[PDF] Home School Information Packet - Free Download PDF (2024)

Kentucky Home Education Association Your statewide advocate for homeschooling families

Home School Information Packet

KHEA P.O. Box 51591 Bowling Green, KY 42102-5891 www.khea.info [emailprotected] (270) 779-6574

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Kentucky Home Education Association

Home School Information Packet So you are considering home schooling as an alternative form of educating your children. This type of education may just be for you, but it may not. The best way to find out is to seek out all of the information you can get on home schooling. Homeschooling is definitely not something to rush into. Please read all of the enclosed information. You may photocopy anything in this packet. When you are finished with this booklet, please return it to the librarian so that someone else can use it.

ATTENTION: If you are planning to withdraw your child from public school at any time other than at a semester break (i.e. winter vacation or summer vacation) and enroll them in a home school program, or If your child(ren) is withdrawing from public school while disciplinary action was being contemplated or begun at the school, (an example of disciplinary actions the school may have begun would be truancy, expulsion, etc.) or If an agency concerned with child welfare (juvenile court, Department of Social Services, etc.) has made a formal request to determine if your child(ren) are in school, then you need to make a careful note of the information and suggestions found in the enclosed document entitled “Home School Information Packet and Best Practices Document” which starts on page 13.

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Table of Contents

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General Home Schooling Information ................................................................................ 5 “What is Home Education?”..................................................................................................................7 Suggested Reading List..........................................................................................................................8 Curriculum Sources, Periodicals, and Organizations ............................................................................9 Home School Check List .....................................................................................................................11 Homeschooling Research.....................................................................................................................12 Kentucky Requirements.......................................................................................................................13 Best Practice Document.....................................................................................................................13 Local Homeschool Support Groups.....................................................................................................21 Home School Legal Defense Association Application ........................................................................23 KHEA- Just What Do We Do?.............................................................................................................25 KHEA Individual Membership Application ........................................................................................26 Why Join KHEA? ................................................................................................................................27 Applications for KHEA Support Group Membership..........................................................................28 “More than a Passing Fancy!” by Sam Peavey....................................................................................29 “Conscientious Opposition” by Daniel Goldberg................................................................................33

Home Schooling High Schoolers..........................................................................................35 Public School Graduation Requirements .............................................................................................37 Basic High School Options..................................................................................................................38 Resource List .......................................................................................................................................41 Re-enrolling in Public School..............................................................................................................42 Kentucky’s Recognition of Credits......................................................................................................43 “Where the Rubber Meets the Road” by Cathy Duffy ........................................................................44 “A Typical Curriculum” by Ted Wade .................................................................................................48 Post High School Options....................................................................................................................51 Pre-College Planning for High School ................................................................................................53 High School Timetable ........................................................................................................................56 Sample High School Transcript ...........................................................................................................57

Sample Home School Forms ..............................................................................................59 Sample Syllabus...................................................................................................................................61 Sample Letter of Intent to Home School .............................................................................................62 Sample Lesson Plan Page ....................................................................................................................63 Attendance Chart Form ........................................................................................................................64 Two Sample Report Cards ...................................................................................................................66 Subject Planning Form.........................................................................................................................67 Curriculum Record Form.....................................................................................................................68 Weekly and Daily Planning Forms ......................................................................................................69 Setting Up a Portfolio ..........................................................................................................................71

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General Home Schooling Information

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What is Home Education? Home education is the fastest growing educational movement in the United States! It is a tutorial method of education in which the parents retain the responsibility for their children’s education. Home education is based in the home, but your classroom is the world. The low student-teacher ratio allows students more opportunities to learn firsthand about science, history, government, and art in the real world. Children are educated in museums, libraries, places of business, art centers, the seashore, the mountains, in backyards, in kitchens, and even in cars. Home education is comprehensive. Home education allows students to work at their own pace. Learning is not limited to six hours a day.

What Will Home Education Cost? “Count the cost” by researching before you begin. There are many resources you can read to get an idea of the amount of time, energy, and commitment home education requires. One thing is sure: if you choose to home school, your family will be making many new choices. You will want to make the most of your choices together with your spouse. These are some of the areas you should be aware of. Commitment Fathers must be willing to respond to the extra demands of their time. Mothers must be willing to readjust their lifestyles and attitudes. Both parents and children must be willing to persevere through the change in family routines and relationships. Social Pressure Concerned, well-meaning family and friends will have varying ideas and attitudes about your decision to educate your children at home. Time and Energy To add four or more hours of teaching to your schedule will be an adjustment. It will be easier if you organize your home; divide the chores; delegate; and plan your meals, days and activities. Expense How much will it cost? The financial investment of home education varies widely with each family. Usually you spend what you have, and creativity supplies the rest. Libraries and used book fairs (along with making your own charts and the like) can help to keep costs down. 7

Suggested Reading List - Reference and How-To Books Note: These books can be checked out from your local public library through interlibrary loan. Ask your librarian about it. Most are listed under the call number 649.68

Armstrong, Thomas, In Their Own Way. Ballman, Ray, The How and Why of Home Schooling Beechick, Ruth, You Can Teach Your Child Successfully. Grades 4-8 Bell, Debra The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Bendt, Valerie, How to Create Your Own Unit Study

Elkind, David, The Hurried Child. Farris, Michael P, Homeschooling: Father. An ideal book for homeschooling fathers. Fugate, Richard, Successful Home Schooling Gaither, Gloria and Shirley Dobson, Let’s Make a Memory. Gelner College Admissions: A Guide for Homeschoolers Gorder, Cheryl, Home Education Resource Guide

Boyer Rick, Home Educating with Confidence

Griffith, Mary, The Homeschooling Handbook: For Preschool to High School

Brady, Vicki A., The Basic Steps to Successful Homeschooling Vital Issues Press

Guterson, David, Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense

Cannon, Inge P., How To Present Home Education In The Best Possible Light (Audio Cassette Tape) PO Box 1350, Taylors, SC 29687, [emailprotected]

Harris, Greg, The Christian Home School.

Colfax, David and Micki, HomeSchooling for Excellence. Davis, Llewellyn, Going Home to School Dobson, James, Parenting Isn’t For Cowards. Dobson, Linda, The Homeschooling Book of Answers: The 88 Most Important Questions Duffy, Cathy, The Christian Home Educator’s Curriculum Manual Elementary Vol. & Jr/Sr High Dunn, Kenneth and Rita, Teaching: Students Through Their Individual Learning Styles.

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Hendrickson, Borg, How to Write a Low Cost/ No Cost Curriculum for Your Home-school Child Hensley, Sharon, Home Schooling Children with Special Needs Herzog, Joyce, Learning In Spite Of Labels, Greenleaf Press Holt, John, Teach Your Own. Hubbs, Don, Home Education Resource Guide Jeske, Patrick J., Bring Out the Best in Your Child. Klicka, Christopher., The Right Choice: The Incredible Failure of Public Education and the Rising Hope of Home Schooling.

Lewellyn, Grace, Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don’t Go to School Lopez, Diane, Teaching Children. A guide to what children need to know at each level through 6th grade. McAlister & Oneschack, Homeschooling the High Schooler Vol. 1&2 McCullough, Bonnie, 401 Ways to Get Your Kids to Work at Home. McEwan, Elaine, How To Raise Reader. MacCauley, Susan Schaeffer, For the Children’s Sake. Mason, Charlotte, The Original Home Schooling Series Moore, D. and Raymond, Home Spun Kids: Teaching Children at Home Pride, Mary, The Big Book of Home Learning. Ray, Brian D. Ph.D., Strengths of Their Own, NHERI Publications, [emailprotected] Shackelford, Luanna and Susan White, A Survivor’s Guide to Homeschooling. Sutton, Joe. P. & Connie J., Strategies for Struggling Learners, Exceptional Diagnostics, 220 Douglas Dr., Simpsonville, SC 29681, [emailprotected] Tobias, Cynthia, The Way They Learn. Explains how to discover and teach to your child’s strengths. Trelease, Jim, The Read-Aloud Handbook. Wade, Ted, The Home School Manual

Curriculum Sources, Periodicals, Organizations TRADITIONAL TEXTBOOKS (Christian) ABeka Book Publications, PO Box 19100, Pensacola, FL 32523-9100, 1-877-ABEKA BOOK, www.abeka.com Bob Jones University Press, Greenville, SC 29614-0062, 1-800-845-5731, www.bjup.com

COMPLETE INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING PROGRAMS Alpha Omega Publications, 300 N. McKemy Ave., Chandler, AZ 85226, 1-800-622-3070, www.home-schooling.com School of Tomorrow (ACE), PO Box 299000, Lewisville, TX 75029-9000, 1-800-925-7777, www.schooloftomorrow.com

CURRICULUM AND EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES Builder Books, PO Box 5789, Lynnwood, WA 98046, 1-800-260-5461, www.bbhomeschoolcatalog.com Critical Thinking Books and Software, PO Box 448, Pacific Grove, CA 93950-0448, 1-800-458-4849, www.criticalthinking.com Educators Publishing Service, Box 9031, 625 Mt. Auburn St, Cambridge, MA 02139-9031, 1-800-435-7728 www.epsbooks.com Elijah Company, 1053 Eldridge Loop, Crossville, TN 38571, 1-888-2ELIJAH, www.elijahco.com Geography Matters, P.O.Box 92, Nancy, KY 42544, 1-606-636-4678, www.geomatters.com God’s World Books, PO Box 20003, Asheville, NC 28802-8203, 1-888-492-2307 (also publishes a Christian “Weekly Reader”), www.gwbc.com Greenleaf Press, 3761 Hwy 109 North, Lebanon, TN 37087, 1-800-311-1508, www.greenleafpress.com Lifetime Books and Gifts, 3900 Chalet Suzanne Dr., Lake Wales, FL 33859-6881, 1-800-377-0390, www.lifetimeonline.com Rainbow Resource, Route 1, Box 159A, Toulon, IL 61483, 1-888-841-3456, www.rainbowresource.com Beginnings Publishing House (Rainbow Science ), 328 Shady Lane, Alvaton, KY 42122, 1-800- 831-3570, www.beginningspublishing.com Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd., 8042 South Grant Way, Littleton, CO 80122-2705, 1-303-730-6292, www.sonlight.com Timberdoodle, E 1510 Spencer Lake Rd., Shelton, WA 98584, 1-360-426-0672, www.timberdoodle.com

USED CURRICULUM SOURCES www.vegsource.com/homeschool http://homeschool.crecon.com/classifieds/classifieds.cgi http://www.thebackpack.com/ http://listings.ebay.com/aw/plistings/list/category11438/index.html www.edexbooks.com www.greathomeschoolbooks.com www.homeschoolusedbooks.com

WARNING — These curriculums generally run one year ahead of public school curriculum in skill areas like Reading, English and Math. (Example: Public school grade 2 = ABEKA or BJU grade 1.) Do yourself a favor and consider this before ordering.

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HOME SCHOOLING PERIODICALS AND WEBSITES Homeschooling Today, PO Box 1608, Ft. Collins, CO 80522-1608, 1-970-493-2716, www.homeschooltoday.com Practical Homeschooling, PO Box 11900, Fenton, MO 63026-1190, 1-800-346-6322, www.home-school.com The Teaching Home, PO Box 20219, Portland, OR 97294, 1-503-253-9633, www.teachinghome.com Ecclectic Homeschool Online, www.eho.org

ARTS AND CRAFT CATALOGS Miller Pads and Paper, 2840 Neff Rd, Boscobel WI 53805, 1-608-375-2181, www.millerpadsandpaper.com S & S Arts and Crafts (art supplies, art kits, and educational products), P.O. Box 513, 75 Mill St., Colchester, CT 06415, 1-800-243-9232, www.ssww.com Oriental Trading Company, 1-800-875-8480, www.oriental.com

CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOLS K-12 9-12 9-12 K-8 K-12 K-12 9-12 K-12 K-12 K-12 K-12 6-12

ABeka Academy, Box 18000, Pensacola FL 32523-9160, 1-800-874-3592 (also offer video courses), www.abekaacademy.org American School, 2200 E. 170th St., Lansing, IL 60438, 1-800-531-9268, www.americanschoolofcorr.com Bob Jones University Press, Greenville, SC 29614-0062, 1-800-845-5731 (Correspondence School, Satellite & Video Courses), www.bjup.com Calvert School, 10713 Gilroy Rd. Suite B, Hunt Valley, MD 21031-3098, 1-888-487-4652, http://home.calvertschool.org Christian Liberty Academy (CLASS or CLA), 502 W. Euclid, Arlington Heights, IL 60004-5495 1-800-348-0899, www.class-homeschools.org Covenant Home Curriculum, N63 W23421 Main St., Sussex, WI 53089, 1-800-578-2421, www.covenanthome.com KY Virtual High School, 1-866-432-0008, www.kvhs.org Moore Foundation, Box 1, Camas, WA 98607, 1-800-891-5255, www.moorefoundation.com Our Lady of the Rosary School, 116 1⁄2 North Third St., Bardstown, KY 40004, 1-502-348-1338, www.olrs.com Seton Home Study School (Catholic), 1350 Progress Dr., Front Royal, VA 22630, 1-540-636-9990, www.setonhome.org Summit Christian Academy, PO Box 2769, Cedar Hill, TX 75106-2769, 1-800-362-9180, www.scahomeschool.com University of Kentucky, Independent Study Program (Middle School/High School Correspondence), Room 1 Frazee Hall, Lexington, KY 40506-0031, 1-800-432-0963, www.uky.edu/UExt/independent_study/ISPHS.html

STATE SUPPORT GROUPS KHEA - Kentucky Home Education Association, P.O. Box 51591, Bowling Green, KY 42102-5891, 270-779-6574, www.khea.info. CHEK - Christian Home Educators of Kentucky, 691 Howardstown Rd., Hodgenville, KY 42748, 270-358-9270, www.chek.org

LEGAL PROTECTION HSLDA - Home School Legal Defense Association, PO Box3000, Purcellville, VA 20134-9000, 1-540-338-5600, www.hslda.org

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Home School Check List 1. 2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

LEARN about home education: Read books, pamphlets, newsletters; talk with other home educators; attend available seminars and support group meetings; familiarize yourself with home school laws. PERSONALIZE home school information: Evaluate family goals, lifestyle, and ministries; evaluate each child’s needs; note each child’s talents, interests, learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses; consider your financial abilities. FINALIZE your view of home education: Is home education the only alternative educational method for your child? Is this a conviction or a preference? FORMALIZE your home education desires in writing: Write out a philosophy of education, a statement of purpose, and general objectives for each child. LOCATE an experienced home educator who will advise and encourage you. CHOOSE a basic structure for your program: Will you join a correspondence school or follow a self-determined course of study? DELEGATE teaching responsibilities between parents as much as possible (and tutors when desired). CHOOSE and gather appropriate books, materials, and supplies for your school. REVIEW all books and textbooks to be used: Read the table of contents; note chapter divisions and each chapter’s contents; label all charts and maps, etc. for quick reference. NAME your home school. DECIDE on your school environment: An extra room, the kitchen table, etc.; specific storage area for all texts and materials; wall space for large charts or maps; comfortable chairs or desk. GATHER student and teacher aids: Resource materials like dictionaries, etc.; globe, flag, rulers, clock, pencil sharpener, pencils, crayons. CONSIDER the community resources: Museums, classes, zoo events, music or art lessons, gymnastics or athletic programs, public library. SCHEDULE your school time: hours per day, days per week, holidays, field trips, etc. MEET state requirements, write your letter of intent, consider HSLDA membership PREPARE your record keeping system: Attendance, evaluation of progress or journal of what was covered each day, daily work, cumulative record file, notebook. PREPARE skeletal year-long studies (using items in #9): Long range academic goals for each subject, month-by-month plan for subjects, decide which subjects merit short term study, target the most important subjects MAKE a lesson plan for the first week. PLAN a very special first day for the beginning of your new adventure. CLEAN and ORGANIZE your home and make a daily routine.

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Homeschooling Research Adult homeschoolers far exceed the general population in college education, and community service, according to a 2003 research report from the National Home Education Research Institute, of Salem, Ore. Home School Legal Defense Association commissioned the report. Among the findings: Over 7300 homeschooled adults were surveyed and 5,000 had been home educated for at least seven years. Over 74 percent of home-educated adults ages 18-24 have taken college-level courses, compared to 46 percent of the general U.S. population. Seventyone percent participate in an ongoing community service activity, compared to 37 percent of U.S. adults of similar ages. Only a tiny fraction (4.2 percent) considered politics and government too complicated to understand compared to over a third of U.S. adults. An abbreviated version of this report, as well as other homeschooling research is available at http://www.hslda.org/research/default.asp (Home School Legal Defense Association’s website). The complete research report, “Home Educated and Now Adults: Their Community and Civic Involvement, Views About Homeschooling, and Other Traits,” is available from the National Home Education Research Institute, at http://www.nheri.org. You will also find other research on homeschooling at NHERI which answers questions like: • What about socialization? • Are homeschoolers doing well academically? • Are they successful as adults? • What are the basic demographic traits of home-schooled adults? •What is the history of homeschooling? Don’t forget to visit the National Home Education Network’s website (www.nhen.org), for more information about homeschooling and how it stacks up in research.

