her at [email protected].
Amy Basinger of the events department served for several years as the marketing and events coordinator for the Museum & Gallery at BJU. Currently, she specializes in coordinating education-related events such as EDUcamp, High School Festival and Homeschool Connect sessions. For questions about events, you can reach her at [email protected].
Brian Graybill serves as the full-time homeschool representative in the Office of Admission. Coming from a homeschool background, he has firsthand knowledge of transitioning from homeschool to college. He spends much of his time traveling to southeast regional co-ops, presenting sessions and representing BJU at several national homeschool conferences.
David George is a senior partner and business coach with Broad Insights Business Coaching. For the past two years, David has brought his extensive business, communication and leadership experience to the table in organizing and directing the team. He and his wife homeschooled their three children, one of whom graduated from BJU in 2018. David is a BJU alumni and currently lives in Woodruff, SC.
The Homeschool Engagement Team welcomes suggestions as they continue to seek ways to support the homeschool community.
