New Homeschoolers in Louisiana

In Louisiana
From an AP article

But Galjour - like hundreds of other parents across Louisiana - has been handed a second, unpaid job: She'll be home-schooling her 12-year-old son, at least until classes start again in Plaquemines Parish, where six of nine schools were washed away by the storms.

Wonder if any will continue homeschooling after the school is started up again.

Usually, though, it's not a decision made under duress, since home-schooling demands patience and commitment from both parents and students.

That's true. But once in that lifestyle routine, they might find it easier than they ever imagined while being on their own schedule.

"This is a beautiful short-term solution, especially given where we are now," said Stephanie Riegel, a New Orleans resident now relocated to Baton Rouge with twin 9-year-old girls. Louisiana has done its best to encourage parents not to leave the public school system, urging them instead to enroll in schools wherever they've landed, said Meg Casper, a spokeswoman for the state Education Department. The East Baton Rouge Parish district, for example, has taken in more than 2,000 new students since Katrina hit.

At her school in East Baton Rouge, there were four drug busts one day, and the next someone was selling pills," said Michelle Pellegal, gesturing at her 16-year-old daughter, April Kent. "She said, 'I can't go to that school any more.'"

That's a typical reason people homeschool. Parents trying to find the best way and best place for their kids to be; long term or short.

Learning how to become a home-school parent on the fly will not be easy, said Dianna Van Timmeren, a Baton Rouge mother who home-schools her children and is helping a family of evacuees make the transition.
"For parents who have never considered it before, there's always the feeling that maybe they can't do it, that they don't have the education," she said. "But it is possible. There's tons of curriculum out there to choose from, and all kinds of help for parents who might feel wobbly about educating their children."

That's what I was looking for. Some good advice and encouragement from a LA homeschooler. It's too bad these Louisiana families are dealing with all of these changes under the circumstances, but I hope they have a great homeschooling experience during this transition.
Wonder how AP came up with the links on the bottom for more information? They must have run a very short search.