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So what are the Kentucky state laws on home schooling? To answer this question, you need to read the Home School Information and Best Practice Document which begins on the following page and goes through page 20. HOME SCHOOL INFORMATION PACKET AND BEST PRACTICE DOCUMENT Prepared by Christian Home Educators of Kentucky Kentucky Home Education Association and Kentucky Directors of Pupil Personnel August 21, 1997 Revised November 14, 2000

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Background Information ......................................................................................Page 14-15 A. Task Force ................................................................................................................... Page 14 B. Rights of Parents/Guardians to Home School Their Children .................................... Page 14 C. Home School Requirements........................................................................................ Page 14 D. Role of the Director of Pupil Personnel ...................................................................... Page 15 E. Commentary on the Law and Its Application from the Home School Perspective..... Page 15 II. Best Practice Approach to Home School Verification............................................Page 18 III. Appendix .............................................................................................................Page 19-20 A. Home School Resources ............................................................................................. Page 19 B. Sample Documents...................................................................................................... Page 19 C. Special Topics.............................................................................................................. Page 19

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I. Background Information

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A. Task Force

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On March 14, 1997 twelve home school representatives from Christian Home Educators of Kentucky (CHEK) and the Kentucky Home Education Association (KHEA) and twelve officers and board of directors of the Kentucky Directors of Pupil Personnel Association met to share their views on the status of home schools in Kentucky. From that meeting a task force was formed to address the issues that were raised at that meeting. The task force was comprised of: • • • • • • • •

Joe Adams - Christian Home Educators of Kentucky Cheri Fouts - Kentucky Home Education Association Louie Hammons - Director of Pupil Personnel (Garrard County) Sherwood Kirk - Director of Pupil Personnel (Ohio County) David Lanier - Kentucky Home Education Association Marilann Melton - Director of Pupil Personnel (Warren County) Roger VonStrophe - Director of Pupil Personnel (Newport) Don Woolett - Christian Home Educators of Kentucky

David Thurmond, Director of the Division of Planning, who is the nonpublic school liaison for the Kentucky Department of Education, served as a consultant to the task force. The task force met on a monthly basis for the next three months. This document is a product of their efforts. On November 14, 2000 a task force was called to review and revise this document. The only revisions updated the section on Home School Resources and added a new section on the Recognition of Credits. The members of this task force are as follows: • Joe Adams - Christian Home Educators of Kentucky • Cindy Green - Kentucky Home Education Association • Louie Hammons - Director of Pupil Personnel (Garrard County) • Mike Hughes – Kentucky Home Education Association • Mary Anna Rogers – Kentucky Home Education Association • Haskell Sheeks – President, Directors of Pupil Personnel Association and Director of Pupil Personnel (Ballard County)

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Roger VonStrophe - Director of Pupil Personnel (Newport) Robert Simpson, who serves as the liaison between the Kentucky Department of Education and nonpublic schools.

B. Rights of Parents/Guardians to Home School Their Children Kentucky compulsory attendance laws require that every child between the ages of 6 and 16 be enrolled in school. This requirement may be met by attending public school, private school (including home school), parochial school, or church regular day school. The parent or person in charge of the student is clearly charged with the responsibility to see that the child attends school. In the case of homes schooling, the parent is required to notify the local superintendent of schools by letter that the child is being home schooled. The letter must include the names, ages, and place of residence of each pupil in attendance at the school. The parent must notify the local superintendent of schools within the first two weeks of each school year of their intent to home school their child(ren).

C. Kentucky Department of Education Home School Requirements The following are the minimal requirements for the operation of a home school in Kentucky: 1. Education is a fundamental right. Rose V. Council for Better Education, Inc. Ky., 790 S.W. 2d 186 (1989). Compulsory attendance laws (KRS 159.010) require that every child between the ages of 6 and 16 be enrolled in school. KRS 159.030 exempts a child from attending public school who is enrolled and regularly attending a private, parochial or church regular day school. Home schools are considered to be private schools in Kentucky, and the laws relating to private schools apply equally to home schools. Therefore, when you decide to educate your children at home, you must first establish a bonafide school for your children to attend. Furthermore, you are required to notify the local superintendent of schools by letter that you have established a school, and to report the names, ages, and place of residence of each pupil in attendance at the school, together with any facts that the superintendent may require to facilitate carrying out the laws relating to compulsory attendance and employment of children. (KRS 159.160) It is recommended

that you keep a copy of any information that you provide to the local school district. 2. The private, home, and parochial schools shall teach those subjects that will educate children to be intelligent citizens. State law requires that instruction be offered in English and in the branches of study that are taught in the public schools. This is interpreted to include at least reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics and civics. KRS 158.080, and Kentucky State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education v. Rudasill, Ky., 589 S.W. 2d 877 (1979). 3. Private, home and parochial schools shall provide instruction for a term at least as long as the term in effect for the public school in the district where the child resides. (KRS 158.080) The minimum school term is defined in KRS 158.070 which states: The minimum school term shall be 185 days, including no less than the equivalent of 175 six (6) hour instructional days. This would be 1050 instructional hours. 4. The private and parochial schools shall record and maintain scholarship reports of each student’s progress at the same interval as in the local public school, grading all subjects taught. (KRS 159.040) 5. Kentucky requires that an accurate record of pupil attendance be kept. (KRS 159.040) Attendance may be recorded in a notebook, or on a computer list or in a register provided by the Kentucky Department of Education to the local school district. 6. KRS 158.040 requires that all private schools be open to inspection by directors of pupil personnel or officials of the Department of Education.

D. The Role of the Director of Pupil Personnel The director of pupil personnel has the responsibility to enforce the compulsory attendance and census laws in the attendance district he/she serves. When a question arises as to whether a child is actually being schooled at home it is within the authority of the director of pupil personnel to ask for evidence that a bonafide school exists. Evidence that a school actually exists might include: 1. Whether the parent/guardian has notified the local

board of education by letter of intent to teach the child(ren) at home giving the names, ages, and address of each child. 2. Whether instruction is taking place over a term at least as long as the term in effect for the public school in the district where the child resides. (175 instructional days times 6 hours = 1050 instructional hours per school year) 3. Whether instruction covers at least reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics, and civics. 4. Whether the teacher records and maintains scholarship reports of each student’s progress at the same interval as in the local public school, grading all subjects taught. 5. Whether an accurate record of pupil attendance is being kept. When there is reason for concern the director of pupil personnel should notify the private school of the parent’s need to provide this information. If the records are incomplete, the director of pupil personnel has the option of making a visit to inspect the private school to determine whether instruction is taking place. In the case of a home school, if the parents refuse access to the home, the director of pupil personnel may arrange a meeting at the school district office or at a neutral site. Following assessment, if the director of pupil personnel concludes that minimum standards of instruction are not being met, he/she may take action under KRS 159. KRS 159.130 defines the powers and duties of directors of pupil personnel: The director of pupil personnel and his assistants shall be vested with the power of peace officers, provided however they shall not have the authority to serve warrants. They may investigate in their district any case of nonattendance at school of any child of compulsory school age or suspected of being of that age. They may under the direction of the superintendent of schools and the Kentucky Board of Education, institute proceedings against any person violating the laws of compulsory attendance and employment of children.

E. Commentary on the Law and Its Application from the Perspective of the Christian Home Educators of Kentucky and the Kentucky Home Education Association This commentary will refer to the paragraph numbers of the

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list of Home School Requirements (HSR), (section C, page 14.) It is suggested that you refer to it periodically while reading the commentary. HSR notes that the six items listed are the minimal requirements for the lawful operation of a home school in Kentucky. Home schooling is an area whose upper limits are bounded only by an individual’s initiative and creativity, so any home schooling family may exceed these minimal requirements many times over. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize the bottom line required to operate a home school legally in Kentucky. 1. Kentucky compulsory attendance statutes require that children from the age of 6 to 16 must be enrolled in either a public or private school. Home schoolers are in no way exempt from that law. Some points to remember: a) Current Kentucky law requires that any child who is six(6) years of age, or who may become six (6) years of age by October 1st, must be enrolled in a primary school program. A primary school program means that part of the elementary school program in which children are enrolled from the time they begin school until they are ready to enter the fourth grade. Formally this was called kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade. Most students are in the primary school program for four (4) years. A student must successfully complete the primary school program before entering the fourth grade. Any child who is five (5) years of age, or who may become five (5) years of age by October 1st, may enter a primary school program. If you elect to suspend formal schooling with your child until the age of six, he or she will be a year behind his or her peers in terms of the conventional grading system. This is not a problem necessarily, simply something which you should consider while making your decision. If you wish to avoid this issue, then begin your child in the primary school program when he or she is five years old. b) Kentucky law states that if a child is not enrolled in public school either the private school or parent of the child must inform the local school board of that child’s whereabouts during the school year. Your notification letter to the local school board allows the superintendent to be in compliance with the portion of the compulsory attendance law that requires him to account for every child in his district.

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c) When you write your local school board, you should state that your children will be attending a particular school, giving the name and address of the school. You must also include the name, age and home address of each child in your school. You need not include anything else in the letter whatsoever. We do not recommend that you include test scores, letters of recommendations, or any other material since it implies that you are requesting permission from the school board to teach your children at home. You are not requesting permission, simply informing them of the situation. d) The letter to the school board should be sent within ten days of the beginning of school and will need to be sent each year you home school. We agree that it is wise for you to keep a copy of the letter and any other correspondence affecting your children or the operation of your ome school. e) As a result of religious or philosophical convictions, some parents elect not to notify the local school district of their home schooling activities. It is not our purpose to comment one way or the other on these convictions; however, it is important to note that there are civil penalties which could include monetary fines and incarceration for persons convicted of non-compliance with compulsory education laws; anyone who elects to disregard the reporting requirements should be aware of the risks involved. 2. Kentucky law requires that you educate your children at least as long as the public schools in your district. At the present time that number is 175 instructional days, 6 hours per day (totaling 1,050 hours per calendar year) in most districts. You need not educate your children on the same days that the public schools in your area are in operation, and you may educate your children more days than the public schools require. 3. This section of the HSR is relatively self-explanatory. Kentucky law does not limit in any way the subjects or the point of view, which will be included in your home school. It does require, however, that you teach the basics in the English language. 4. HSR requires that private schools, including home schools, keep scholarship records of the students in that school. Furthermore, it requires that the scholarship reports be summarized or tabulated at the same interval as the grading period of the local public school district,

normally every nine weeks. This particular provision of the law has caused a great deal of confusion among both public school officials and home school parents in the past. A few points of clarification:

As a result, the provisions of this statute appears to conflict with the rights given by the U.S. Constitution to every American citizen against unreasonable search and seizure.

a) This provision does not require that the home school parents submit these reports to their local school district, state department of education, or anyone else. It simply requires that they maintain the records in some sort of ongoing fashion.

It is our understanding that “home inspections” by school personnel will stop at the threshold unless consent is given by the homeowner. In the absence of imminent threat (the house is on fire, for instance) entry into a private home can only occur with the presentation of a lawfully executed warrant. All homeschoolers should be aware of this fact.

b) HSR makes no statement concerning the form which these scholarship reports must take. The form may be a traditional report card, a portfolio of exemplary work, a narrative assessment or any one of many other forms of assessment. The point seems to be that there needs to be some reasonable record of academic accomplishment maintained by the parents in the home school. c) We would recommend that whatever your preferred form of student assessment, the records be kept in a formal, organized manner for two reasons: first, this will be your child’s permanent record of educational accomplishment. It is only right that the records be in a form that is concise and useful. Second, in the event your records should ever come under scrutiny by someone else, the quality of your school will be judged to some degree by the quality of your records. While it may be the case that records kept on the back of envelopes, calendar pages, or paper plates do meet the letter of the law, such a casual approach to record keeping would raise doubts in the minds of skeptics. 5. Keep an attendance book. It can be a book you obtain from writing the state, a grade book you purchase at a local office supply store, a computer log, or any other reasonable method for maintaining attendance. Be sure that you can account for at least the minimum required hours (1,050 hours) per year in your records.

On the other hand, if genuine concerns exist in the mind of school personnel as to the legitimacy of a particular home school, it may be in that family’s interest to meet with the school official, preferably at a neutral site, in order to address any questions. In conclusion, we recommend consideration of the following: a) In the event you are informed of an impending visit, talk with the official and try to agree upon a suitable time and place outside your home to review your records. b) In the event a home visit is unannounced or in cases where prior mutually agreeable arrangements cannot be made, we recommend that you seriously consider the ramifications of allowing government officials to enter your home without warrant. It is certainly your prerogative to invite anyone to see your home school: friends, family or local school officials. It is another thing for you to accede to their demand to review your material in your home. c) Furthermore, we suggest that you conduct your home school in such an exemplary manner that no one in your community will be concerned about the quality of the job you are doing.

Many families combine the requirements of this provision and provision #4 above in one grade book which keeps both attendance and scholarship records.

Considerations prior to embarking on a home school journey

6. HSR #6 is one of the most controversial portions of the home school law in Kentucky. It provides that private schools shall be open to inspection by directors of pupil personnel or officials of the Department of Education. It is believed that this was originally written without awareness of the existence of home schools, places that were both homes and schools.

In order to have the very best possible experience as a home schooling parent, we suggest that you take into consideration the following practical issues; responsible home education can be a daunting task and should not be entered into without due consideration. Although it affords ample opportunity for educational excellence and flexibility, it requires a high degree of commitment and

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energy to be successful. Listed below are some factors that should be thoroughly considered prior to embarking on a home school journey. Home schooling is very time-consuming. To do an adequate job the home school parent(s) must devote considerable time and energy to class preparation, instructional time, grading papers, etc. Many families have had to change their lifestyle significantly -- switching from a two-income to a one-income family, for instance -- in order to accommodate the demands of homeschooling. It is a decision that should not be made on impulse or without sufficient forethought. Home schooling requires initiative. While excellent material is available to assist the home schooling parent, putting it together in a manageable form for a given family requires a great deal of work and creativity. Since each family is different it is clear that the final form home education takes will vary from family to family. To be a good home schooler requires a certain independent spirit, willingness to try new things and a reasonable level of selfconfidence. Home schools are not accredited by the State. Unless a home schooling family functions as a satellite classroom for an accredited school, the diploma awarded by a home school may not be recognized by other schools or agencies. Some home schooled children take the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) exam for the purpose of obtaining a standard credential. Other college-bound home school graduates take the SAT or ACT tests and usually have little problem with college admission. For more information regarding home schooling in your area, contact Kentucky Home Education Association at P.O. Box 51951, Bowling Green, KY 42102-5891 or Christian Home Educators of Kentucky, 691 Howardstown Road, Hodgenville, KY 42748.

II. Best Practice Approach to Home School Verification In the interest of the education of all children in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and based upon the laws as they relate to compulsory attendance of school age children and their right to an education, whether in a public or private/home school, the following best practice approach is suggested as a way both public and private/home school personnel may approach the question of insuring that all children are enrolled in a bonafide school. A. Parents/Guardians of school age children, by law, must

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notify the public school district of the enrollment of their child(ren) in a private or parochial school within the first two weeks of each public school year. Home school representatives of Christian Home Educators of Kentucky and the Kentucky Home Education Association and the officers of the Kentucky Directors of Pupil Personnel Association agree that in the absence of any mitigating factors the school(s) which have properly notified public school districts should be presumed to be in compliance with the law and operating a bonafide school; thus, necessitating no further investigation. B. It is the responsibility of the local director of pupil personnel or his/her designee to investigate any evidence which would suggest that a child(ren) is not enrolled in a bonafide school. The investigation is for the sole purpose of determining that a bonafide school does exist and in no way is intended to investigate and approve the education provided by the school. Any investigation could include, but is not limited to, phone calls, home visits (the privacy of the home must be recognized and no visit inside the home may be conducted without the consent of an adult resident or a duly issued warrant), review of academic and attendance documents, etc. C. Circ*mstances/evidence which would cause a public school district to have concern about whether or not a bonafide school did exist, thus causing an investigation to occur, would include, but is not limited to: 1. Notification, after the public school year has begun and at any time other than a semester break, by parent/guardian of intent to withdraw their child(ren)from the public school for the purpose of home schooling; (This would not apply to students moving in from out-of-district.) 2. Notification by the parent/guardian of intent to home school their child(ren) when disciplinary action (i.e. truancy, expulsion, notification relative to driver’s license, etc.) was being contemplated or had begun; 3. Request from an agency or individual to determine if the child(ren) are in school. Requests from an agency concerned with child welfare (i.e. juvenile court, Department of Social Service, etc.) should be investigated as a matter of course. Requests made by a private citizen should proceed only as it relates to probable cause and/or legal requirements;

4. Notification (as required by law) by the parent/ guardian of their intent to home school their child(ren) was not received by the public school district within two weeks of the start of the public school year; 5. Evidence of a compelling nature which would suggest the inability of the parent or proposed teacher to operate/maintain a bonafide school. Should there be any disagreement on the part of the directors of pupil personnel and parents/guardians, it is anticipated that common sense rules will be used to ascertain the information requested by either party. Everyone should have a clear understanding of what are the rights and obligations of the directors of pupil personnel and parents/guardians to insure that all school age children are enrolled in a bonafide school.

