Kyle Johnson

Tennessee’s largest home school expo wrapped up its second and final day Saturday with nearly a hundred vendors peddling textbooks, computer software and other learning tools.

East Ridge’s Camp Jordan Arena was filled to the brim with 97 vendors, about 60 workshops and an expected 1,300 families, said organizer Jan Bontekoe, a home school veteran from Lookout Valley.

“Everything you need to educate your child is under this roof,” Mrs. Bontekoe said.

Along with the games, equipment and all kinds of books, vendors and customers touted the more intangible “support” within the home school community. They said the two-day curriculum fair and education expo, hosted by the Chattanooga Southeast Tennessee Home Education Association, brought that community together and made for a reunion place of sorts.

“Mostly I come to see people,” said Kyle Johnson, of Signal Mountain, a home-schooled graduate now preparing for college. “It really is a hang-out for us, for other home-schoolers to see each other, and to see what other home-schooling families are working on. And there’s normally good book set-ups to look at, too.”

Becky Longoria, registrar of Aaron Academy, a Hendersonville, Tenn., umbrella school serving over 3,000 home school families, said those new to the system need — and receive — support.

“This is the closest-knit home school group that I’ve ever seen,” she said.

The home school community is substantially, but not exclusively, faith-based, according to vendors and customers. It seeks to keep young people out of the vast public school system and focus more time on the family, without being anti-social, they said.

Expo attendees said they valued the flexibility of home schools, which allows parents to choose the curriculum while working toward a college prep diploma.