I am a former homeschooler and 1519 Mechanical MAYHEM (Milford Area Youth Homeschoolers Enriching Minds) alumni. The team was and is mostly homeschooled students with a portion from private and public schools who don't have FRC programs.
http://mechanicalmayhem.org/
There will always be those who don't like homeschooling or don't receive it well but the same can be said about public school as well. I can't ever remember a time when our team was criticized or not "well-loved".
Are you a rookie team or second year team?