III. Appendix A. Home School Resources

See pages 8-10 and page 41 for homeschooling resources.

B. Sample Documents

See the section, Sample Forms and Documents, beginning on page 59, as well as page 57.

C. Special Topics 1. Loss of driver’s license by student for dropping out of school or for academic deficiency. Note: These requirements concerning driver’s licenses were deemed unconstitutional by the KY Supreme Court on December 18, 2003 and may no longer be applicable. However, HB304 was introduced during the 2004 legislative session in an effort to reinstate this bill with modifications. For the latest information on the status of any “No Pass No Drive legislation” please check the KHEA website, www.khea.info. Any applicant for a permit who is under the age of eighteen (18) who has not graduated from high school shall provide proof issue by his school within the preceding sixty (60) days that the applicant is currently enrolled or has been enrolled in the prior semester of school and is not or has not been found academically deficient. If a student

is being schooled at home, a statement from his parent or guardian that he is being schooled at home and is not academically deficient shall be provided. A student shall be deemed to have dropped out of school when he has nine (9) or more unexcused absences in the preceding semester. Any absences due to suspension shall be unexcused absences. A student shall be deemed to be academically deficient when he has not received passing grades in a least four (4) courses, or the equivalent of four (4) courses, in the preceding semester. 2. Recognition of home school credits KRS 158.140 mandates the assignment of a pupil in the class or grade to which the pupil is best suited. This regulation prescribes procedures for recognition of credits or graduation from a public secondary school upon transfer from a nonaccredited secondary school and from a public secondary school upon transfer from a nonaccredited secondary school and for the awarding of credit upon transfer to a public secondary school without a proper transcript being reasonably available. Section 1. For the purpose of this regulation, a “nonaccredited secondary school: is a school enrolling students for secondary school instruction when that school is not recognized by (1) of the fifty (50) state departments of education or one (1) of the seven (7) independent regional accrediting associations. A “nonaccredited secondary school” in Kentucky shall be any private school not certified pursuant to KRS 156.160(3). Section 2. (1) The local school district shall be responsible for the appropriate assignment of a student transferring from a nonaccredited secondary school to the class or grade best suited for the student. Previous credits earned by a student in a nonaccredited secondary school shall be awarded by the local school district by one (1) of the two (2) following methods: Pass an examination of similar nature and content to the examination used for other students receiving credits for a particular course within the school district and graded an a comparable basis; Or Successful performance of the student in a higher

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level course when the courses are sequential in nature such as English, Mathematics, History and Science. Successful performance shall consist of achieving at least a C grade in the course by the 12th week of school. The courses successfully completed by examination or performance shall be counted toward minimum high school graduation requirements in the local school district. Section 3. A student desiring recognition of previous credits toward graduation upon entering public school secondary school without a properly certified transcript and for whom a properly certified transcript cannot reasonably be obtained, shall be placed and awarded credit as outlined in Section 2 of this statute.

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3. Home school participation in public school activities Home school participation in public school activities is governed by local board policy. At the present time there is no prohibition against a home school student taking classes at the local public school. Local situations vary. Contact your local school for details. Current regulations prohibit home school children from participating on athletic or academic teams sponsored by public schools.

Local Homeschool Support Groups The next several unnumbered pages may contain a membership application and information on the nearest local homeschool support group, as we encourage local support groups to place this information in the KHEA packet. If this information is not included in this copy of the Home School Information Packet, then visit the KHEA website at www.khea.info for a link to a complete listing of Kentucky homeschool support groups.

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Home School Legal Defense Association An application for membership in the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) should be attached following this page. If this application is missing, you may find an application on the Internet at www.hslda.org, or you may call HSLDA and ask for a membership application at: (540) 338-5600. For the low cost of $115 per year your family may become part of HSLDA. KHEA members receive a $20 discount on HSLDA membership. We encourage all homeschooling families to consider membership in this organization, which is dedicated to defending homeschooling freedoms nationwide.

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KHEA - Just What Do We Do? -By Jan Fletcher y ar br Li

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homeschooling families is key to keeping hen our family lived in Oregon in our freedoms. Why? We’re a team, and every 1994 and we were looking for that country ch sear e r member can help build positive relationships g homestead in Kentucky, we wanted to know or tin Supp s g in their community. Such teamwork creates a p about Kentucky’s homeschooling laws. M u tin on or gro p strong, grassroots foundation of positive public t p We knew all about Oregon’s laws, and had r ito es Su ppo iri rin perception of homeschooling. Building those u u been homeschooling for two years. What q s g in le relationships community by community can ing was Kentucky like? Our question led us to r gi sl we at Ans shift homeschooling opponents into neutral and Kentucky Home Education Association and io n sometimes those critics even switch into reverse, those super nice folks sent us a very helpful and embrace homeschooling. By empowering packet of information. We moved to Kentucky you to be confident in your community, the in December 1994 as informed homeschooling face of homeschooling becomes personal and parents, thanks to KHEA. positive to your neighbors, elected officials, and Almost a decade later, I now return the favor community leaders. by answering inquiries from homeschooling As a board, we must be ready to monitor any families moving to Kentucky. KHEA has potential legislative threats to our homeschool answered several dozen e-mail inquiries since freedoms. Board member Bill Monroe will be this school year has started, and most are checking in the weeks before and during the from people in Kentucky who want to begin legislative season on any activity coming from homeschooling. Queries range from, “How do I the Kentucky House, while I’ll be keeping tabs on the Senate. get started homeschooling?” and “Does my DPP have the right We love building relationships. Bill and I recently had to ask to see all my curriculum,” to “Can I pull my child out of the opportunity to spend almost two hours having lunch with school at any time?” Each e-mail message receives a personal Kentucky Education Department’s Homeschool Liaison Crichton response. Sometimes we answer inquiries from homeschoolers Comer. In the process, we learned a lot about the concerns and who want to organize a support group where no support group motivations of one of the key players in the homeschool debate. currently exists. (We LOVE those e-mails!) We also had the opportunity to articulate our perspective and our We also answer phone calls, and some come with real concerns. live emergencies, when a family suddenly finds itself in crisis Your KHEA representatives have productive discussions simply because others do not always recognize their rights to with the leaders of the DPP organization in Kentucky, and we homeschool. One board member recently spent many hours invite representatives of this organization to our annual support helping such a homeschooling family in Kentucky. group seminars in Lexington and Hopkinsville. Connie Laffin, our president, has already churned out over We also touch base with our fellow defenders of homeschool a half-dozen letters this year informing local school officials freedoms, Christian Home Educators of Kentucky. We do this in various parts of the state how important it is to understand because we all work together to defend homeschooling in homeschool rights, and correcting their misconceptions. She’s Kentucky. also called school officials in an effort to put out some brush fires In 2003, we’ve added a new partner to our relationship of misunderstanding in various parts of the commonwealth. list: the state’s public librarians. The KHEA board will be KHEA stands ready to defend homeschool freedoms, but doing a presentation at the state’s public librarian conference in what does that preparation involve? It involves quite a lot, Lexington in May. As part of that presentation, we’ll be helping actually. librarians better serve the homeschooling community. We will Most importantly, we on the board understand that KHEA also be updating our homeschooling resource packet and will be is its members. In order to steer this baby through sometimes distributing copies to librarians and support groups in early to choppy waters of anti-homeschooling sentiment, we’ve got to mid-2004. In order to facilitate the maximum in communication keep in touch with all of you. So we visit support groups around flow to those seeking homeschooling information, we’re in the the state. Since we know that support groups are born, thrive, and process of launching another website: www.khea.info. This site sometimes contract and re-group, we also visit new startups to will be a place where librarians, homeschoolers, and even the offer encouragement and keep everyone connected. media, can download PDF documents on homeschooling. We’ll Since the 2003-2004 school year began, board members have have the homeschooling resource packet in electronic format for visited homeschoolers in London, Elizabethtown, Campbellsville, anyone to print, as well as other documents. We’ll even have Bowling Green, Russellville, Murray, and Frankfort. statistics and press releases for the media in a one-stop, quick and We produce a half-dozen newsletters per year for our easy format for people wanting fast facts on homeschooling. members, and plan an annual support group leaders’ seminar, So folks, that’s what we do. We thank you for your support. with helpful information for support group leaders on how to We couldn’t do any of it without you. Together, we work to give respond to questions and concerns about homeschooling in their our children educational excellence through home education. local community. All this communication with the commonwealth’s ©November, 2003 KHEA. ing

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Kentucky Home Education Association Membership P.O. Box 51591, Bowling Green, KY 42102-5891 (270) 779-6574 www.khea.info [emailprotected] KHEA offers two types of membership: Individual, and through an Affiliated Support Group. We realize that offering two different types of membership can be a bit confusing to some people. If you have any questions, please email us at kheahomeschool@hotmail. com, and we will try to clarify the situation. The application for individual membership is below. The support group application is on page 26. If you are interested in KHEA membership, please choose the form that fits your situation.

Membership Benefits: Individual Membership - $15.00 per family You will receive the KHEA Newsletter and access to members of the KHEA Board. As always, you receive the satisfaction of knowing that your support will build a better “legal climate” for home schooling in your state and your hometown. You will receive a KHEA membership card, and can use our HSLDA discount number for a $20 discount on HSLDA membership. You will find an Individual Membership Application below. If you are an individual and do not belong to a local support group, you should consider finding 3 other home school families and start meeting as a support group. Your total fee for the 4 families would be $40. This is $15 less than the four families would owe in dues if they all joined individually.

KHEA Individual Family Membership Application $15.00 / family

PLEASE CHECK ONE: _____CONTRIBUTOR (A believer & supporter of home schooling) A contributor receives all benefits of Individual Family Membership except voting privileges. _____FAMILY MEMBERSHIP (must be signed below) I certify that I am (or will be) actively home schooling at least one child who lives in my home during the period covered in this application. I will exercise diligence in teaching any such home schooled child(ren) in a responsible way. I am a resident of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Could you give us a contact person for Signature: _______________________________ your Date: ___________________________________ support group? FATHER’S NAME _________________________________________ MOTHER’S NAME _________________________________________ STREET ADDRESS _________________________________________ CITY / STATE ____________________________ ZIP CODE________ PHONE NUMBER __________________________________________ COUNTY ___________________________________________________ E-MAIL ADDRESS _________________________________________ Number of home schooled children _____________ Are you a member of HSLDA? _____yes _____no (Your $15 annual KHEA fee allows you to deduct $20 from the annual $115 HSLDA fee.)

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Have you sent your letter of intent to home school to the local school superintendent? _____yes _____no (You must do that within the first two weeks.) Are you a member of a local support group? _____yes _____no

NAME ____________________________ _____________________ PHONE ___________________________ _____________________

May KHEA give your name and phone # to other home schoolers in your area? _____yes _____no

DETACH and MAIL THIS APPLICATION and $ 15 TO:

KHEA P.O. Box 51591 Bowling Green, KY 421025891

Kentucky Home Education Association Your statewide advocate for homeschooling families

P.O. Box 51591, Bowling Green, KY 42102-5891 (270) 779-6574. E-mail: [emailprotected] www.khea.info

KHEA is a non-sectarian organization open to all conscientious supporters of home education – without regard to race, color, creed or religion.

O

ur stated purpose is to recognize, encourage, and protect the inalienable, God-given right of parents to educate their children at home; to monitor legislation as it relates to home education; to disseminate information concerning pertinent home education issues; to provide spokespersons for home education in Kentucky; and to inform the general public and policy makers of the credibility and value of home education.

Why should homeschooling parents join Kentucky Home Education Association? Local homeschool support groups are important, and we encourage you

to be a part of your local support group. KHEA, as a statewide organization, fosters communication between various segments of the homeschooling community and provides a vehicle for homeschooling families to have their voices heard by the legislature, the professional educational establishment and any other interested parties. Join KHEA because: 8 You will become a part of the first statewide association of homeschooling families in Kentucky. Your yearly dues help to pay the bills so that we can work to protect your right to homeschool. 8 The price is right: a minimal fee of $15.00 secures your membership for one year. 8 You will receive periodic mailings with lots of interesting information. You will also be one of the first to be warned of threats to our homeschool liberties. 8 Your membership in KHEA entitles you to a $20 discount with the Home School Legal Defense Association. 8 We’re nice folks and everyone could use a friend who has been at it for awhile. 8 Kentucky continues to be a good place to home school. Recent figures estimate that more than 10,000 children are currently taught at home in Kentucky. Join KHEA and work with us to keep Kentucky free from unwanted and unnecessary legislation.

Mail your $15 check for annual membership to: Kentucky Home Education Association P.O. Box 51591, Bowling Green, KY 42102-5891.

Also contact your local homeschool support group:

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KHEA SUPPORT GROUP Membership Application Membership Benefits : Support Group Membership - $5.00/family Each support group will receive an email copy of the KHEA Newsletter which they will be responsible to distribute to their KHEA member families. We will list your support group on our website. If we are contacted by someone who lives in your area, we will refer them to your support group. Because you are a KHEA member support group, we will be glad to send a KHEA Board Member to your group for advice or as a speaker when you request this. Your members will receive a KHEA membership card and will be able to use our HSLDA discount number for a $20 discount on HSLDA membership. Of course, we will continue to lobby in Frankfort on your behalf. We also will provide a Winter Support Group Leaders Conference to train and encourage your leaders. Your support group leaders will be able to attend at little or no cost to them.

SUPPORT GROUP NAME

Check whichever one applies:

__________________________________________ County(ies) your support group serves: __________________________________________

____ We are sending in our $25.00 annual affiliation fee at this time. ____ We are sending in the $5.00 per family for

SUPPORT GROUP CONTACT PERSON: This person’s name will be listed on our website so that people who want information about your support group can contact you.

NAME

__________________________________________ ADDRESS (for our records only) __________________________________________ _____________________ ZIP CODE_________ PHONE (include area code) __________________________________________ E-MAIL (optional) __________________________________________

To Whom should we send your KHEA Newsletters? (This person MUST have e-mail access, however THIS name will not appear on our website without your consent.)

NAME

__________________________________________

ADDRESS

__________________________________________ ________________________ ZIP CODE________ PHONE (include area code) ________________________________________

E-MAIL (must be included)

________________________________________

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_______ families from our group. ___________ Total sent

DETACH and MAIL THIS APPLICATION TO:

KHEA P.O. Box 51591 Bowling Green, KY 42102-5891 If you have questions about Support Group Affiliation, please call one of our board members: Connie Laffin President Bowling Green, KY (270)782-7384 Email: [emailprotected] Jan Fletcher Vice President Columbia, KY (270) 384-1728 Email: [emailprotected] Bill Monroe Treasurer Lawrenceburg, KY (502) 839-1960 Email: [emailprotected] Jay Boyd Secretary Waddy , KY (502)829-9493 Email: [emailprotected] Charlie Fletcher Member-at-large Columbia, KY (270) 384-1706 Email: [emailprotected]

Home Education More than a Passing Fancy!

