As the number of homeschooled students continues to grow in Sampson County and across North Carolina, the JC Holliday Memorial Library has become more than just a place to check out books. Through its Home School Connections Program, the library has created a space where homeschooling families can access educational resources, participate in hands-on learning and build connections with one another.
The program comes as homeschooling continues to rise nationwide. According to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), a nonprofit organization that studies homeschooling and home-based education, more than 3.4 million K-12 students in the United States are homeschooled. That’s roughly 6.2 percent of the nation’s school-age population, a figure that has increased significantly over the past five years.
North Carolina has also experienced substantial growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, ranking fourth in the nation in the total number of homeschooled students. Data from the Department of Non-Public Education under the North Carolina Department of Administration shows there were 179,900 homeschool students during the 2020-21 school year. Even before the pandemic, the state’s homeschool population increased every year beginning in 2011-12. While enrollment dipped during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years, as students returned to traditional classrooms, the numbers climbed back above 165,000 during the 2024-25 school year.
As more families choose homeschooling, the demand for educational resources, books and technology has continued to grow. Recognizing that need, the staff at the local library launched its program in 2022.
“The activities are planned with elementary and middle schoolers in mind, but homeschoolers of any age and their families are invited,” Library Director Kelsey Edwards said during a recent interview. “Our previous services coordinator began the event, and it’s been very well attended throughout that time. We’ve kept it going, even when she wasn’t with us anymore. It takes place about eight to nine months out of the year.”
The program typically runs from August through November before pausing in December for the holidays. It resumes in January and continues through May, following a schedule similar to the traditional school calendar. Activities are held on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. and are open to the public at no cost, with no registration required.
“We’ve received really good feedback from the homeschool community,” Edwards noted. “We’ll tell new homeschoolers, people we know who have moved to the area or just started homeschooling, about the event. They’re able to come and get plugged in with other homeschoolers in this area just by coming to the event. The homeschooling community in Sampson County is pretty strong. They do plan some of their own events as well, so families can meet other homeschoolers and attend other events besides just what we have. This program is very good and helpful in getting them connected.”
Edwards said one addition she would like to see is an expanded collection of books written specifically for homeschooling families.
“They use the library a lot already in terms of getting items that support their curriculum,” Edwards said. “But I’m speaking specifically about books written toward homeschoolers that can address certain topics. They probably have excellent home libraries as well, but you can only fit so many books in your home. I see the public library as almost an extension of their classroom or school library because we have access to so many books.”
The JC Holliday Memorial Public Library is part of NC Cardinal, a consortium of public libraries that shares an online catalog and integrated library system, allowing patrons to access materials from participating libraries across the state. The network provides homeschool families with additional resources to help support their curriculum.
Rebekah Bennett’s son, Caleb, participates in the Home School Connections Program.
“I was homeschooled growing up, so it was a natural choice for us,” Bennett said. “Often, we’ll have seven or eight different homeschooling families get together, and she’ll do STEM activities or history activities, and a lot of Jeopardy questions. It’s just really fun, and we appreciate the work she puts in because that is not easy to organize all of that.”