A growing number of Rockford families are choosing to avoid public schools, or costly private schools and instead take their children's education into their own hands.
It's a home game for the Rockford Fire. But this team plays in a church because their home school is just that. Home.
"Homeschooling is one of the fastest growing things in our country. Parents can do it for reasons of faith or religion. Sometimes their kids might be accelarating faster than the school system allows. Sometimes they do it for social reasons," says homeschooling parent Randy Hellstrom.
Rockford parents are choosing homeschooling by the thousands, more and more all the time. They say it doesn't cut their kids off from the activities of a normal school experience. The Rockford Fire operates through the Halstrum Co-op, where one or two days a week homeschooling parents can pool their kids together, along with their teaching skills
"At that co-op they can take classes with other children by people that might have expertise in something, like for example math, I don't know much about math," says homeschooling parent Mark Doherty.
But most of the time kids have one-on-one time with their parents and siblings. That's the same reason most parents said they chose to home school.
"They usually get their assignment sheet from me in the morning. There are a couple of subjects we do together. History and some science that they do together. But otherwise, it's more of a tutoring kind of situation," says homeschooling parent Jeannie Newton.
That means students miss out on the day-to-day interactions of a school environment. But parents and students say the quality family time they gain instead is priceless.
"What you miss is really not very much, you miss all the bad stuff. You spend time with your parents, with your family, you actually get to know your family," says a student who recently graduated from homeschooling, Nick Doherty.
Homeschoolers say any system that makes teenagers want to hang out with their parents must be doing something right.
The Rockford Fire also has girls basketball, volleyball and co-ed golf. The Fire plays against private schools and other homeschool teams. The boys basketball team won Thursday night, bringing their record to 11 and one.
In Illinois homeschooling is considered the same thing as a private school and parents have to follow state code. Parents say it's a serious committment, though new resources are making it a little easier. Head to http://www.hallstromhomeschool.org/index.html for more information about the Hallstrom Co-op.