“S

Sam B. Peavey, EdD.

ome Observations and Perspectives on Home Education” was originally prepared as testimony before the Iowa State Board of Education on August 5, 1989. The remarkable revival of home education in recent years may someday be seen as one of the most significant educational developments of this century. Home education is an integral part of the current movement toward freedom of choice among educational alternatives. However, there is reason to regard the home school as having an identity and integrity of its own. It is well worthy of study and understanding as the most private form of private school. The renaissance of family-centered schooling is the natural outcome of a number of forces converging on a fateful era. Not the least of all those forces is the well documented fact that both the American home and the American school have reached the lowest level of mediocrity in our history. Both have betrayed the birthright of our children. The home school is a normal response of concerned parents to that mounting crisis. The home school is a pointed effort to salvage and safeguard values that once undergirded schools as well as homes. Home education is a rejection of the trend toward almost total institutionalization of child rearing. It is a reaction to a decline in scholarship and character in the classroom. It is a testimony of faith in the family — a faith that is almost lost. My experience as Private Education Liaison on the faculty of the School of Education of the University of Louisville gave me an informed sensitivity to the concerns of families seeking religious and educational freedom in the private sector. Further, as my state’s representative for the Council for American Private Education, I have come to know home schoolers throughout a number of states. I have visited in their homes, addressed their gatherings, examined their instructional materials. interviewed parents and children, observed teaching, reviewed instructional plans, verified achievement and testified in their behalf before legislatures and courts. I have counseled home schooling parents facing threats of lawsuits, arrest, lines, charges of child neglect, imprisonment and harassment from civil and educational authorities. My firm conclusion is that it is time for citizens in general and educators in particular to recognize and respect home-based, family-centered education for what it is and for what it is achieving. The home school is a pointed effort to salvage and safeguard values that once undergirded schools and homes. Too often the most uncompromising critics of home education are persons who know little about it. The increasing institutionalization of children’s upbringing is espoused as liberation from traditional family roles. It seems difficult for many to believe that modern parents have the competence

necessary to rear their own children. They find it hard to conceive of family-centered schooling in their communities where broken homes, working mothers, unwed parents, absentee fathers and latch-key children have become the norm. The point should be made clear: A home school is first of all a home. The first requirement for a successful home school is a successful home. I am not a promoter of home schooling per se. I am a promoter of free choice among educational alternatives. It is my professional judgment that home-based education is one of the most significant and successful alternatives available to parents today. I have testified under oath to that fact on numerous occasions in recent years. In the course of my testimony, the same predictable questions repeatedly arise. Allow me to focus briefly on the major concerns many people have about home schools. HOW WELL DO CHILDREN LEARN IN A HOME SCHOOL? There is ample evidence that home school students as a whole achieve at a higher level than students in regular school on standardized measures of basic knowledge and skills. Reliable studies in a number of states provide that evidence. A statewide test of the basic skills of home schoolers in Tennessee where over half of the students are taught by parents with only a high school education showed impressive achievement. Ninety-one percent of the students were achieving at or above their grade levels, while 75% were a full year or more above grade level in reading. Any school would have reason to be proud of such a showing. ... Home school students as a whole achieve at a higher level than students in regular school... A 1987 testing of 873 home school students in Washington state on the Stanford Achievement Test showed them clearly at or above average in 104 of the 120 test categories. In Alaska, a statewide appraisal of basic skills found home school students at all grade levels averaging in the top fourth of the nation. In Oregon, a study of 1100 home schoolers found 76% scoring at or above average in achievement. The Hewitt Research Foundation in Washington made a study of several thousand home school students throughout the U.S. They were on the average in the 75th to the 95th percentile on the Stanford and Iowa Achievement Tests. I am not aware of any reliable and comprehensive study that shows home school students doing less well than their peers in the regular school. We in professional education might well be intrigued by how this superior level of learning is attained in such modest circ*mstances by teachers with only a limited formal education.

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ARE ORDINARY PARENTS QUALIFIED TO TEACH? That question is a legitimate one for a person who has been equating teacher qualifications with a college diploma and a state teaching certificate. I hold two advanced degrees from two distinguished universities in teacher education, that is, teaching teachers how to teach. It has been my privilege to help prepare thousands of university students to meet the qualifications for a teaching certificate or permit to teach. They were, as a whole, fine young people and many have done well in the classroom. It has been most interesting to me to see home school parents with high school diplomas doing as well or better than my certified teachers as measured by their students’ standardized test results. Those [home school] parents revealed some things to me about living, loving and learning that I was never taught by my distinguished professors at Harvard and Columbia. I have observed that most home study materials and activities are designed to allow the student to proceed on his own a large part of the time as an independent learner. That is teaching at its best. The situation is so different from the classroom where the teacher must face a room full of children and spend a major part of her time and energy maintaining order while wondering what is taking place in individual minds. The parent in a home school situation actually plays a more professional role as a monitor, tutor, counselor and resource person. One mother said her best advice on teaching came from her ten-year old son who urged her to stop acting like a teacher! It is gratifying that state authorities have recognized the injustice and futility of trying to force state teaching certificates on parents who choose to educate their own children in their own homes and for whom the state certificate was never designed. It is significant to note that the parent-teachers in home education are clearly demonstrating for us what a half century of educational research has revealed — a total lack of any significant relationship between the teacher’s certificate and the pupil’s achievement. Those research findings have been known and ignored for many years. Some examples of these studies follow. Freeman observed that teacher certification requirements appear to have been conceived through intuition and then converted into certification regulations. Freeman found no significant relation between teacher certification and performance in the classroom. (Legal Issues In Teacher Preparation and Certification, ERIC Clearing House on Teacher Education, Washington, D.C. 1977) Hawk, Coble and Swanson of East Carolina University in their study of all available research evidence concluded that there is little, if any, documentation to support the assertion that the effectiveness of teachers is a function of increased certification requirements. (Journal of Teacher Education, May-June 1985) In spite of all that evidence to the contrary, state school authorities continue to maintain that the certified teacher is the qualified teacher. It is particularly painful to see state authorities harassing and criminalizing educators who shun that invalid credential. The only valid measure of effective teaching that we

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have found is the degree in which pupils are learning. On that score, the teachers in home schools as a whole are demonstrating their effectiveness. WHAT ABOUT SOCIAL LIFE? The formation of one’s social character and social values occurs in an interaction of positive socialization and negative socialization. The same is true of a home, a school or a total society. Few persons would deny that the forces of negative socialization that dominate our society today have undermined the social values and social character of children’s homes, children’s schools and children’s lives. Tots and teens wander in a value vacuum. The forces of positive socialization have lost much of their effectiveness in the schools the state compels its children to attend. The community school of today is not the sheltered, unspoiled place one associates with an earlier era in which the forces of positive socialization were predominant. Every problem, pressure and perplexity of our modern day interacts in the socialization of children in the classroom. There is increasing recognition that the organization of the school is also a negative factor in children’s socialization. Hurrying children from bell to bell and from call to call with arbitrary groupings of their peers was never designed for the normal socialization of children. Rather, it evolved as an expedient structure for compulsory mass institutionalization of children. Most children learn to tolerate and conform to the process their elders have developed as the best way of processing children en masse. However, students of child behavior are coming to realize that under the false facade of compliance with institutional demands children experience a host of pressures, tensions and stresses that few of them could identify or verbalize. The nature of life and learning in such an environment generates abnormal values, roles, relationships and behaviors. Children are turned inward upon themselves and their peers in an interaction rite with peer pressure, peer dominance, peer images and peer values. “The self-concept of home schooling children is significantly higher . . . the research data indicates that it is the conventionally schooled child who is actually socially deprived.” Out of that situation emerge the diverse problems of children, which teachers face in today’s classroom — social isolation, identity crises, poor self-image, emotional stress, competition, frustration, delinquency, hostility, moral confusion, boredom, rejection, burn-out, sexual promiscuity, violence, vandalism, teen pregnancy, alcohol, drugs and certainly the most tragic of all, suicide. On that background, it should not be necessary to explain further the deep concern home school parents feel for the social character and social behavior of their children. That concern alone might well stimulate the growth of home schooling beyond anything we have yet imagined. More importantly, it could draw home schoolers closer together as functional family units where both the parents and the children might well rediscover themselves and each other in their joint venture in living and learning.

A related study by John Taylor of Andrews University compared 224 home schoolers in grades 4-12 with regular school students using the Piers-Harris Children’s SelfConcept Scale. It is generally conceded that a favorable self-concept is indicative of an individual’s socialization. Taylor’s study concluded, “The self-concept of homeschooling children is significantly higher than that of children attending the conventional school. Regarding socialization, it appears that very few home-schooling children are socially deprived. ... Apparently, the research data indicate that it is the conventionally schooled child who is actually deprived.” Bronfenbrenner, among others, found that children, at least through the sixth grade, who spend more of their elective time with their peers than with their parents generally become dependent on those peers. He noted that this brought a pervasive pessimism about themselves, their future, their parents and even their peers. This does not support the idea that a child’s association with many children necessarily contributes to positive socialization as many parents and educators assume. First-hand observations of home schooled children commonly impress observers with their qualities of maturity, stability, responsiveness and self-assurance. In fact parents often report that their decision to home school their children came from observing the impressive social qualities of other home school students. Certainly one should not underestimate the contribution to social values and social character that comes from a firm foundation in moral and spiritual values common to most home schools.

WHAT IS HOME SCHOOLING REALLY LIKE?

ARE HOME SCHOOL STUDENTS PREPARED FOR COLLEGE?

The concept of home education raises the question in some minds as to whether home-based schooling prepares students for “real life.” However, most observers would conclude that the best preparation for real life is to live it everyday as home schoolers do. It is the institutionalized student in the regular school who is compelled to live in an unreal setting. The home school commonly provides a much broader daily relationship with the community than does the classroom of the traditional school. Experience indicates that three or four hours at the most of formal instruction and study in basic subjects each school day in the home are sufficient to maintain a student at grade level. The remainder of the day is devoted to individual projects, field trips, art, music, libraries, museums, educational television, volunteer work in community agencies, sharing family responsibilities, hobbies, and the establishment of “cottage industries” as money-making enterprises in such things as gardening, art crafts, bake sales, woodworking, pet raising and lawn care. Any image of the home school as a worn and weary mother huddled with her brood in the kitchen is far from the full scenario of home education today. National, state and community support groups provide forums for fellowship and exchange of ideas and experiences on the enlarging frontier of home education. Such support groups collaborate in planning field experiences and group activities for students and for sharing common concerns. Periodic workshops bring parents together to examine and acquire materials for teaching and learning and to hear consultants on pertinent matters. A helping

Home schoolers have little difficulty in entering and succeeding in college if they plan wisely and make the most of their opportunities. High school and college counselors are available to advise on planning for entrance into specific colleges and vocations. Instruction in advanced and specialized college preparatory courses is available through extension courses from schools and colleges, educational TV, part-time enrollment in the local high school and tutors. Lack of some college preparatory courses can often be made up in college while enrolled in a conditional admission status. In most colleges admission is dependent primarily on standard admissions tests. GED certificates often suffice in lieu of a high school diploma. College admissions offices understand that diplomas and grades per se from the regular high school offer little assurance of college preparation or potential since the standards from different schools vary greatly. Most home school programs are uniquely designed and conducted with a stress on independent study, individual responsibility, self-evaluation and the use of diverse resources — all of which prepare one for success in college study. Studies of genius indicate that the independent, selfdirective, open, undistracted environment of most home schools provides the best setting for the development of gifted and creative minds.

As often stated, home schooling is the most private form of private education. It is not designed for isolation but for privacy — privacy of living and learning in an intimate family environment. The family, of course, maintains all normal relations with the social, civic, cultural, recreational, religious and business activities and resources of the community. Home school students enjoy the usual friendships and activities for children and youth that any good parent would want for them. Many public and private schools offer extension study status and part-time enrollment for home schoolers thus providing access to elective courses, school facilities, counseling and participation in certain activities. An impressive variety of professionally designed curricula for kindergarten through high school is being used successfully by parent-tutors with only limited formal education. The curriculum publisher/distributor ordinarily provides the home school parent a continuing consultative service on procedures, problems, testing and additional resources. Colleges, universities and correspondence schools provide a wide range of courses for independent study. Rich resources continue to become more available and attractive. Complete courses plus enrichment experiences are increasingly offered on educational TV. The home school commonly provides a much broader daily relationship with the community than the classroom of the traditional school.

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hand is extended to beginners in home schooling. WHY IS HOME EDUCATION NECESSARY? In a democracy with a tradition of free enterprise, educational choice is a vital response to the state’s sheltered monopoly over the molding of children’s minds and characters. Although motives for turning to home education vary, the common motive, of course, is the conviction that the home and family setting can provide for children an education superior to that offered through other available and affordable alternatives. The majority are reacting to the fact that the government school no longer allows open recognition and reverence for God or for the divine nature and destiny of man. Others are concerned with the academic deterioration of public education and find that their children attain much better achievement in home schooling. Many are concerned over the modern degeneracy of home and family life and seek to maintain a close and caring environment for their own children. Some hold distinct philosophical and world views in which they want their children nurtured. Others subscribe to educational outlooks on child development that they feel can best be fostered at home.

parental involvement. That factor is indeed paramount in the home school. As our schools have become more massive, technological, impersonal, antisocial, amoral and institutionalized, perhaps educators need a more simple, natural and humane laboratory in which to explore the basic elements of living and learning. I would suggest those basic elements are all there and thriving in a unique manner in the privacy and normalcy and simplicity of the home school. Let us close with the observation that home schooling is not for all. Neither is compulsory state institutionalization. ********* The writer studied education at Harvard and Columbia in preparation for teaching and administration in public schools and universities. Recently retired from the School of Education of the University of Louisville, he now devotes himself to the study of private education with a special interest in home education. Comments and questions are welcomed. Write him at 2307 Tyler Lane, Louisville, KY 40205. Published by KHEA Kentucky Home Education Association P.O. Box 51591, Bowling Green, Kentucky 42103-5891

CONCLUSION Home education is not a passing fancy. Those of us in professional education have long known that the strongest influence on a child’s school achievement is

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Second Printing 12/1990 Third Printing 1/2004

Conscientious Opposition Alternatives to Public Education Under Kentucky Law by Daniel Goldberg Kentucky Home School Congress May 14,1989

“Nor shall any man be compelled to send his child to any school to which he may be conscientiously opposed.” With these words, the framers of Kentucky’s Constitution of 1850 gave parents of Kentucky a strong guarantee of freedom of choice in education, perhaps stronger than exists in any other state. The challenge is to ensure that this theoretical protection remains an everyday reality. This pamphlet describes the legal framework in which the debate about private schooling in Kentucky will take place. With this knowledge, home schoolers and others seeking alternatives to public education will be prepared to influence the outcome of that debate. Sources of Law Not all laws are created equal; rather, they are arranged in hierarchies — from constitution to statute to regulation, from federal to state to local. A consistent rule of legal analysis is that a law of lower source may not be interpreted in a way that places it in conflict with a law of higher source. A state administrative regulation, for example, may not exceed the authority given the administrative agency by its enabling state statute. A state statute, in turn, may not offend the state Constitution. No state or local law, not even a state constitutional provision, may violate a federal law. And no law, regardless of the source, may violate the United States constitution, our highest source of civil law. Laws also tend to be arranged from the general to the specific. Constitutions, the most general laws, establish the form of government and provide basic freedoms. Statutes, laws enacted at the federal level by Congress or at the state level by the General Assembly, create, fund and direct the work of administrative agencies, define criminal offenses, and provide many of the working principles which agencies and the courts must follow. Administrative regulations, adopted by the various agencies, fill in the details; they are the rules by which the agency carries out the work assigned to it under the statutory law. Constitutional Protections Free Exercise Clause The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the state from

enforcing laws that unnecessarily limit religious practices. Due Process Clause The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees that, in matters of fundamental liberty, the State’s laws must be narrowly drawn. A state law, or an act taken under state law, may be declared invalid in court in the following circ*mstances: (1) if the law affects a fundamental individual right and there is no compelling state interest to justify curtailing that right; of (2) if the state has a compelling reason to curtail a fundamental right, but it has failed to select the least restrictive means of doing so. Conscientious Opposition Clause Section 5 of the Kentucky Constitution, quoted above, contains a principle of free conscience in matters of schooling. This principle, sometimes referred to as the Beckner Amendment or, herein, as the Conscientious Opposition Clause, is more specific than either the Free Exercise Clause or the Due Process Clause, and therefore offers an opportunity for greater protection. The Kentucky Supreme Court, in the 1979 case of Kentucky State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education v. Rudasill, 589 S.W.2d 877, gave life and meaning to this principle of Conscientious Opposition. The Rudasill Case According to the Kentucky Supreme Court in Rudasill, the compelling interest underlying the state’s compulsory education law is to education children to become good citizens, to prepare them “to intelligently exercise the right of suffrage.” This state interest may not be enforced at the expense of conscience or at the expense of diversity. At a minimum, the Conscientious Opposition Clause prohibits the state from requiring certification of nonpublic school teachers, and from requiring the use of stateapproved texts. To require state certification of all teachers or to prescribe textbooks used in non-public schools “is but to require that the same hay be fed in the field as is fed in the barn. Section 5 protects a diversified diet.” While foreclosing two avenues of regulation — teachers and texts — the Court in Rudasill left other avenues of regulation open. Even under Rudasill, the state may enact laws “to monitor the work of private and

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parochial schools ... by an appropriate standardized testing program,” and it may require private and parochial schools “to comply with reasonable health, fire and safety standards as conditions of approval.” A final area of regulation left open under Rudasill is in the Court’s definition of a “school.” According to the Court, the legislature may require attendance at a “formal school,” “a place for systematic instruction,” as opposed to “education in the home” or education “at the hearthside.” The constitutional safeguards discussed above are not self-enforcing. They become effective only to the extent that legislators and others keep them in mind as laws are being created. Or, they may be enforced by the courts if a conflict arises. Perhaps the greatest long-term challenge facing home school families will be to convince the Kentucky Supreme Court that its interpretation of the Beckner Amendment on the issue of education at home is in error, or, alternatively, to convince the General Assembly that the idea of nonpublic schooling includes education at the family hearth. Statutory Law While constitutional provisions may become important in certain contexts, compulsory school attendance is a subject governed primarily by state statutes — state, as opposed to federal; statutes, as opposed to regulations or laws of other sources. As presently enforced, the laws governing private schools in Kentucky are sufficiently relaxed so as not to constitute a serious barrier to most home schools. As a starting point, state law requires that each child, from his sixth until his sixteenth birthday, must attend public school. KRS 159.010(1). An exception has been created for every child who is “enrolled and in regular attendance in a private, parochial or church school.” KRS 159.030(1)(b). At one time, an exempt private or parochial school was one that was “approved” by the State Board of Education. In 1984, however, the General Assembly took away the authority of the state board to approve private schools. A private school may now “voluntarily comply” with state standards and thereby become “certified,” but state approval is no longer required in order to satisfy the exemption from compulsory attendance.” KRS 156.160. Currently, private, non-certified schools operate in a relative vacuum. There are a few laws that describe what schools must do, but there is no agency specifically authorized to enforce those laws. The following requirements apply to private school: Each school must notify the local board of education of those students in attendance.

