Out of High School to Homeschool

Okay, this blog post will be of almost no interest to most of you!  Don't feel obligated to read it, it is purely for those for whom it was written!

I have recently received about 10 inquiries from parents wanting to pull their kids out of high school to homeschool them here in RI.  After answering those emails, messages and phone calls, I started to feel like I was repeating myself. I am going to attempt to compile my advice here, to save myself some time.....not that I am not willing to give one-on-one advice, but there are some steps that will fit all situations.  Be advised that I am not a lawyer and this does not constitute legal advice.

Some preliminary advice from other parents who have pulled their children out of school mid-year: Don’t discuss homeschooling with your child’s teacher or the administrators at your child’s school.  This often changes the dynamic between teacher and student, or teacher and parent.  It can also lead to misinformation.   It is very common for a secretary or principal to tell a parent that they cannot homeschool or that they must wait for approval, which simply is not true.  Bring or mail your Letter of Intent (LOI) to the school department on your child’s last day of "school" and pick your child/teen up for the last time  OR file your LOI with the school district beforehand, then carry the letter of approval and your child’s withdrawal form to school the same day. 

Step 1.  Check out the RIGHT website:  www.rihomeschool.com and Facebook pages. Consider joining a support group, surrounding yourself with like-minded homeschoolers and the resources and support that those organizations provide.  I, of course, recommend RIGHT! 

Step 2. Choose your curriculum. The curriculum choices can be overwhelming.  It is worth the time to research and find out what you think might fit for you and your children. 

At this point, you are more interested in meeting college admission requirements or preparing for future goals, than meeting State requirements (and most likely by meeting one, you will be meeting the other.)  Homeschoolers are not required to meet state requirements for graduation, only to teach the required subjects “thoroughly and efficiently.”
If you are unsure of what your child needs to cover to have an adequate High School transcript and prepare him for acceptance into colleges, you might want to check out the HSLDA.org website and their “4 Year Plans” for high school.  This chart tells you the expected course load if your child is, a) graduating, b) hoping to attend a mid-level college or c) hoping to attend an Ivy League college.  If you go under “Navigation Menu” (top right) a list comes down with many choices, under “Get Answers” is “High School” where you will find those plans and many other resources that I will probably refer to later in this post.

Another thing to keep in mind when choosing curriculum for high school: find out what colleges expect of applying students.  If your child knows the college(s) he intends to apply to, look online.  Most colleges state what their expectations are of applying students.  Do they need 3 sciences or just 2?  Lab sciences?  SAT II tests?  Foreign language?  How many years?  You can find this information on most college websites.  If you have no idea where you child might go to college, at least research your state college’s application expectations.

Some curriculum options:

Some curriculum can be costly!  But consider these factors, your child’s education is worth an investment in quality curriculum, and most quality curriculums have a good re-sale value.

•You can buy a whole program from one company or buy an eclectic mix of different subject resources from different companies. I personally find that one size does not fit all, but some people love their boxed curriculum.

•Is your child a Junior or Senior?

You might want to consider dual-enrollment at CCRI or a combination of Community College courses and homeschooling.   

RIC is more expensive, but has welcomed homeschoolers as young as 11 as non-degree seeking students, without a superintendent's letter.  After completing 20 hours of coursework, the student can switch to degree-seeking without submitting high school transcripts......contingent on SAT scores, though.

There are also online dual-enrollment college courses available through Collegeplus.org, PHC.edu, and many other colleges.

If your child can handle college-level work, it might be worth it to have them take some classes and get both High School and College Credit.  Please note, there is no guarantee that courses will transfer as credits to your future college!  You should check with that college. Even if you have no assurance they will be transferred, taking college-level courses in high school still looks good on a transcript even if your credits don’t transfer.  (CCRI course credits and I believe, RIC credits, are transferable to URI.)

•Consider local co-ops or private classes.  These may already be established if you are pulling your child out of school mid-year, but it is a consideration for the future.  RIGHT has a few member-run co-ops in North Kingstown and Northeast CT.  Also, there is a large tutorial "school" in Attleboro called Good Company Tutorials.  If you become involved in a local group of homeschoolers, you could start your own co-op, sharing teaching duties with other committed parents.

