It’s been one year since Class Dismissed premiered and even longer since we ended principle photography.  Lately a lot of people have been asking us how the family featured in the film are doing. The most common question we get asked about them is: “ Are they still homeschooling and what are they doing now?” Good questions for sure, so recently, we reached out to them and they were kind enough to give us the following update.

“Yes we are still homeschooling,” Rachel told us, “But we are are rarely home!”

Since finishing the film, Ana has switched her primary focus from Marine Biology to professional stage and theatrical makeup and is considering a cosmetology program. She’s been practicing her techniques on herself and her family with great results. Here’s one of her designs.

Ana also passed her driving test and is now able to drive herself and her sister Lily to the various classes and activities they’re involved in.  Many of those classes take place at a fantastic Los Angeles resource for homeschoolers called Urban Homeschoolers.

At Urban Homeschoolers both she and Lily have been working on goal setting — Ana wants to start a YouTube Channel for her makeup designs and Lily has been studying social and political movements through the history of Rock n’Roll as well as getting very interested in literature and spending lots of time reading and writing. Both girls are taking Biology and are involved in lots of activities with the new friends they’ve met there.

Lily is still very passionate about gymnastics and recently tied for first place at a regional competition. Here’s a picture.

Both Ana and Lily have been babysitting to make money and Ana recently got a job at a fabric company which helps fund her interests and travel.  And of course, being homeschooled makes traveling easier, especially since you can travel off-season. Rachel recently traveled to China and the UK and the girls visited Montreal as well as various places in the US.

“As the girls get a little older, they’ve been considering their options for further education and college is still on the table if they choose to go,” Rachel told us. “With Ana in particular, we’ve been talking to Wes Beach who is an expert at helping teens put together college entrance transcripts for those who have not had a traditional high-school experience. But it will be up to her to decide if she wants to go.“

Now that Rachel doesn’t have to drive the girls everywhere, she’s had more time to follow some of her own passions too. In addition to working at Todd’s video game studio a few days a week, she’s taking a painting class, and studying CranioSacral Therapy and Polarity at a nearby massage school. And Todd? Todd is doing what he does best — drawing, drawing and drawing. If you haven’t seen his brilliant work check out his blog here: http://hog-heaven.blogspot.com/

“So that’s about it, lots of interesting things happening.  We’re loving life and learning all the time,” says Rachel.

We’ve said this before, but it bears saying again — Dustin and I are hugely grateful to Rachel and her family for allowing us into their lives to document their extraordinary journey from school to homeschool. We’ve heard from so many people all over the world whose lives have been changed by watching the film.

Thank you Rachel, Todd, Thomas, Ana and Lily.

Jeremy & Dustin