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KRS 159.030.The notification should include the name, age, and place of residence of each pupil and “any other facts that the superintendent may require to facilitate carrying out the laws relating to compulsory attendance and employment of children.” KRS 159.160.The notice (or report to the superintendent) must be made within the first two weeks of the beginning of school each year. KRS 159.160.Schools must be taught in the English language and must offer instruction in the several branches of study required to be taught in the public schools. KRS 158.080.These required branches of study appear to include reading, writing, spelling, grammar, library skills, mathematics, science, language arts and social studies. (Not all subjects are required in every grade.) See KRS 158.665. Schools must operate for a minimum term of 175 instructional days per year. KRS 158.080. Attendance at private and parochial schools should be kept in a register provided by the State Board of Education. KRS 159.040. Attendance and scholarship reports should be made in the same manner as is required by law or regulation for public schools. KRS 159.040.Private and parochial schools are open at all times for inspection by directors of pupil personnel and officials of the Department of Education. KRS 159.040 Under current law, the local superintendent or director of pupil personnel (truant officer) could make life difficult for a home school family by making unannounced inspections or by overzealous enforcement of existing requirements. At present, the state Department of Education appears to have adopted a policy of not interfering with or questioning the practices of any family that registers as a school. Local circ*mstances may vary. While home school families may disagree on strategies, on these natural and fundamental principles we agree: that the family hearth, more than any public institution, is the place where character and intelligence are formed; that it is the duty and privilege of parents, in the exercise of conscience, to direct the education of their children; that schools may be public (controlled by the state) or private (controlled by persons other than the state); diversity and the free exercise of conscience are the qualities that make private education a worthwhile alternative to public education; that in public schools alone, not private, may the state prescribe the qualifications of teachers, the curriculum or texts to be used, or the times, places or methods of instruction; that parents, no less than the state can be relied upon to provide their children a healthy, safe, supportive and challenging environment in which to grow and learn.

Home Schooling High Schoolers

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Kentucky High School Graduation Requirements FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Why do Home Schoolers need to know these requirements? Answer: If a student wants to attend any publicly funded post-secondary institution (trade school, college, or university), these are their entrance requirements. The following was taken from the Kentucky Department of Education website (www.KDE.state.ky.us) All questions regarding the curriculum should be addressed to the Kentucky Council on Post-secondary Education. 704 KAR 3:305 Minimum requirements for high school graduation. Language Arts – 4 credits Courses: English I, II, III, IV Social Studies – 3 credits Courses: Credits to incorporate U.S. History, Economics, Government, World Geography and World Civilization Mathematics – 3 credits Courses: Including Algebra I, Geometry, and one (1) elective as provided in the program of studies, 704 KAR 3:303 Science – 3 credits Courses: Including life science, physical science, and earth and space science as provided in the program of studies, 704 KAR 3:303. Health – 1/2 credit Physical Education – 1/2 credit History and Appreciation of Visual and Performing Arts – 1 credit Courses: History and appreciation of visual and performing arts or another arts course which incorporates such content TOTAL: 15 required credits plus 7 electives (22 credits) * A Description of the content of the Arts Appreciation course follows: The content in history and appreciation of visual and performing arts includes the disciplines of dance, music, theatre, art, and literature combined with the humanities. A variety of media, print sources, and participatory activities are blended to provide a connection among periods, styles, and cultures. Students become aware that time, place, and society influence the arts and humanities and that different peoples share common experiences and attitudes. The main focus is to enable students to respond to all art forms through describing, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and considering the arts as significant human achievements. * NOTE: A local board of education may substitute an integrated, applied, interdisciplinary or higher level course for a required course if the alternative course provides rigorous content and addresses the same applicable components of 703 KAR 4:060 (Academic Expectations). If a substitution is made, a rationale and course description shall be filed with the Department of Education.

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Basic High School Options Correspondence School Diploma You sign up with them and choose classes from their course offerings to meet graduation requirements. This is kind of like choosing from the menu at a restaurant. They keep records and issue grades and a diploma. Pros: • • • • • •

You get a diploma from an institution with a campus school. They do the planning work and ensure a proper course, scope, sequence, and requirements. They will keep you and your child accountable. Parental time involvement is less. Little planning. Parent just helps and then tests student. They do all of the documentation work for you.

Cons: • • • • •

You are locked into the school’s time frame. You are stuck with the school’s course outline, methods, textbooks, etc. The course offerings may not meet your child’s individual needs. Your student cannot study their interests in any more depth than the school has course work. They might not permit early graduation.

Correspondence School – NO Diploma In this and the following options, it would be helpful to think of the parent and student as education brokers. They are the ones ultimately in charge, and they find courses and experts to help them put together an academic program. In this particular option, you pay to take all of your courses from Correspondence Schools. You could take all of the courses from one institution, or you could choose courses from several different correspondence schools. When you put all of the course work together, you would have a complete high school program. This is like ordering from the menu at a Chinese restaurant (one from column A and two from column B…) or eating dinner at the Mall. You have lots of options to choose from. Pros: • • • • • • • • Cons: • • • • •

You have more freedom and flexibility in course offerings. You can choose courses to meet your student’s individual needs. You could provide more in-depth study in areas your student wishes to pursue. You could allow early graduation and transition into textbooks. You are locked into the schools’ time frame for each course. You have to keep the final records, send transcripts, and issue the diploma. Parent can feel confident that the school has put together an adequate scope and sequence — especially in areas that the parent does not feel competent to teach. The school might supply telephone “tutoring.” You still have to choose from courses available through correspondence programs. You can’t “do your own thing.” The schools provide documentation concerning each course your student takes. You are still stuck with a school’s scope and sequence, methods, course outline, the workplace, vocational school, or college. While working on a course, you are accountable to the correspondence school. Parental involvement is limited to helping and testing.

What to Look for in Correspondence Schools 1. 2. 3.

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Costs per course. Are textbooks included? Can you return the course if you decide that you do not like it? Will you get a full refund? What support services do I get for my money? Can I call a teacher? Is there a toll-free or local line to talk to a teacher? How do they handle tests? Do they provide answer keys? After taking a test do you just go on? Or do you have to wait until the test is returned to go on to the next level? Who grades the test — a teacher or a graduate assistant? Are they machine or hand scored? Do you get feedback about what you did not understand, or do you only get the test score returned? If the

4. 5. 6. 7.

student fails a test, can they retake it? What is the range of courses offered? Do you ever get a choice of textbooks? What about secular world views in materials? Will that bother you? Does the school’s religious/philosophical point of view match yours? Does that matter to you? How long is your student given to complete the course? Is getting a time extension an option? Can they work through the summer? How well can they work to accommodate your child’s special needs/learning styles/vocational choices? Is there any flexibility at all? Do you need flexibility? Will the school issue a diploma? Can you buy just one course? Can you do most of your course work with them and NOT be issued a diploma?

For High School Correspondence Schools/Courses, see page 10.

Mix and Match School This is a combination of the options directly before and after this one. You can choose courses from a variety of Correspondence Schools, and still have the freedom to design your own courses where desirable. This reminds me of eating out by driving through Taco Bell, Burger King, and Hardee’s, and then taking the food home, where YOU add drinks and dessert from your refrigerator. Pros: • • • • • Cons: • • • • • •

You have more freedom and flexibility in course offerings. You can choose or design courses to meet your student’s individual needs. You could provide more in-depth study in areas student wishes to pursue. You could allow early graduation and transition into the workplace, vocational school, or college. You are only stuck with a school’s scope and sequence, methods, course outline, textbooks. You have to keep records to document scope and sequence, study hours, grades and testing. You have to know what you are doing. When you design the course, there is no one to keep you accountable to follow through as you planned. You have to keep final records, send transcripts, and issue the diploma. You are locked into the school’s time frame for each correspondence course you take. There is a high level of parent involvement. You can get pre-planned courses when they fit your needs.

Do Your Own Thing School

(refer to Homeschooling the High Schooler – vol. 1 & 2, by McAlister.) In this option, you and your student design their coursework. Not only do you choose courses, you choose and design the scope and sequence for the courses, and the methods and textbooks to be used. The parent might plan the course, or the student might. If necessary, the family might pay a “teacher/tutor” to design the course. The school could give credit for work experience, apprenticeship, travel, etc. This option I liken to cooking at home. You choose from ingredients you have available at home and if you are missing an ingredient, you go out shopping to buy it. Pros: • • • • • • Cons: • • • • •

You have the maximum amount of freedom and flexibility. You can most effectively meet the needs of the individual student with this option. You can provide plenty of opportunity for in-depth study. Early graduation, apprenticeship, vocational school, and work experience credit are easier to provide. The student learns to take more responsibility for their learning since they are involved in the planning. You set the time frame. This option takes a lot of planning time. The parent is very involved in the courses. There is no school providing accountability to you — to ensure that you follow through on your plans. Parent has to feel competent to design a course or hire another “teacher.” Parents needs to learn how to plan, document courses, keep detailed records, etc. Parent issues the diploma.

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Unschooling

(refer to: Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don’t Go To School, by Grace Llewellyn) Unschooling is the educational philosophy advocated by John Holt. In this option, the student is set free to choose and study whatever they are interested in. They can study on their own, take a few correspondent courses, do an apprenticeship, start a business, get a job … This doesn’t mean that there is NO structure to the learning. It simply means that the student sets the structure. If the parent sees an area of weakness that the student is not addressing in their learning, then the parent can step in and help the student find a way to address that issue. The student takes the responsibility for learning, so they generally study in-depth. Since no attempt at a traditional high school experience is even attempted, the parent does not have to understand pre-college curriculum, etc. Any records needing to be kept should be kept by the student in the form of a file and journals. To use the dinner analogy once again, this is like letting your student loose to plan and make Christmas dinner. They may have to practice some, do a little research, etc. They could buy ingredients from the store, use what is in the cupboard, ask “Aunt Jane” to bring something, and even buy part of the meal already made. They would choose the menu, plan and cook the meal. Pros: • • • • • • •

The student is self-motivated and learns eagerly. This produces an individual, not a public school clone. Student develops a love of learning and sees learning as a part of real life. They learn the self-starter skills needed to succeed in real life. Parental involvement is less. Student doesn’t have time to get bored, so they do not get involved in negative cultural activities. These students go through the experiences that produce success, confidence, and good self-esteem.

Cons: • • •

No scope and sequence to learning a specific body of knowledge. But is that really necessary? They receive no diploma or college prep courses to show to a college admissions officer. But, plenty of real life experiences will impress the admissions office also — especially at a top-notch institution.

Summary: All of these options could be joined with a co-op approach between several families.They could share the teaching load (Family A teaches math, Family B teaches science, and Family C teaches English to all of the students in families, A, B & C). Or… they could form a class from all of their students, and pool their money to hire a “teacher/tutor” for the class. The teacher could teach all of part of the course.

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Homeschooling High Schoolers Resource List And What About College by Cafi Cohen Christian Home Educator’s Curriculum Manual, Jr./Sr. High School (vol.2) by Cathy Duffy If you can only buy one book, then this is the one to buy!! This book will answer most of your questions and give you direction as far as curriculum choices, record keeping, etc. College Admissions: A Guide for Homeschoolers by Gelner This is a journal of how one home school family prepared for and gained admittance to college. Homeschooling for Excellence by Colfax This is the story of how and why the Colfax family raised and educated their three oldest sons at home. All three of these boys went on to attend either Yale or Harvard. Homeschooling The Teen Years by Cafi Cohen Cafi homeschooled her two children all the way through high school using a little bit of everything, so she speaks from experience about teaching teens at home. Home School, High School, and Beyond by Beverly Adams-Gordon Helps the student determine goals, and chart a course through high school, keeping good records as they go along. Hot House Transplants by Matt Duffy Interviews of fifteen home school graduates who have successfully gone on to college, careers, and marriages. They share the ups and downs of home schooling, the pros and cons, and how home schooling changed their lives forever. Independent Study Catalog by Peterson A guide to locating correspondence courses and schools. Available from Lifetime Books. Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don’t Go to School by Grace Llewellyn Real life stories written by these eleven teens about how and why they pursued a very nontraditional high school education at home. Available from Lowry House Publishers, P.O. Box 1014, Eugene, Oregon 97440-1014. Senior High: A Home-Designed Form-U-La by Barbara Edtl Shelton is a 350-page guide to home schooling through the high school years for those seeking a real-life, non-traditional education. It gives step-by-step instructions for formulating your own, independent program of study. The book is written from a religious perspective. The Home School Manual by Ted Wade Answers general home schooling questions. It has several chapters exclusively pertaining to the high school years. This book has lots of “how to” information. If you have never home schooled before and would just be starting, this is the best book to buy for general home schooling information. The Home Schooler’s High School Journal is a version of The Home Schooler’s Journal for high school aged students to use by themselves. It organizes record keeping pages to keep track of credit hours earned in each subject area.

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What if I decide to enroll my student in a public high school after home schooling them for part of their high school years? Students enrolling in public school after being schooled at home for a time may have come from the following backgrounds: 1) They never attended a public high school and are coming in after completing some of their high school years at home. 2) The student was previously enrolled in a public or private high school and at some point was withdrawn from that institution to home school them.

Whatever the reasons for homeschooling in the first place, the length of time spent in the home school, or the grade level the student enters the public school system, when students enroll in public school they are all treated the same. At that point, the goal of the public school is to find proper placement for the student. It is the public school’s conviction that if the student completed a good course of study, then they should be able to demonstrate that they learned the material involved. Every school district handles the matter of placement differently. Some school districts have written policies concerning this matter, and some do not, but all school districts DO have a policy. In general, the individual counselor involved has the authority to interpret district policy concerning each newly enrolled student. Sometimes placement is determined by the student’s performance during the first quarter of the public school enrollment. Sometimes the student is given a formal or informal test over material studied in certain areas. Sometimes both methods are used. The school district can decide to accept the work done at home or reject the work done at home. Since home schools are not accredited, the public schools are not bound by law to accept any of the work the student has completed at home. They generally DO accept most of the courses taken in a home school. The area where home school families generally run into trouble is in skill areas (English, mathematics, …) or courses which require a prerequisite. These are the types of courses the high school counselors scrutinize for approval. Every public high school and every school district deals with this problem differently. If you are hoping to withdraw your student from public or private school, home school them for a time, and then enroll them in the public school sometime before graduation; you would be wise to check out your local school district policy first. If not, when you enroll your student in public school, things might not work out as easily as you hoped.

Warning: Students who did poorly in public high school, often do poorly once they re-enter public high school. Even though they made up the classes they were missing while at home school, the public school might not accept all of the work they did at home, simply because the student cannot demonstrate that they have mastered the course work they studied at home. On the next page is a copy of the Kentucky Department of Education’s Statutes, Regulations, and Procedures for dealing with home school transfers.

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Recognition of Credits 704 KAR 3:307 discusses the transfer of credits from a home school or other non-accredited school to a public school.

