Should I Quit My Homeschool Co-op Mid Year?

Please Share With Your Friends!

Last Updated on December 5, 2024 by Sarah McCubbin

(Links on this page may be affiliate links. If you purchase through a link, we may earn a commission. Dislaimer Here)

It’s almost inevitable that after the school year starts, there is always a family or two that says, “I’m thinking I might quit my homeschool co-op.” 

It could happen as early as 1st week of co-op and it might happen out of the blue with no notice. They could be helpers or even teachers. Sometimes they send a message and sometimes they just stop coming. As a former co-op director, this was and still is one of my biggest frustrations in the whole co-op experience! 

In case we haven’t met, I’m Sarah. I’m a mom of 9 and directed a homeschool co-op with around 130 students in it for 6 years. For many of those years I was volunteering 30-40 hours a week year round to make a co-op happen in our community. Others helped too. It was a group effort! Our co-op was a volunteer co-op. Everyone helped or taught classes. Everyone was essential…but not everyone realized they were essential. And to me that causes a lot of the problems. 

Whenever I hear someone say, “I want to quit my homeschool co-op,” I have all kinds of thoughts rise up. And usually I keep my mouth shut because this topic is completely nuanced. But there is a conversation that needs to be had before someone quits. Quitting can be done well and it can be done poorly. It is often done poorly. 

Joining a co-op is a big commitment. It is a decision that should be weighed carefully. It is not for every family in every season. It requires an investment of time and money and should 

Deciding to quit a homeschool co-op is never an easy choice. It can feel overwhelming, but sometimes stepping back is necessary. Let’s break down the considerations involved in this significant decision.

Homeschool Mindsets When Evaluating Your Co-op Experience

There are three common mindsets homeschool moms often adopt when evaluating their homeschool co-op:

1. Education Decisions Focused on Your Family in a Vacuum
   Homeschooling families sometimes make decisions that are hyper-focused on their own specific needs. This can lead to ignoring the benefits of co-op group settings, where homeschooling families gather for a common purpose like academic classes or even nature topics. While it’s crucial to prioritize your own children’s needs, it’s also important to see how homeschooling co-ops can benefit the entire family, especially in areas like field trips, foreign language instruction, or science labs that are difficult to tackle solo.
   
2. Making Quick Pivots When Something Isn’t Working
   Homeschool moms are often known for their flexibility. If something doesn’t work, they pivot—sometimes very quickly. You might join a co-op and realize it’s not a good fit. Perhaps the time slots don’t align with your school work, the group setting isn’t working for your particular needs, or your oldest child isn’t thriving in co-op classes. But should you quit midyear? While the homeschooling community is built on adaptability, sometimes there’s value in seeing things through.
   
3. Family Over Commitments
   One of the main reasons many families consider leaving a homeschool co-op is the time it demands. Between co-op day, extracurricular activities, and regular school work, it can feel like there’s little free time left for the family. The homeschool lifestyle should give us the freedom to prioritize our families over external commitments, and if your co-op is interfering with that, it might be time to rethink it.

Three Ways to Quit a Homeschool Co-op

When deciding to quit your homeschool co-op, timing is everything. There are two main ways to approach this:

1. Quit Before Beginning
   In my experience, there are a percentage of families that join homeschool groups as placeholders. They are trying to sort out their options but want to make sure they have a Plan B if their first choice doesn’t work out. So they join a co-op…maybe pay a deposit to hold their spot and let the summer play out. Then as the deadline to pay approaches, and they have sorted out their options, they drop out of co-op if their first choice worked out. If you think this might be you when you sign up for a co-op, I recommend letting the leadership know. It is very disruptive to work all summer to make a teacher and volunteer schedule only to have people bail at the last minute.
   
2. Midyear Quitting
   Some families decide they can no longer participate in their co-op midway through the school year. The reasons for quitting midyear can vary. Perhaps your younger kids are overwhelmed, your oldest daughter is struggling with the high school level work, or your co-op fees are just too much money. Regardless, quitting midyear has ripple effects. It can disrupt social groups, create scheduling gaps, and might even strain relationships with a close friend or two. Still, if the co-op is causing undue stress on your family, quitting midyear might be the right choice.
   
