WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2022 | SILVERTONAPPEAL.COM
PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Home schooling spikes during pandemic
Jordyn Brown
Eugene Register-Guard | USA TODAY NETWORK
When the pandemic closed schools
in March 2020, it also created a wave of
change upending the education system.
It forced people to bring learning home
beyond regular homework and work-
sheets, and for some, reevaluate what
they wanted for their children entirely.
For the past five years, more Oregon
families have been turning to this op-
tion, especially since the pandemic be-
gan.
“There’s just a huge, huge growth in
home schooling,” Rosalyn Newhouse,
president of the Oregon Home Educa-
tion Network board, said. “Now that we
are seeing a return to in-person school,
there are still challenges with the pan-
demic. We probably all know schools
that have had to take a two-week break
because of an outbreak or difficulties
with protocols.
“There are parents who said, ‘You
know, home school really worked for us,
we’re just going to keep doing it,’ “ she
said. “There’s a big change in our educa-
tional methodology because people
have been exposed to home schooling in
ways that they hadn’t been before.”
Growth by the numbers
Home schooling has been gaining
popularity nationally for decades.
Between 1999 and 2016, the number
of home-schooled students doubled in
the U.S., according to the National Cen-
ter for Education Statistics. In 2016,
nearly 1.7 million students were home-
schooled, making up 3% of all students,
according to the center’s most-recent
data that was released in 2019, pre-pan-
demic.
OU T B R E A K
E X H A U S T I O N
O r e g o n c a r e f a c i l i t y r e s i d e n t s e n d u r e
r e p e a t e d fl
fla
ar e s o f C O V I D - 1 9 c a s e s
The pandemic only accelerated this
growth — interest in home schooling
has jumped significantly.
In April 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau
found 5.4% of U.S. households with
school-aged children reported home
schooling, and by fall 2020, 11.1% of
households with school-age children
reported home schooling. The calcula-
tions represent true home schooling
families and do not include distance
learning.
“That change represents an increase
See HOME SCHOOL, Page 3A
How hot is
Mid-Valley real
estate market?
Sean Lahman
USA TODAY NETWORK
Home values in Marion and Polk counties have
spiked over the past couple of years.
The median sales price for a single-family
home in Marion County during October was
$381,900. That’s an increase of 12% compared
with October 2020, according to a USA TODAY
Network localized analysis generated with data
from Realtor.com.
The number of houses sold rose by 5.1% from a
year earlier. A total of 496 houses were sold coun-
tywide during October. During the same period a
year earlier, 472 single-family homes were sold.
Home prices in Polk County have risen even
higher.
The median sales price for a single-family
home in Polk County during October was
$392,000, an increase of 14.6% compared with
October 2020.
The number of houses sold fell by 8.5%. A total
of 119 houses were sold countywide in October.
During the same period a year earlier, 130 single-
family homes were sold.
Real estate sales can take weeks or months to
be recorded and collected. This is the latest data
made available through Realtor.com to the USA
TODAY Network.
How hot is the real
estate market?
Claire Withycombe Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK
N
orma Cochran understood early on that COVID-19 was going to be a
problem. h Cochran, 88, a retired nurse, had lived at Capital Manor Re-
tirement Community in West Salem for more than seven years when she
first started reading in the newspaper about the new coronavirus. h The
news reminded her of the polio epidemic, a threat throughout her childhood. h “Being
a nurse, I thought, ‘This is not good,’” Cochran said. “And I didn’t think people really
See OUTBREAKS, Page 4A
were paying attention to it at first.”
Information on your local housing markets is
available through the USA TODAY Network, with
more data from Realtor.com.
The top 10% of the properties sold in Marion
County had prices of at least $595,000, up 6.2%
from a year before, and in Polk County had prices
of at least $575,000, up 11.7%.
In October, five Marion County properties sold
for $1 million or more: four single-family homes
and one condominium or townhome.
The median home sale price — the midway
point of all the houses or units sold over a period
of time — is used in this report instead of the av-
erage home sale price because experts say the
median offers a more accurate view of what’s
happening in a market. In finding the average
price, all prices of homes sold are added and then
divided by the number of homes sold. This mea-
sure can be skewed by one low or high price.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing local-
ized versions of this story on its news sites across
the country, generated with data from Realtor-
.com. The story was written by Sean Lahman.
Norma Cochran, a resident of Capital Manor and retired public health nurse, spends time at her
home at the independent living facility in West Salem. Capital Manor has experienced seven
separate outbreaks during the COVID-19 pandemic. ABIGAIL DOLLINS/ STATESMAN JOURNAL
Oregon to get $200M for broadband
Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Over the nearly two years since the pandemic be-
gan, a lack of broadband internet access has hampered
many Oregonians from participating fully in a more
virtual world.
Lack of high-speed access has meant challenges
working remotely, helping children keep up with virtu-
al classes, and even connecting with friends and fam-
ily.
Oregon officials for years have promised to work to-
wards improvement. Proponents say their latest leg-
islative proposal on this issue will allow the state to
take advantage of millions in federal funds for the
construction of a comprehensive broadband net-
work.
House Bill 4092 is a bipartisan, bicameral bill with
broad support from interest groups, including the
Oregon Telecommunications Association, Oregon
Health and Science University, Oregon Rural Health
Association, Oregon Library Association and League
of Oregon Cities.
See BROADBAND, Page 4A
Vol. 141, No. 8
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