KRS 158.140 mandates the assignment of a pupil in the class or grade to which the pupil is best suited. This regulation prescribes procedures for recognition of credits or graduation from a public secondary school upon transfer from a nonaccredited secondary school and for the awarding of credit upon transfer to a public secondary school without a proper transcript being reasonably available. Section 1. For the purposes of this regulation, a “nonaccredited secondary school: is a school enrolling students for secondary school instruction when that school is not recognized by (1) of the fifty (50) state departments of education or one (1) of the seven (7) independent regional accrediting associations. A “nonaccredited secondary school” in Kentucky shall be any private school not certified pursuant to KRS 156.160(3). Section 2. (1) The local school district shall be responsible for the appropriate assignment of a student transferring from a nonaccredited secondary school to the class or grade best suited for the student. Previous credits earned by a student in a nonaccredited secondary school shall be awarded by the local school district by one (1) of the two (2) following methods: Pass an examination of similar nature and content to the examination used for other students receiving credit for a particular course within the school district and graded on a comparable basis; or Successful performance of the student in a higher level of the course when the courses are sequential in nature such as English, Mathematics, History and Science. Successful performance shall consist of achieving at least a C grade in the course by the 12th week of school. The courses successfully completed by examination or performance shall be counted toward minimum high school graduation requirements in the local school district. Section 3. A student desiring recognition of previous credits toward graduation upon entering a public secondary school without a properly certified transcript and for whom a properly certified transcript cannot reasonably be obtained, shall be placed and awarded credit as outlined in Section 2 of this regulation.

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Reprinted with permission from “The Christian Home Educators’ Curriculum Manual: Junior/Senior High,” by Cathy Duffy, Grove Publishing, 16172 Huxley Circle, Westminster, CA 92683. May be purchased from Elijah Co.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road In this corner -- The Home Schooling Parent! In the other corner, Reality! Now shake hands, go to your corners, and come out fighting! It’s fine to read descriptions of correspondence high school programs or browse through A Beka’s brochure on their high school video program. They make teaching teenagers at home sound like a breeze. But they are only dealing with a part of the puzzle. We parents are also dealing with a thing called reality. Reality is the younger child who needs to be taught how to read; endless meals that need preparing; medical and dental appointments; chauffeuring to soccer, gymnastics, and little league; pregnancy, ministry; grocery shopping; mounds of laundry; and children who would rather be doing anything but school. If we had nothing else to occupy us besides teaching our children, it would certainly be much easier. But I do not know of any home schooling parent who is free from life’s routines, although some do have housecleaning help which I highly recommend. When we begin to plan how we will teach our teenagers at home, we must first look at our situation. Do we have any experience? Do we have any confidence in our ability to teach our teenagers? How much time do we have available? How many interruptions are we likely to have? Can we expect any support from Dad or from others? Can we survive without support? Are we able to make compromises between our ideal concept of how it should be and reality, then live with those compromises without guilt? Experience and Confidence Those of us who have been home educating through elementary school and are making the transition into junior or senior high school will obviously find the task less overwhelming than someone just beginning to home educate with their teenager. Even though there are changes, we have already learned the basics of running a home school organization, record keeping, purchasing materials, establishing a routine that prevents the house from decaying while school is in session. Those of you who are just beginning might consider enrolling in a correspondence course, independent study program, or other home school service that will help you with these basics so that you can concentrate on the actual schooling. You might want to jump ahead to Chapter Eight to learn more about these options before reading on. Experience, confidence and finances are probably three of the most important factors to consider when making the choice of whether to enroll in a program or go it alone. Experience and confidence also have much to do with the methods and materials we choose to use. If we have confidence in our ability to tackle new challenges, then we are more likely to fare well working

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independently. “Going it alone” means we will have to dig for information, take responsibility for keeping our own records, plan course work without help, and rely on ourselves for recognition of a job well done. If you lack confidence, you are with the majority, so do not be discouraged by your doubts. By realizing ahead of time that you need more support, you can make choices with which you will be more comfortable. Experience goes a long way toward building our confidence. If we have already done some sort of teaching in Sunday school, traditional school, informal classes, or home school, it is not such a mysterious process to us. Educators have tried to create a mystique about the educational process to add prestige to their jobs and, sometimes, to keep parents from interfering. But, once you have taught, you KNOW what is involved. Any positive experience will give you the reassurance that YOU CAN DO IT! You realize that it is often a process of trial and error with each child to find out what produces the desired results. Most people suffer some doubts before beginning, but just making it through one year of home education will give you a tremendous boost in confidence (unless you make a total mess of it, which rarely happens). But we all have different personalities, some more confident than others, some needing more encouragement. That’s all right. Just make sure that you are involved with someone who will provide you with the feedback you need, whether it be a support group, a correspondence school, school service, or an experienced home schooler. Support groups, as small as two families, are essential for most of us. I have met many, many home educating moms with tremendous doubts about what they have been doing. Ninety percent of the time they are doing a great job and just need to have someone objective tell them so. At the same time, we do not want to tell someone they are doing a wonderful job if it is not true. We render no one a favor by praising him falsely when he needs someone to confront him with the truth. Some home educators pull their children out of school to protect them from harmful situations or failure but lack any positive goals for accomplishment. They feel that avoiding the negative is sufficient. Yet they harm their children in other ways by not providing for their educational needs. Such people are doing a disservice to their children and to the reputation of all home educators. We need the kind of support that encourages us to do a good job, that holds us accountable, and that urges us to keep on trying when things get discouraging. Qualifications When we set out to educate young children at home, our educational background is not a major factor. Most of us had the

fundamental knowledge to instruct our children in the basics, and we could easily learn what we did not know already or refresh our knowledge as we went along. Such is not the case when we teach teenagers. Beyond sixth grade, the subject matter becomes increasingly complicated and requires more knowledgeable input from the teacher. This fact does not necessarily mean that we need a strong educational background to educate our teens at home. But we need to know our strengths and weaknesses, and we need to be willing to seek help if necessary. If our math skills and background are weak, we need to have someone else available on whom we can rely for assistance. Our choice might be Dad, a correspondence course, a tutor, or another home schooling parent. If we did fairly well in high school math, we might do fine just reviewing as our children learn, keeping current on what they are learning so that we can lend a hand as needed. Writing is an essential part of our teen’s education. If we are weak in the area of writing, we have no means of evaluating our child’s written work. We need to have someone else available to assess writing assignments and advise us on problem areas. A correspondence course can be very useful for those of us with poor educational backgrounds, but it is not a total solution. Correspondence courses take time for paper work to travel between teacher and pupil. Quite often, the student needs immediate help which is not available. Sometimes, correspondence teachers are available for telephone consultation, but that can get quite expensive. Some parents have hired tutors to help with individual classes. Other parents have banded together for mutual benefit, trading skills and talents. (See Chapter Eight for possible options to consider.) Before you begin, honestly evaluate your capabilities. Make sure that you do not take on more than you can handle. If your child “graduates” from high school without the ability to write a decent paper or solve basic algebraic or geometric problems, his future choices might be seriously limited. At the same time, do not underestimate your potential. Logistics Have you ever tried to explain an algebra concept with constant interruptions? It is impossible! I would advise you to think twice about teaching your teen if you already have your hands full trying to educate your younger children. I have often found it frustrating trying to work with two teenagers and just one younger child. My youngest still needs quite a bit of assistance with his work — often just a brief question. But all it takes is one brief question to blow your train of thought when you are explaining a difficult concept. Younger children cannot always tell when you are occupied or when it is the appropriate time to ask questions. And, of course, babies have no concept of proper timing. On the other hand, teenagers generally are able to study much more independently than younger children, so overall you should be spending much less time with them individually. You may be able to time classes so that interruptions are not a problem. Consider saving subjects that cannot be interrupted until evening when Dad can either teach or hold down the fort and run interference for you.

Some families have found it helpful to have older children tutor younger children. This is a great idea since it reinforces the knowledge of the older child while freeing Mom from having to be everything for everyone. However, all older siblings do not make good tutors, and sometimes the friction between older and younger children created in tutorial situations is worse to live with than the pressure of Mom doing it in the first place. Be realistic in assessing the personalities and relationships in your family for tutoring and working together. Our children do not automatically develop wonderful personality characteristics when we home school. More commonly, they irritate each other from constant togetherness. Shared Responsibility Housework is an important topic when we discuss the logistics of home education. It can be very difficult to maintain a home school if the schoolhouse is rotting beneath our feet. Between lesson planning, research, teaching; checking work, field trips, music lessons, Scout activities, sports, and friends, we somehow must find time to maintain the homestead. I am not talking about “House Beautiful” but about keeping the health department from investigating. Some families are fortunate enough to be able to hire someone to come in every week or two to clean. It costs less than visits to the psychiatrist, so consider stretching the budget to cover the cost. Even better is the situation where home maintenance is every family member’s responsibility. Time is set aside for housework. Even the youngest children can help dust or pick up. Older children can mop floors, launder the clothes, prepare meals, wash windows, and mow the lawns. In our society we have grown used to the idea that children should be involved in “activities” and parents are responsible for providing everything else to allow their children to participate in the activities. We end up shipping our children off elsewhere hoping they will acquire all the skills they need for life. We provide athletics to get them in shape, and then we hire gardeners to do the physical labor in our yards. We sign them up for “culinary arts” while Mom struggles to do all the cooking at home alone. We sign them up for activities to rescue them from boredom and to help them burn up their excess energy while we work ourselves into physical exhaustion. Home schoolers are making radical changes in educational approaches. It is only right that those changes should extend to the way we view our family life and activities for children. If we have our children take an important role in maintaining the home they will learn far more than by participating in all manner of outside classes. Beyond that; it is important that children realize that the home belongs to the family, not to mom. My family knows not to say, “I cleaned the floor for you, Mom.” They clean for the whole family! Every family member wears clothing and can see if the laundry basket is full. Any child older than ten should be able to sort and run a load of laundry with minimal help. Our daughter should never be blaming Mom because her favorite blouse is still in the laundry. Teenagers, especially boys, have a vital interest in food. They

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are entirely capable of fixing meals, and what better way for them to realize how much work is involved? The point is, to make home education successful, it has to be a joint venture for all family members. One person (Mom) cannot be all things to all people. Help and Support Physical help and emotional support are both important to home schooling parents to varying degrees. Interestingly, the two often come together. If another person is heavily involved in helping us teach our children, they are most likely also emotionally involved with us and our children. In some families, fathers provide both physical and emotional support. However, many families have unrealistic expectations about father’s participation. When families first begin home schooling, they often plan on father teaching one or two classes in the evenings along with acting as principal of the school. After Dad has been at work nine or ten hours, he still has his share of home maintenance. Then there are the nights set aside for Bible study, Awana, Scouts, and sports. Dad is lucky if he has a free evening or two a week. Despite good intentions, such plans often do not work out. Even so, some fathers still manage to provide much needed emotional support even though they do not have time to teach classes. In some cases, unfortunately, fathers may not even be interested in the educational process. Sure, they are concerned that their children are doing well, but they do not want to get into discussions of whether or not John is ready to handle algebra. Count yourself fortunate if your husband is really involved with home education, but, if not, keep in mind that he has other priorities such as providing for his family. Do not try to use guilt to manipulate him into a more active role-it rarely works. If Dad is not a terrific help when it comes to support or assistance, where do we go? Trading teaching talents with other home schoolers or taking advantage of some of the options discussed in Chapter Eight can help us with physical support in the actual teaching. Emotional support can be more difficult to come by. I have met home educators who have providentially found just the person they need to be a friend and confidante about home schooling, yet I also know of veteran home educators who are still praying that God will supply them with a supportive friend. All it takes is one other person. Emotional support (or lack of it) is a crucial factor for many home schooling mothers deciding whether to stick with it or not. We need another adult with whom we can discuss discipline and motivation problems. We need input from other home schoolers about ideas for methods and materials. And, most of all we need some encouragement that what we are doing is worthwhile. Many home educating mothers are surrounded with skeptics. At the merest mention of frustration or fatigue, friends and relatives quickly chime in, “Why don’t you put them back in school?” Even experienced home educators occasionally consider what it would be like to put their children into school. (Especially on bad days.) Mothers without anyone supportive to turn to do not dare voice such thoughts because the reaction they know they will get is, “Well, it’s about time you came to your senses!” It can be quite daunting when dealing with self-doubts to have everyone else reinforcing your fears.

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Some home schooling moms have sought support from church or Bible study groups. However, it is rare to get the kind of feedback we need from someone who is not home schooling, even though it may be possible. I do know of many supportive grandmothers helping their daughters or daughters-in-law, who wish that they had known about home education when their own children were young. All of us are not fortunate enough to have helpful mothers in the wings. The most practical source of support is usually another home schooling mom — just one person with whom we can compare notes and share frustrations. It takes time to develop a relationship to the point where we can be honest and open about our experiences. Often these relationships begin with both parties trying to make their home schools sound ideal and afraid to admit their shortcomings, but it does not take long before we are laughing together and commiserating over problems. I realize that this can be difficult if you live in an isolated area. But, even if you can establish a friendship that involves long distance calls, it can be justified like the housekeeping expense. It might be all you need to maintain your sanity and keep on going. Enrolling in a program or joining a group is great as long as you can afford the time and cost, and if there is something available for you to join. Since many more families are educating teens at home than in the past, there are more possibilities than there used to be. In years past it was a rarity to run into a parent educating a teen at home. Now support groups specifically for home educated teens are springing up across the country. Independent study programs and school services are better able to advise us about teaching teens as they gather more experience each year. We may find the support we need through such a program, but we need to carefully check a program’s knowledge of and experience with teens. It is possible that we may end up paying to be their guinea pig. That in itself may not be bad if they are willing to do the research for us and ensure that we get the service we are paying for. When We Need Some Part-Time Income Whatever our family’s reasons for home schooling, many home schooling mom’s must supplement (or even provide) the family income. This adds a tremendous burden to the already challenging task of home education. However, many moms have discovered opportunities for working from or in their homes enabling them to be available for their children while also earning money. Certainly, it is easy to let the work take precedence and end up abandoning our children to their own devices, a pitfall that I strongly caution you to guard against. While some home school moms do work part-time away from home, that situation is even more difficult. I suggest avoiding it if at all possible. For those wondering what they can possibly do at home to earn money, I recommend Barbara Witcher’s Part-Time Jobs for Full-Time Mothers (Victor Books). Although Witcher is not addressing home schooling moms in particular, she is speaking to Christian moms. She bells us how to find and get work-at-home jobs and also suggests self-employment opportunities. I especially appreciate the way she keeps family needs in the picture rather

than simply discussing work. The Art of Compromise Most of us have our idealized goals for home education. The reality is that we will have to make some compromises between our ideal and what we can physically accomplish in the time we have with the resources available to us. I love really digging into literature, analyzing plots and characterizations. I wanted to have two days a week for literature discussions, but we were also studying government and economics that year, which absolutely required discussion. There just was not enough time to have literary discussions more often than once every week or two. I could have given up on literature and saved it for the next year, but that would have interfered with important goals for the following year. I could have felt guilty and inadequate, but instead, I compromised. The boys would read the background information provided in the literature texts on their own, and we would have discussions as time allowed. It was not the best approach, but my sons still had the experience of reading many types of literature, and they gleaned some background information on their own. We can always take the view, “What would they be learning if they were in a traditional school?” Although there are some excellent teachers and classes in schools, there is no guarantee that any child is going to absorb all that wonderful class content listed in the course outline. Often students drift through classes just marking time and completing minimal requirements. We should be able to provide more than the bare minimum even if all we do is choose quality texts and make sure our child reads them. All this is not to say that just anything will suffice. I believe that we should set high (but realistic) standards and hold our children to them. But we need to be careful of aiming so high that satisfaction is always just out of reach, while guilt and inadequacy stare us in the face. Blessed are the Flexible for They Shall Not be Broken Flexibility is a mandatory characteristic of successful home schools. I can guarantee that you will encounter many situations

where you will have to alter course, put something on hold, or deal with unanticipated problems. If you are set in your mind that NOTHING is going to interrupt your plan for home education, you are setting yourself up for a nervous breakdown. We will need to deal with household problems from time to time. If the plumbing is backed up, school will be interrupted for a trip through the yellow pages, several telephone calls, and a visit by the Roto-Rooter man. If mom is sick, we are allowed to declare a school holiday. Planning some “floating holidays” helps alleviate the guilt of taking time off to stay in bed when we have a 103 degree temperature. Flexibility might have to extend to the planned course of study. We may have to change course in midstream if our teen is just not able to learn a certain subject with the materials we bought or needs an extra three or four months to complete Algebra. If we can bend with these situations, accepting them as normal, we will not find ourselves surrendering in frustration because things are not going the way we planned. While most of us tend to strive too hard and judge ourselves too harshly, there are those among us who need less flexibility and more accountability and discipline. Some of us drop all planned academic work every time a field trip comes up — whether or not the field trip is worthwhile for our child. Emergencies and sudden changes in schedule are a way of life rather than an occasional occurrence. Priorities shift according to our latest interest. Challenging subjects are easily abandoned and rarely replaced. We justify lack of progress with excuses such as, “We’ll make it up later.” Those of us who suffer from too much flexibility might do better under the guidance of an independent study program, correspondence course, or other overseer who will help keep us on track. If it seems like too much trouble to either hold ourselves accountable or work under someone else, perhaps we should put our children back in school. Living with Our Choices We begin by deciding what we really wish to accomplish. Next we look hard and long at our situation. Then we decide what we realistically can expect to achieve, while maintaining some flexibility. We must then do what we can to the best of our ability, and trust God to cover our deficiencies.