•You are legally allowed to use the school’s textbooks.
http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE16/16-23/16-23-2.HTM 
These are usually available through the Curriculum Office at your local district administration office.  You many choose any books that are available in the DOE textbook inventory listed here:
http://www.ride.ri.gov/ride/TextbookInventory.aspx 
However, I am not sure if parents are allowed to borrow the Teachers’ Editions of the texts.  Asking for the school’s texts is a good way to transition into homeschooling; using what your child has already been using until you find something better....which you most likely will.


Some curriculum is FREE!  You can find a lot (all?) of your resources online!

•Khanacademy.org has teaching videos for every subject imaginable and even has online practice and teacher monitoring features for much of the math levels there (and adding more every day.) 

•All in One High School is a relatively new, free online program.  If you have younger children, there is also All in One Homeschool.

•The local library!  RIGHT has placed many resources in our local library to assist homeschoolers. Also the Exeter Library went beyond our small collection and started the “Learning Zone”, placing about $25,000 worth of educational books, games, and resources, in their library accessible throughout the state through library loan.  The libraries also have online resources for foreign languages and SAT prep, among other things - all accessible free to library members.

Many people have stated their inability or lack of time for teaching certain subjects.  I want to confess here, that I do not teach my high school-aged children; they teach themselves.  I find the appropriate curriculum for their grade-level, interests, goals, etc.  They follow the instructions and schedule I give them.  I correct their work and tests.  Some classes are outsourced. I have had friends/other parents/professors teach my children SAT prep, AP US History, Spanish, Writing, American Literature, and World Literature.  Our math program is a DVD program (Teaching Textbooks and DIVE DVDs are popular choices among homeschoolers).  I can teach math, but I discovered when our first child started Algebra, that teaching math was a lot of work and took me away from my other students that were at points in their education that required my presence.  My oldest child could easily comprehend the math processes through the DVD teacher while I taught the younger children. 


Step 3. Send a Letter of Intent (LOI) informing your school district that you will be homeschooling your children.  Most School Committees have designated the Superintendent as the liaison between homeschoolers and the SC so, you should send your LOI registered mail to the Superintendent’s office of your school district.   Keep your registered-mail receipt because sometimes schools lose letters of intent. It’s good to have proof that they received it.  

Many schools ask for a list of curriculum, check with RIGHT as to whether your town expects this.  

Be advised that working papers for underage workers, and registration forms for CCRI classes must be signed by the Superintendent.  You may have to talk to those secretaries again.  

Step 4. If your paperwork is complete, you should receive your letter of “approval” from the School Committee.  I always put approval in quotes.....they must approve your course of instruction, but they are not approving your right to homeschool!  This could take a few weeks or even months depending on what other issues the School Committee is working on at the time.   You should begin homeschooling anyway.

Step 5.  Keep good records.  You are the guidance counselor for your high school student.  Keep track of what classes they are taking, a general description of the class, textbooks used, and grade received.  Also, keep track of volunteer work, extracurricular activities, etc.   Some of these can count as courses, but some might be more impressive as extras on your child’s transcript.   At the end of 4 years, you will compile your child’s transcript (including the records from any years and course work at the public high school) and issue them a diploma.   HSLDA.org has some great transcript forms, as does Donnayoung.org.  You can simply enter your child’s information into the form or format you like.  HSLDA.org and Homeschooldiplomas.com have some beautiful custom diplomas for purchase.  Does that sound funny?  You educated your child; you graduate your child.   I say the proof is in the pudding.  Transcripts, test grades, SAT scores, and outside class grades should all verify your child’s transcript and diploma.

Step 6.  When your child applies to colleges, you will be submitting the official transcript.   Most colleges now accept the Common Application.  www.commonapp.org  The Common Application has a homeschool supplement that asks questions about your student, why you homeschooled, how the student was graded, etc. 

Some other things to keep in mind for college prep students. Your child should take the PSAT in the fall of his 10th grade and again in the fall of 11th grade.  Your child should take the SAT (or ACT) in the Spring of his 11th grade and the fall of his 12th grade.  You can register for the SAT and PSAT on the collegeboard.org website.  FAFSA (Financial Aid Forms) should be filled out in January of your child’s 12th grade (if they are going on to college).  The deadline is later, but funds are dispersed quickly so, the sooner you file the better.  Even if you need to estimate your taxes and adjust the FAFSA later.  You can apply for financial aid online at http://www.fafsa.com/

Step 7.  What if your child doesn’t want to go to college or doesn’t have what it takes to get into college?  Pray.  Pray anyway, because whether your child goes on to college or learns a trade or lives in your basement, God’s the one who will give you and your child direction for his future.  I’m counting on Him!  

