Waxed floors and rambunctious teenagers are commonplace for those attending public school, but homeschooled students are more comfortable at a kitchen table.

Perrin Ehler, counselor for the sophomore class, says “there are only a handful of students attending Perry who have been homeschooled.”

After eight years of homeschool, sophomore Bree Wade began attending public school.

“It was not my decision,” she says a little reluctantly. Wade’s parents made the decision for her.

Ehler says there are two main reasons a parent will homeschool their children. “Usually, they don’t like the environment they see for their children [in public school] and/or they want a small learning environment,” she says.

However, sophomore Randi Chatelain made the decision herself. “I was having a rough time in sixth grade because I was getting bullied,” Chatelain says.

Wade finds homeschool more distracting than a public classroom. “The biggest challenge was focus, because I was at home and had a lot of distractions,” she says.

Although Wade enjoyed being so close to her siblings, she expresses some restraints of home school. “I missed out a little socially,” she says.

“I didn’t have many friends while doing homeschool,” Chatelain agreed. “There weren’t many activities- the ones they did have were for little kids.”

“The biggest challenge for [homeschooled students] is social because Perry is a large school and it can be overwhelming,” Ehler says. “The size and the combination of the work can be challenging.”

Wade’s mother made the effort to get her children involved. “She went out of her way to put us in homeschool groups with other homeschooled students. It’s like school for homeschooled kids,” Wade says.

Her freshman year of high school, a landmark year for any teen, would double as her first year of public school.

Despite being social with other homeschooled friends, attending public school was a difficult transition for her at first. “The amount of people was difficult,” she says. “I’m not very social. I was a little surprised at the way some kids act at school. It’s ridiculous.”

Ehler believes a homeschooled student can be as academically successful as one who attends public school. “Just because a student was homeschooled doesn’t mean that they don’t have the same strengths as a student who has gone to public school,” Ehler says.

When asked which she prefers, Wade made no hesitation in answering “high school”. “I was young,” she reflects. “I didn’t know what I was missing!”

“There are different people everyday in all your classes,” she says. “I prefer [public] school because I have the ability to talk to people everyday.”

Chatelain made the decision to return to public school after a year and a half. “I missed all my friends and I needed to face teachers again. It’s been good,” she says.