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Reprinted with permission from “The Home School Manual,” 7th edition by Ted Wade, Gazelle Publications, 11560 Redbud Trail, Berrien Springs, MI 49103, 616-471-4717, www.hoofprint.com.

A Typical 9-12 Curriculum How to use this curriculum outline

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have not included this listing to show you specifically what to teach but as a reference for comparison. Home teaching is naturally in danger of achieving too narrow a range of objectives on one hand and focusing on certain details at the expense of foundational learning on the other. Success on standardized tests is not sufficient evidence that your child is learning the most important material. Such exams measure only the bare essentials – the common elements all children need. Compare this list with what you plan to teach, and consider expanding in selected areas you feel are important. The items on these lists are not of equal importance. Some can be dealt with in a ten-minute discussion. Others need a long time. Some items are mentioned at one level that should be dealt with during more than one school year. They are generally arranged from simple to complex, so during the first part of the three years spanned by each grouping, you would expect to cover topics earlier in the list. Some topics are appropriate at another time, and some may not be of importance at all for your child. The math section, for example, seems to me to be a little ambitious, at least at the higher levels. You would not normally cover all the subject areas on this list. For example, the advanced math classes are taken (and needed) by only a few. Many do not study a language

HIGH SCHOOL High School , Character Development — Bible

You will want to structure this area following your own beliefs. I suggest concluding with a study of biblical principles for courtship and establishing a home. Below are a few topics to include. • Origin of the Bible • Grouping of Bible books • Literature in the Bible; different writing styles • Christ in all the Scriptures

High School, Art and Music • • • • • • • • •

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•

God as the source of beauty Drawing and sketching Landscape and architecture Photography Pottery Sculpture Design principles of printed pieces Understanding what brings visual appeal Opportunity to develop basic skill in playing an instrument Singing

and few would study more than one. Not that all these things are useless, but in a typical program of eight years for elementary education and four for secondary, there simply is not enough time to learn everything that might be valuable. Also children who have difficulties with learning need not be pressured. For example, if your child needs to spend a long time on the important math concepts in high school should you expect him or her to be taking two years of a modern language? Not usually, but to learn just a little Spanish could be fun and would provide a basis for later development. Some students would want to spend more time in a technology area and less in the more academic courses. The topics were composed by studying the list available from World Book Educational Products, a state department of education list, a Christian school system list, and a few additions of my own. Although the topics are typical for US schools, many or most elements are common to what children and youth learn in other countries. You may want to select areas to cover and check them off when adequately learned. If you would like a copy of the World Book list, contact Educational Services Department, World Book Educational Products, 101 Northwest Point Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. • • •

Listening to music Changes in styles of music over the centuries Danger of harsh and heavy-beat music

High School, Business Education

Areas include • Accounting • Business management • Computer technology and literacy • Keyboard skills • Word processing and desktop publishing

High School, English (Language)

Ninth grade English • Vocabulary development • Grammar review • Enjoying various types of literature • Composition: punctuation, paragraphs • Library skills • Evaluation of media programs • Reading skill improvement (if needed) Tenth grade English • Note taking skill • Etymology, Dialects • Selected literature analyzed • How word meanings and grammar change

Writing a research paper Writing poems, plays, etc. Genres Persuasion and argument in listening and speaking • National folklore Eleventh grade English • Knowing what is significant from lectures and reading • Process of writing; expository and fictional writing • Critical analysis of what is heard and read • American (or national) and cross-cultural literature • Empathy in listening • Analyzing techniques and purposes of speakers • Determining motive in communication Twelfth grade English • Various types of practical writing from memos and letters to ad copy and business reports • Writing with purpose, clarity, and interest • Speaking with purpose, clarity. and interest • Nonverbal communication • English literature • World literature • Publishing • The Internet • • • •

High School, Mathematics

Math courses are usually consistently defined so are not described much here. Grade 9, Algebra 1 Basic aspects of the topic through sets, quadratic equations and probability. Grade 9, General mathematics Usually for those who do not take algebra Grade 9, Consumer math May be part of general math or a brief additional course if not learned well in middle school. Grade 10, Geometry Including logic, postulates, theorems, mensuration, and transformational geometry Grade 11, Algebra 2 Including vectors and probability Grade 11 or 12 (electives) • Trigonometry • Calculus • Computer programming • Accounting • Statistics • Number theory

High School, Thinking skills • • • • • • • •

Propaganda and nationalism Techniques of persuasion Role of feelings in decisions Accountability for decisions Inductive and deductive reasoning Ethical and moral standards Logic (learned partly in geometry) Bias in using statistics

High School, Social Studies

Areas commonly covered in US high schools are • World history, • US history and government, • World and US culture (including geography) • Economics Significant items within these areas follow: • World geography; map and globe skills • US Constitution; risks and purposes for amendments • Labor and management • Ethnic groups and minorities • Timelines for US history from the colonial period through the Civil War • Timelines for US history after reconstruction (after the Civil War) • Rationale for why historical events occurred • Societal solutions for health care, housing, energy, etc. • Decisions that influenced history • Changes in world regions and factors that influence them • Stories of people in the more recent history of the country • World economy and markets; influence of the US • Economic indicators • Monetary and fiscal policy influence on problems such as unemployment and inflation • Economic growth and government in developing countries • Social science issues discussed intelligently • Cultural influences on perceptions • International exchange • Federal form of government, advantages and disadvantages • Relative merits of American presidential and parliamentary systems • Social science survey with chosen procedures and analysis • Alternatives to public issue decisions • Cultural diversity, benefits and challenges • Analysis of personal resistance to application of democratic values • Issues and events of major periods after the Civil War • Analysis of later history of the country • Service activity experience in the community or abroad • Political reform • Influence of events in one place on other parts of the world • Branches of government, balance and tension • Human rights and American democracy • Foreign policy in light of national interests • Planning of personal financial and other resources

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High School, Science

Typical science courses are • Earth science and astronomy • Biology • Chemistry • Physics Possible topics • Ecological relationships among species • Wave properties, wave interaction, and Doppler effect • Energy and the formation of stars • Reproduction of multicelluar organisms • Air movements in the atmosphere • Assemble or investigate mechanical and electrical devices • Energy changes in heat transfer • Production of electrical current by magnetic fields • The sun and other stars • Plate tectonics theory • Disease diagnosis and prevention • Disease organisms • Stability maintenance in organisms • Cells specialized to carry out particular functions • Agriculture and ecosystems • Energy changes from physical, chemical, and nuclear changes • History of certain scientific concepts • Glaciation (past ice effects) • Force on an object produces an opposing force • Energy conversions in simple machines • Atoms described by parts and charge • Discuss evolution and natural selection • How cells function • Understand measurement limitations • Energy conservation during transformations • Types of cells • Comparisons of objects by mass, volume and density • Climate changes over a long time • Observing the universe; technology • Gather and synthesize information from books, etc. • Genetic transfer in reproduction • Discuss scientific topics being able to summarize what others have said and develop ideas by asking appropriate questions • Form hypotheses and suggest tests for them • Conservation of mass in physical and chemical changes • Chemical changes from rearrangement

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

and motion of atoms and molecules Design and conduct science investigations Experiments to compare speed and direction Elements studied by families Sound waves and sound properties Weather prediction Chemistry and cells Water below the earth’s surface Changes from changes in DNA Organisms classified by the five-kingdom system Nuclear changes Discuss waste disposal and the environment Sound reproduction systems Colors, wavelength, and vision Ecosystems and events that change them Our solar system in the universe Climate and the hydrosphere Seasons and astronomy

High School, Industrial Technology Development of knowledge and skills one or more areas including • Construction • Medical or biological technology • Graphic arts • Electronics • Photography • Agribusiness • Auto repair • Clothing design • Culinary arts • Computer aided design • Computer programming and management • Sales • Bible instruction

High School, Physical Education • • • • • • •

Physical fitness and health Aerobics Sportsmanship Competitive sports (optional) Water safety First Aid Outdoor, noncompetitive, sports: Acquatics, Cycling, Hiking, back packing, Jogging.

High School, Modern or Biblical Language Usually two years are needed for practical ability. Goals are proficiency in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing

Post High School Options 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Get a job that needs little training. Get a job which they are already trained for. Get their MRS or MOM degree. Go to vocational school or enter some sort of apprenticeship program. Join the Armed Forces. Travel. Start their own business. Go to a Community College for two years. Go to a four-year College or University.

The type of high school course of study you choose, should be determined in part by the type of work the student wants to pursue once out of high school. Most fourteen-year-olds have little interest in what they will do once out of high school, so most parents would prefer to keep their student’s options open as the student enters high school. Since a college prep course of study has the most detailed requirements, it is often wise to plan for a college preparatory course of study. That way if the student chooses to pursue a college education at a later date, they will be prepared to apply. It is possible to take college prep course work, and still devote time in high school for vocational study, apprenticeships, or starting a business. The flexible schedule of home schooling allows a student to maximize their time and options. But some choices like college, vocational school, and the armed forces have certain rigid requirements which need to be fulfilled during the high school years. If you ever have any questions concerning these requirements, feel free to set up an appointment with one of the high school counselors at the public high school your child would have attended. You help to pay the salaries of these counselors through your taxes, and they are generally willing to answer some questions for students attending private schools/home schools. While the counselor will not evaluate your home school program, they can provide you with written material concerning college entrance requirements, obtaining scholarships, available vocational/ apprenticeship programs, and how to sign up to take college entrance exams like the ACT, answering YOUR questions is part of their job. To enter the Armed Forces: In response to a Federal law enacted in 1998, each branch of the military must allow up to 1,250 home school diploma recipients to be considered under the Tier I status along with all other high school graduates. This pilot program was due to expire September, 2003, but was renewed for another year. The Home School Legal Defense Association is working to ensure Congress passes this law permanently. Under this law, home schoolers seeking enlistment in one of the four branches of the military must provide a high school diploma, a high school transcript, pass the

military aptitude test, and meet any physical and other eligibility requirements for recruitment. This means military recruiters must accept a home school diploma or transcript regardless of the teachers’ relationship to the student. Furthermore, a transcript or diploma prepared by the parent, as well as a high school diploma or transcript issued by a nonaccredited home school correspondence course, satisfies the law’s intent. No additional educational documentation is required. Home school students seeking to enlist in any of the four branches of the military cannot be rejected, as in the past, simply on the basis of not possessing an accredited high school diploma. To enter college Entering state colleges of universities can be a little tricky, but generally once they realize your student is “normal” and just wants an education, they usually find a way to make your student fit their mold, or they will just accept your student on his or her own merits. Bureaucracies have lots of rules. Private schools, religious schools, and top notch public universities are MUCH, MUCH easier to gain admittance to. They are more willing to see your student as an individual. These schools might even view home schooling as an advantage. To enter a State Vocational Technical School or a Community College (for example) After high school They look at your student’s ACT or SAT scores. If the student did not take the ACT or SAT, they have their own basic skills test which your student can take. A home schooler with average academic skills should have no trouble being admitted. The student would possibly have to take the GED also. During high school This institution has a program operating in which public high school students can apply and attend classes there during their senior year while still enrolled in the public schools. The students stay most of the school day. They take their required senior courses (English) at the VOTECH School. If the public schools can take these classes, then private schools should have the same opportunity. You might have to work hard to convince your VOTECH of this, but once they are convinced that your student really DOES attend a private school, they should find a way to accommodate you. And don’t forget to ask these schools if dual enrollment is possible. Dual enrollment gives the student high school credit (in your homeschool) for the post-secondary courses and college credit (for their university education) at the same time. This is an arrangement used in many of the 50 states, and KY colleges are beginning to be open to dual enrollment.

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To enter a Kentucky State University The student needs to have completed a pre-college curriculum. They also need to have scored at a minimum level on the ACT or SAT and meet that school’s overall high school GPA requirement. Each school has their own set of standards. The college admissions officer will also be looking for some kind of evidence of the student’s interaction with the “real world.” This interaction could take the form of a part time job, out of home instruction, community involvement, public speaking skills, etc. Colleges and universities may also be open to letting a student take classes before they have actually graduated from high school. And once again, dual enrollment may be possible. Home schoolers are welcome at all of the KY state universities, and each school has their own admissions policy concerning home schoolers. Several of the state universities may require some sort of extra on-campus testing or interview. You may have to show detailed documentation of the courses taken, or just perform well in a personal interview. Contact the schools you are interested in to find out their particular policy. At U of L, home schoolers take a few extra on-campus placement tests. At WKU, they require nothing extra. In my conversation with the admissions office at WKU, I was told that any student who has not graduated from a public school which has been accredited by the organization which accredits the KY Public Schools would be considered on an individual basis. This means that anyone coming into WKU from out of state, out of the country, or anyone coming from a private high school is given the same treatment. I was told that they look for an ACT score high enough to validate the grades given on the student’s transcript. If the ACT score is high enough, they assume that the student really did do the course work required and deserved the grades listed on the transcript. The admissions counselor made a special effort to tell me that WKU has admitted home schooled students in the past, and they plan to admit them in the future also. They will evaluate your student as an individual and will not discriminate against them just because they have been home schooled. Questions ... Questions ... Questions ... How do I get information about taking the ACT or SAT? Information about how to apply for these tests is available from your local public high school counselor. Both of these tests have a practice test which can be taken in the fall of either their sophom*ore or junior year. You can get free “Practice tests” from the above mentioned high school counselor. Books which “coach” the student and prepare them for the test to be taken can be purchased at any good bookstore (like in the Mall). These tests can be taken several times. Hopefully the student would improve their scores each time they take the test. The student could then choose their HIGHEST score to turn in when applying to colleges.

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How and when can my student take the GED? GED testing is handled by different organizations varying from county to county. Once again, your local high school counselor can give you the name and phone number of the organization authorized to give the GED test. The KY equivalent of the GED is called a High School Equivalency Certificate. It can be taken once the student is 17 years old. The applicant must have been out of a formal classroom situation for a period of one year, or have their high school class (the class of which he/she was or would have been a member) already graduated. Long-term home schoolers must petition to take the GED, but this permission is usually granted. If we design our own curriculum, how do we know how much working time is involved in earning one high school credit? In an attempt to standardize the amount of work necessary for a high school to issue one “credit” for a course, the Carnegie Unit was created. A Carnegie Unit (one credit) signifies 150 hours of class instruction, work, or contact with the subject. (or 180 school days in 50 minute class sessions). There is a good deal of debate among homeschoolers as to whether Carnegie units should be tallied in a home school setting. When you speak of an apprenticeship, what do you mean? An apprenticeship might be a formal program set up to train someone for a specific trade. However, here the term is used more loosely. An apprenticeship could be any situation where the student would volunteer (without pay) to help someone who has specific skills or works in a career which the student is interested in investigating. At first the work might be mostly janitorial, but after a time, the student would receive a steady dose of training in various aspects of that occupation. Eventually the arrangement might work into a paying job, or the student might decide to start a business of their own. Where can I get a sample copy of high school forms like assignment sheets, transcripts, etc.? Pre-printed transcript forms are available from BJU and ABEKA or they can be photocopied out of The Home School Manual by Ted Wade or the Christian Home Educator’s Curriculum Manual by Cathy Duffy. What if my student cannot get into the college of their choice? The student could spend the first year of college in a small private college or at a community college. If they work hard and get good grades, they should be in a good position to transfer to the college of their choice for the next three years.