Maybe when I find out what my next two high school students have in their future, I will be  able to advise people on #7!

UPDATE:  As of October 2017, I edited out links to the RIGHT website as the site was updated under new leadership and the links no longer work and some of the info is missing or under construction.  I still recommend that homeschoolers join RIGHT as their local support group.  The RIGHT Facebook pages, one public and one private for paid members only, are the best way to find support, information, curriculum suggestions, etc.

Cookie off to College

I wrote this article for the September 2011 issue of the RIGHT newsletter. 

 

Cookie off to College

As you read this, I am probably taking my oldest child off to college.  The first one out of the gate, homeschooled all the way through successfully, as far as I can tell. 

This child fit the cookie-cutter for academic success.  College prep courses all the way through high school, a few AP and CCRI courses thrown in to demonstrate that her intelligence went beyond her mother’s evaluation, did well on SATs, and received some decent scholarship money.  With a little push from Dad, she finally decided what she wanted to do and off she goes into the world, well-prepared with worldview training and self-determined values. 

Well, if you are new to this whole homeschooling thing and are thinking, “oh, great!  What a relief! I have that cookie-cutter. I know that recipe.  No problem, I can make these cookies too.”    Think again. 
 
Different children, different ingredients.  You MIGHT have the same recipe and similar  ingredients, but no matter what recipe you follow, your cookies will not turn out the same. 

My other children have different ingredients.  Do I follow a different recipe?

As my cookie-cutter child entered her high school years and even before, I realized that she had her own ideas about what she wanted to do and in other ways she had no idea what she wanted to do.  It was a fine balance between steering and supporting her activities and studies.  Even now, as I look back at the recipe, I realize that the cookie isn’t exactly what I expected.  This girl is going to school to become a photographer - academic recipe : artistic cookie.  Who knew?  

Now I am looking very carefully at my “leftover” ingredients!  What will they make with what they have?  Christian + gifted artist + pianist = ?,  Christian + guitar-playing leader -type = ?,  Christian + helpful + faithful = ?  

In the end, we can only follow the recipe and as a true cook, allow the ingredients to add their own flavors that shine through. 

Practically, I will encourage my sons and younger daughter to follow a similar recipe, but I am learning that children are not cookie-cutters and I may need to adjust my recipe based on the gifts and talents they have.  I am learning from other homeschool parents a myriad of other recipes for still - successful cookies. 

I am also learning that, in the end, I can’t take much credit for the cookies.

School Year’s Resolution

I am posting two articles I wrote for the RIGHT newsletter, The Home Spun News.  This was published in the August 2011 newsletter.

School Year’s Resolution

by Amy Brock

As I look ahead to starting a new school year, I can’t help but look back.  This past year was both a success and a struggle.  

I can’t help but look at how little was accomplished academically (in my opinion) by my two sons and youngest daughter this year.  I know that it is partly (mostly?) my fault.  I have this need to do things immediately, so the immediate becomes the urgent and the important is neglected.  Ironically, this all has to do with time management which I am supposedly good at.   My gifts are great for coordinating a non-profit organization or running our church’s VBS, but unfortunately only one of my children, apparently, inherited my administration skills and so, 3/4 of them did not self-administrate this year. 

I learned a lot about the importance of time management skills - for others.   I did set up a daily calendar and assignments and totally expected everyone to follow them.  They did, in the beginning, but then as I went on to other tasks - errands, laundry, cooking ... Facebook (guilty), etc. their faithfulness waned.  I realize now that time-management is 1) a learned skill and 2) a necessary habit.  In order for my children to attain that skill and habit (except for the one who is naturally that way) I realize I have to sit with them and do nothing to make sure they are doing something! 

This is my “School Year’s Resolution” to manage my children’s time and to teach them to manage their own time.  As an artist with a real desire for my children to follow their interests, that seems counterintuitive, but looking back at the year, I feel I did them a disservice in not ingraining some time-management skills in them.

In more encouraging news, my oldest graduated from homeschool and is attending Rochester Institute of Technology this fall and my two sons each taught themselves to play piano and guitar.   I guess more was accomplished in the wreck of a year than I thought.