3. End-of-Year Exit
   Quitting at the end of the school year allows for a smoother transition. This way, your children get to finish out their commitments, which may include academic co-op classes or extracurricular activities like writing class or foreign language courses. It also gives you the opportunity to evaluate what your family needs moving forward, whether it’s a smaller homeschool group or a co-op with a different focus, such as classical education.

My Favorite Homeschool Books!

Reasons People Want to Quit Midyear

There are many reasons homeschooling families might quit their co-op in the middle of the year, including:

• Scheduling Conflicts: Juggling co-op days, homeschool curriculum, and other extracurricular activities can leave little free time, especially for larger families.
• Social Fit: Sometimes, the social aspect isn’t a good fit for your kids. This could be due to peer pressure or difficulty connecting with the co-op group.
• Special Needs: Children with special needs might not thrive in a larger group setting or a co-op that isn’t equipped to handle their specific needs.
• Financial Pressure: Co-ops often come with fees for classes, school supplies, and field trips, which can add up, particularly in a tough financial year.
• Poor Leadership: Sometimes a co-op is genuinely disorganized or poorly led causing unnecessary pressure and stress on families and students.

The Effects of Quitting Midyear

Quitting midyear can have unintended effects. For starters, it might limit your child’s social experiences with their homeschool playgroups. If your child is enrolled in academic classes like high school science labs, it can interrupt their learning progress. Additionally, it can affect friendships—both your children’s and your own. Homeschooling moms often find support groups within these co-ops, and quitting midyear may distance you from that valuable community.

Before You Quit Co-op Midyear

1. Before you quit mid school year, my advice is always to try and resolve the underlying issue first. Maybe you really don’t want to stay long term but there is great value it making effort to solve a problem or conflict. 
   
2. Many problems can be resolved with persistence and patience. Whether there is a teacher you child doesn’t like, a struggle to make friends or a curriculum that isn’t your favorite, leaning in to a solution has many benefits. 
   
3. Persisting to finish the school year can help your brain make better choices in the future and evaluate options differently. Persisting and solving problems improves our social skills as adults. And trying to solve problems…actually does solve them most of the time. 
   
   When people dig in and navigate problems and conflict, very often they will build relationships and friendships in the process.  
   
4. Lastly, before you quit, be sure you know your group’s refund policies. Do they give refunds on any fees? Do they do refunds on some fees but not others? Sometimes when people quit, they assume they can get a refund and that may not be the case. So double check the policies before you quit!

18 Tips: How to Resolve Conflict in a Homeschool Organization

Reason You Should Quit Mid Year

Let’s face it…sometimes a situation is just bad all around. It’s not a matter of preferences but safety or sanity. 

If you have had an issue and taken it to the person causing the problem and then the leadership…and not made progress, that is a good reason to leave. If you or your child don’t feel safe, that is also a good reason. Sometimes people in leadership end up having a power trip causing a lot of stress to everyone else. If you have tried to peacefully navigate solving the problem, it is ok to go. 

Reasons to Quit Your Co-op for Next School Year

Quitting at the end of the school year allows for careful consideration of your next steps. Maybe you’ve had a great year at the co-op, but you realize that your children’s needs have changed.

For example, your high school students may need more specialized classes like dual enrollment opportunities, or your younger children may require a smaller, more intimate homeschool group. The next year could offer great opportunities elsewhere that better fit your family’s evolving needs.

Making Education Decisions in Different Seasons

Homeschooling is dynamic. What works for one season of your family’s life might not work for another. Perhaps last year, the co-op was perfect for your kids, but now your older kids are more independent, and the social aspect of the co-op isn’t as valuable as it once was. Whether you’re teaching younger children or high school students, it’s important to make decisions that are intentional and stable, with an eye on the long run.

Quitting your homeschool co-op is a hard decision that requires thought and planning. Whether you choose to leave midyear or at the end of the school year, make sure the decision is based on the unique needs of your children and family. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach in homeschooling, and sometimes, the best decision is the one that brings balance and peace back to your homeschool journey.

More Reading:

• I Quit Homeschooling After 14 years & Sent My Kids To School…(Here is what happened)
• 13 Pros and Cons of a Hybrid Homeschool Education
• What is Unschooling Compared to Traditional Homeschooling?