Pre-College Planning for High School To make the most effective use of the last four years of schooling, and to ensure proper credits and records for college admissions, an overall plan of action should be developed. During the planning phase the basic areas to consider should include the following: curriculum credits, extra curricular activities, record keeping for a high school transcript, test preparation and test taking. PRE-COLLEGE CURRICULUM The first area to include in your plan should be your curriculum. Beginning in grade 9 and continuing through grade 12, your curriculum should follow the general guidelines accepted by most Kentucky public and private institutions and most out-of-state institutions. The recommendations for a pre-college curriculum include the following: ENGLISH: Four years or more. One year credit each for English 9, English 10, English 11, English 12. MATHEMATICS: Three years or more. One year credit each for Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry is required. Extra course work could include Trigonometry, Calculus, other math beyond Algebra II, or Computer Math/Science. SOCIAL SCIENCES: Two years or more. One year credit each for American History and World History. Extra course work could include American Government, Economics, Geography, Psychology, or other History (European, State, etc.). NATURAL SCIENCES: Three years or more (currently one of these courses must include a lab). One year credit each for Earth/ Space Science or Physics; Biology, and Chemistry. Extra course work could include General Science or a second year of one of the required sciences. FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Two or more years of the same foreign language. VISUAL/PERFORMING ARTS: One year. One year credit each for Visual Arts , Performing Arts or Arts Appreciation. It is important to remember that these are minimum requirements. Highly competitive universities are looking for students who have taken several extra, more difficult courses than the minimum requirements listed above, and students hoping to receive academic scholarships will need to show extra difficult course work also. Most state universities will gladly admit students who have only met the minimum requirements.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES The second area for consideration in your overall plan should be non-academic activities. Colleges usually look beyond academics – particularly in home school applicants. They will be looking for evidence of competent social skills, leadership ability, and other special skills or abilities. Some of these could lead to scholarships. The student should participate in a variety of clubs and organizations, hold offices whenever possible, compete, and show any honors received or records. CLUBS: 4H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Church Clubs… SPECIAL INTEREST ACTIVITIES: Drama groups, musical choirs, private music lessons, orchestras, bands, dance groups, or other performing groups, debate clubs, art classes… ATHLETICS: Join a private school team, form your own local home school-parent coached team, YMCA teams, or local parks and recreation league… CLASSES: Classes (may receive college credit) at a local Community College or Vocational-Technical school… CONTESTS or COMPETITIONS: Poetry contests (4H, newspaper, etc.), Writing contests, Essay contests, Spelling Competition, Music Competitions, Local Talent Competitions… RECORD KEEPING The third area for your pre-college plan is record keeping. Beginning in grade 9 through graduation, keep a record of all courses taken, the grade point average (GPA), and the texts used. Also, begin keeping a record of special activities, skills, and leadership to be included in a college application. If accurate records are kept, it will be easy to produce an acceptable format for your high school transcript. The transcript should be either computer generated or at least typed, and preferably stamped by a notary public.

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TESTING All of the planning and preparation should prepare the student to do well in the last area of the four year plan — testing. College bound students across the nation take one or both of the following tests: the ACT and SAT I. Both tests are used to determine ‘a student’s proficiency on a national scale. For home schoolers these test scores are of extreme importance -- more so than any other factor. The ACT is a national test written by The College Board, and is used extensively in Kentucky for college admissions. Kentucky colleges rely more heavily on ACT scores than on the student’s transcript. The ACT includes separate tests of 35 to 50 minute tests for English, math, reading and science reasoning. The skills measured include, but are not limited to: solving problems, drawing conclusions from reading, interpreting charts or graphs, and making corrections on a draft form of an essay. They do not require recalling specific facts, dates or definitions. Scores are based on a scale of 1 to 36. Generally, the ACT test should be taken during the Junior year for early college admissions, but can actually be retaken as many times as needed to achieve the highest score possible. It is offered about five times a year. Colleges will generally look at the first two or three scores, but beyond that they would consider the first more heavily. The student does not have to specify that his scores be sent to specific schools. By using the 969-999 code on the ACT registration you will be acknowledged as a home school student and the results will be sent directly to the test taker. This prevents colleges from seeing any previous scores. At the time of college application, you can request to have the best overall test score sent to the college of your choice for a small fee. Contact your local high school guidance counselor for the test dates for each year and where they may be taken. They also can provide you with practice test materials. There is a $26 basic fee which includes three score reports to send to colleges. You can get more information about the ACT at www.act.org. The SAT I is the other national test which a home school student should consider taking, since some colleges (especially in the western US) prefer this test for admissions and/or scholarships. It is given six times per year and a student may take it any time

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from the end of their junior year to graduation. The SAT I may be retaken in order to achieve the highest possible score to send to scholarship programs and colleges. The test consists of a three-hour exam divided into three verbal and three math sections. In the verbal section, a student will find questions on critical reading, sentence completions, vocabulary and analogies. The math sections include standard multiple-choice, quantitative comparisons, and calculator proficiency problems. There is a basic $28.50 registration fee; registration packets can be obtained through a guidance counselor. The home school registration code for both the PSAT, SAT I and SAT II is 970000. Since colleges and universities rely so heavily on these national test scores, it is imperative for a student to prepare for testing. A plan should be developed using test preparation books published by the test producers. A number of other publishers have their own version of preparation plans, but the most reliable are the ones with actual retired tests included. Beginning in the 10th grade the student should begin studying vocabulary and reviewing the types of math questions on which they will be tested. This can prove to be an invaluable aid as the student is actually studying the appropriate material. Also, by taking actual retired exams, a student becomes accustomed to the format. develops the endurance required for test day, and becomes basically familiar with the types of questions asked. You can get more information about the SAT 1 and PSAT at www.collegeboard.com. The PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/National Merit Scholastic Qualifying Test) is the first step in entering the National Merit Scholarship Program competition. To qualify for scholarships available through this program, a student must obtain scores in at least the 97 percentile range. Since colleges do not use this score for admissions, a student can take the PSAT as a practice test. This optional test usually is taken in the junior year, and is given only once a year in October during school hours at your local high school (check with local guidance counselor for the date). Actually, is also possible to take the PSAT during the Sophom*ore year, using the test session as a practice for the PSAT/NMSQT. Cost: less than $10.

EARNING COLLEGE CREDIT WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL (www.collegeboard.com) CLEP and SAT II Lastly, there is another type of test to also consider for college credit. The College Level Entrance Examination Program (CLEP) and the SAT II test, both given by the The College Board are proficiency exams taken to receive college credit based upon the student’s knowledge of particular subjects. It will be important to check with the admissions offices of each college you are interested in attending to determine which test scores they will accept. Check with the guidance counselors of your local high school for test registration packets and for any planned “College Fairs”. ADVANCED PLACEMENT Home school students are able to take the Advanced Placement (AP) Test from The College Board. High School students who score well on one of these subject tests, can receive college credit for the course work they did in high school. It is important to note that the students preparing for this test need to undertake a college-level course of study. This involves more time and study than a normal high school course, but a student who does well on this test can save a large sum of tuition money. Information about registration, coursework, and approved textbooks is available at www.collegeboard.com. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR KENTUCKY HOME SCHOOL STUDENTS Most colleges and universities are willing to consider home school students for academic, athletic, or other types of scholarships. The burden of finding out about scholarships available at the school of choice and applying for those scholarships rests squarely on the shoulders of the home school applicant. However, in most cases, these scholarships go to students who have show excellence in a specific area. That excellence needs to be demonstrated objectively. If a student wants an academic scholarship, then they must take extra, difficult courses in order to objectively show their understanding of the subject matter. If a student

hopes to receive an athletic scholarship, they will need to show training and competition/experience in the activity involved. Once again, record keeping and scholastic testing are the key to communicating the student’s worthiness to receive a scholarship.. However, all Kentucky students are eligible to receive scholarship money through a state government fund called KEES. Students who have attend public school or a school “certified” by the Commonwealth can receive scholarship money based on the number of semesters which they attended at that that school(s). Obviously, home schoolers who have never attended such a school are not eligible for that portion of the KEES money, but there is another type of KEES money we all can receive. The second part of the KEES scholarship money, supplemental awards, is based solely on the student’s ACT or SAT score. The higher you score, the more money you get. Students who score 15 or above on the ACT can earn a one-time scholarship from $36-$500. For info about receiving KEES money, go to www.kheaa.com/ kees With a little forethought and planning, a high school/home school student should be confident of successfully completing the requirements for college entrance. It will be well worth the time investment to make a four-year plan that covers the four basic areas of curriculum credits, record keeping, outside activities, and the all important college entrance tests. — Rebecca Beach, Somerset, and Connie Laffin, Bowling Green.

Good sources for more information about pre-college planning: • •

• • •

Your local high school counselor. www.KHEAA.com (This is also the best source of information about receiving college loans/ grants/work study. If you are interested in this type of financial aid, be sure you file a FAFSA as early in the calendar year as possible.) www.mapping-your-future.org www.collegeboard.com www.act.org

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High School Timetable Freshman

Sophom*ore

Junior

Senior

Write to colleges that interest you asking for their academic requirements.

October - PSAT/NMSQT for practice, must register ahead of test date. Check with guidance counselor.

October - PSAT/NMSQT - must take this test in Junior year to qualify for National Merit Scholarship.

September - Sign up to re-take SAT I &/or ACT tests any time this year. Highest Score counts.

Plan your four-year curriculum based on college requirements, or use a general guideline.

College search - Find info on specific colleges by using college handbooks, college fairs, public libraries, and hand-outs from guidance counselors. Write for catalogs and applications.

Select at least two colleges, and write for applications, financial aid forms.

Begin taking notes in classes, or for sermons, to have practice for college classes.

Seek financial aid guidance from local high school guidance counselors, community colleges, and local service clubs (for local scholarships).

November - Solicit recommendations from youth pastors, employers, teachers, counselors from any clubs or organizations to which you belong, to include in your applications.

Be alert for extra curricular activities to enhance specific skills, leadership abilities, and to learn communication skills.

Spring - SAT 1 &/or ACT should be taken now to qualify for early scholarships. May re-take next year.

December - Mail college applications, transcripts, recommendations, aid requests. The earlier applications are made the better change of acceptance and aid.

Begin record keeping for high school transcript. (See sample transcript)

Spring - Begin visiting colleges. Talk with admissions, eat in the cafeteria, visit the dorms, attend classes in your major.

File FAFSA* application with the names of the most expensive colleges listed first. Guidance counselors have forms. May - June: Consider taking CLEP/PEP tests for college credit any time after completing course.

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* Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Sample High School Transcript STUDENT ACADEMIC RECORD Official Transcript

Date:

6/3/00

Anywhere High School Academic Drive Anywhere, NA 00001 (222) 222-2222 Student: John Smith Total credits: 23 Cumulative GPA: 3.652 Class Rank: 1 out of 1

Birthdate: 7/18/82 Grade: 12 Graduation: 6/1/00 Enrolled: 8/25/96

________________________________________________________________________ 1st 2nd Yr. Quality Courses Taken Sem. Sem. Av. Credit Points ________________________________________________________________________ 1996-97 - Grade 9 English 1A Algebra I Physical Science A French I Intro to Business Health I PE I

B A A A A B

B A A A B A

B A A A A B A

1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.50 0.50

A B B B A B

A B A B A B

1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

A

A B A A B B A

0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

C A A A B A A A

0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.50

1997-98 - Grade 10 English IIA World Civilization A Algebra II Mod. Geometry Biology A French II AP

B B A B B A

A-4 B-3 C-2 D-1 F- 0 I - 0 P- 0 W-0

1998-1999 - Grade 11 French Culture Survey of Am. Lit. Accel. Humanities Adv. Math Chemistry I U.S. History Accel. French III AP

B A A B B A

A B B A

1999-2000 - Grade 12 Survey of Brit. Lit. Accel. Literary Heritage Internal Relations Gov. Pre-law Calculus AP Anatomy & Physiology Physics Typing I/Keyboarding

C A A B A B A

A B A A

TOTAL CREDITS

23.00

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Sample Forms and Documents

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Sample Syllabus 4th Grade HISTORY First Quarter Syllabus Text: THE HISTORY OF OUR UNITED STATES (ABEKA) Workbook & Test Booklet Purpose: Our goal this semester is to learn about the history of the United States of America. We will learn how America came to be a nation, who its famous people have been, and what important events have taken place in America. We will study and memorize some of the important documents of our nation and we will examine how the truths of the Bible made America the greatest nation on the face of the earth. Topics to be Studied/ Time Line for Semester Chapter 1: The Years of Discovery: Columbus Discovers America/ approximately I week Pages 9-23 in text. Chapter 2: The Years of Conquest/ approximately 2 weeks Pages 24-37 in text. Chapter 3: The First Americans/ approximately 3 weeks Pages 38-47 in text. Short Indian Study Chapter 4: The English Come To America/ approximately 3 weeks Pages 49-67 in text. Projects: The student will be required to write a short 2 page report on the explorer of their choice. The child will be required to build or draw of model of a typical Indian home of their choice. As a family we take a field trip to the University of Kentucky Archeological Museum to learn about Indians of Kentucky. The student will work on a bead or leather project of their choice. The child will write a letter to friends left in England after having traveled on the Mayflower. The child will describe his/her impressions of their new home. Assessment: Grades will be given for projects completed. Tests & questions over each and every chapter. Extra Credit: Read a biography about any one of the famous people discussed in Chapters l -4.

Note: The law does NOT require homeschool parents to write a syllabus for their child’s classes.

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Sample Letter of Intent to Homeschool Mr. and Mrs. John Jones

123 Our Street Our Town, KY 00000 August 5, 2004

Director of Pupil Personnel Your County Schools 123 Their St. Our Town, KY 00000

Dear Sir: This letter is to inform you that we will be homeschooling our children during the 2004-2005 academic school year. Below is a list of our school age children and information about our school. 1. 2. 3. 4.

Name Whitney Jones Kenneth Jones Mackenzie Jones Graham Jones

Age 14 12 10 8

School will take place in our home. Names of Parents/Teachers: John and Jane Jones 123 Our Street Our Town, KY 00000

Sincerely, John Jones Jane Jones *****PLEASE NOTE: It is best to send this letter via certified mail, preferably 10 days before school begins and no later than 2 weeks after the beginning of the public school year. It is acceptable to send the letter later in the school year if you start to home school mid-year or if you move into the area mid-term. In any case, be prompt. *****Remember, do not send additional information like test scores, course work outlines, etc . The law does not require you to send any more than your child’s name and age. It is better not to volunteer too much information. However, if you are withdrawing your child mid-term from a public school, you may want to enclose your phone number. Sometimes the local school district will follow up on these withdrawls. If you give them your phone number, they won’t have to show up on your doorstep.

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63

64

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1234 Homeplace Ct. Our Town, KY 42000

Excellent

Work Habits Responsibility Self Control Honest Respect for Adults Respect for Others Neatness Time Management Outside Work Exp.

Life Skills

Reading Language Arts Mathematics History Science Physical Education Art Music Bible Computer/Typing Home Economics

Academic

Satisfactory

2004-2005

John Doe

Needs Improvement

Qrt. 1. Qrt. 2 Qrt. 3 Qrt. 4

Qrt. 1. Qrt. 2 Qrt. 3 Qrt. 4

Academic Excellence Academy

Scholastic Report

Year 2004-2005

Physical Education: John is learning to ride a bicycle, jump rope, play jacks, climb, etc. We go on long walks three times a week.

Art/Music/Drama: We just finished a family performance of the new musical, “The Three Bears,” written and starred in by John Doe.

Social Studies: We have been studying community helpers and medical professionals. We have also been working on his social skills with his little sister and on conflict resolution.

We are investigating nature and the things in the world around us. John keeps a journal of drawings of what he sees, and we research what we see at the library.

Science:

Mathematics: John can count to 30 and can write those numbers. We are concentrating on counting the things around us, rather than using a math book.

Language Arts: Johnny is learning to read very slowly. He seems to need some extra time to mature. We have worked on three letter words and have had a bit of success. I am concentrating on reading to him and on doing activities that will improve his eye-hand and gross motor coordination.

Student: John Doe Grade: 1

Report Card

1234 Homeplace St. Our Town, KY 42000 606-555-5555

Academic Excellence Academy

Subject Planning August

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

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Setting up a Portfolio KY law does NOT require home school students to keep portfolios, but some families choose to do so. The following plan describes a way to gather a portfolio that would be meaningful in a home school setting.

1. Criterion: • • • • •

What is included – best work, projects, field trips, progress, etc. How often will portfolio be updated. Who will be responsible – student or parent and student Will it include summer work or only work done August – May How will the work be divided – by subject matter (Math, Language Arts, Science, etc or by Unit Studies or a Combination of ways to be divided)

2. Gather Materials: • • • • • •

Notebook – 2-3” ring binder with pockets Dividers A hole punch Labels, rubber cement Magnetic pages, plastic sleeves for holding photos/small items Folders/ envelopes to place work in temporarily (we use drawers)

3. Portfolio Day: • • • • • • • • •

Make portfolio day a part of school with little or no additional assignments Organize school work into categories of divider subjects Decide what to include and what to pitch Try to date everything Have students provide explanations of photos, brochures, and other items which are not selfexplanatory Ask students to evaluate their work in each area (verbally or written); parent also provides their own evaluation Keep a reading list in portfolio At the end of the year, include a brief overview of subjects covered – parent or student may do this Take photos of the large projects/drawings to include in portfolio; action shots are also great!

HINTS: • •

Start simply and add as you go The ultimate goal is for students to be responsible for their own portfolios with parents providing summaries and evaluations.

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