Do any of you get paid to homeschool ......???

[Cleopatra]

I'm reasonably new to the boards but have been following them for some time. And it's in the last little while, it's hit me that I am probably one of the few homeschoolers who can choose to get paid to homeschool ...... and I wanted to find out if this is indeed true.

 

I live in the province of British Columbia. If you choose to homeschool, you can do one of two things: you can choose to be a registered homeschooler where you receive $150 per child, you have no teacher overseeing you, no exams for your dc to take, etc. OR, you can decide to ENROLL.

 

Enrollment is a complicated 'animal'. You are no longer officially labelled a homeschooler; you are called a 'distance learner'. You have a teacher who oversees you. If you enroll with a public-type school (sort of public schools for homeschoolers .... hard to explain), you have to give your teacher 3 portfolios per year. If you enroll with an independent school, you have to give 3 portfolios PLUS report by e-mail weekly. You are required to follow the B.C. Learning Outcomes put in place by the Ministry of Education (which are confusing and rambling and sometimes I'm not sure if they're in English:D). For all this, you are given $1000 per child for curriculum each year. I believe you are supposed to return any non-consumables to your school by the end of the year but this never happens so you can keep all the curricula, books, etc, that you buy. Your child receives a report card at the end of the year, from someone who rarely sees them.

 

Does this sound like a good deal to anyone? It seems so at first, but I've found it's not. Often you get teachers pushing public school curricula (which is generally just busy-work, not to mention mind-numbing) and you constantly have to fight against it. Many moms who are new to homeschooling, because they have the safety net of the teacher, don't bother to find out anything about homeschooling and get caught in the public school work trap ....... their kids end up hating the work but they aren't sure what else to do. You also have teachers who try to support your use of homeschool curricula but really know little about it, so if you ask them for assistance, they often cannot really help you (this is one of the reasons I've joined these boards, as you all have such wonderful insight and information :001_smile:) Many homeschoolers here, know very little about the curricula discussed on these boards.

 

So after my ramble (thanks for reading this far), does anyone else have the option of getting paid to homeschool, or is B.C. the only place in the world who funds homeschooling? I wonder ........????

 

P.S. And next year, I'm registering ........ :auto:

[Hannah]

No such option here. We pay to belong to a legal defence fund which defends our right to be able to homeschool.

 

$1000 for books does sound enticing.....

[jec3113]

Not here either. I am in Oklahoma and the state gives me nothing and I give them nothing. It's very nice. We are accountable to noone. I kind of like being invisible....:001_smile:

[SonshineLearner]

Alaska has a deal for homeschoolers... Last time I heard... the family said $1500 for school per child AND it can be used for anything "educational" including things like water parks and ballet...

 

Hmmmm :)

[Cleopatra]

Alaska has a deal for homeschoolers... Last time I heard... the family said $1500 for school per child AND it can be used for anything "educational" including things like water parks and ballet...

 

 

Ah, it's nice to know B.Cers aren't living in a homeschool Twilight Zone (although it feels like it sometimes!:001_smile:)

[KS_]

Alaska has a deal for homeschoolers... Last time I heard... the family said $1500 for school per child AND it can be used for anything "educational" including things like water parks and ballet...

 

Hmmmm :)

 

There's something available in Idaho, too, but I can't remember what it's called. There is some oversight and you get a sum of money per year per child to use on curriculum and other educational things, like the pp said, ballet, karate, etc. I looked into it, and it's really not a lot of hoops to jump through (and we don't have the extra income for my dc to do things like martial arts), but I just didn't want to change how we were doing things. Currently, we don't have to do anything for the state - and I like it that way.

[Willow]

In NZ we have to register to homeschool. Then we get about NZ$750 per oldest child per year. Younger ones are on a sliding scale, with a bit less for each one. We can spend it on what we like, although all mine goes on curriculum because of exchange rates and postage from the US.

 

We have to declare we are teaching "at least as regularly and as well as a public school" every 6 months, and that is it.

 

The Educational Review office can visit you, and will if there have been complaints, to see if you are teaching "as least as regularly etc" but as homeschoolers almost never fail the inspections, they don't come any more. :D Apparently it is uneconomic to worry about us and the inspectors would be better off spending their time in schools!

 

Willow.

[Jen the RD]

Alaska has a deal for homeschoolers... Last time I heard... the family said $1500 for school per child

 

This is what I have heard from my friend who knows a family in mission work in Alaska. Although, that's a good deal, I don't think we'll be moving there anytime soon. I'm too much of a wimp for the cold; I'll stay right here in the SE US!:001_smile:

 

Jennifer

[WeeBeaks]

We have public charter schools here in California too. Your child is a public school student, enrolled, and the family gets various amounts of money to be used for curriculum. It is not cash but curriculum provided for your child's use. They vary in degrees of restrictiveness from completely parent-chosen basically (i.e., pretty flexible, secular only though) to the school gets to decide the curriculum (i.e., restrictive).

[lauracolumbus]

In NZ we have to register to homeschool. Then we get about NZ$750 per oldest child per year. Younger ones are on a sliding scale, with a bit less for each one. We can spend it on what we like, although all mine goes on curriculum because of exchange rates and postage from the US.

 

We have to declare we are teaching "at least as regularly and as well as a public school" every 6 months, and that is it.

 

The Educational Review office can visit you, and will if there have been complaints, to see if you are teaching "as least as regularly etc" but as homeschoolers almost never fail the inspections, they don't come any more. :D Apparently it is uneconomic to worry about us and the inspectors would be better off spending their time in schools!

 

Willow.

 

Wow. This just adds to my list of reasons for wanting to live in NZ.

 

Laura

[cylau]

I am in California. We are enrolled in a public charter school. We are given $400 for any secular curriculum plus $550 for vendor classes. In place of vendor classes, the school hosts academic classes (history, science, writing, PE) as well as fun classes (art, gymnastic, golf, swimming, etc) in school. We also have choir and theatre. We are given a teacher to oversee the education and we have to turn in work samples. Field trip occurs every 5 weeks. They are pretty strict about testing though. School provides MAPS testing and we have do STAR testing every year.

[Wheres Toto]

We don't get anything from the state here in NJ but we don't have to do anything either. The law actually states that we have to be providing equivalent instruction but that's pretty open to interpretation. If someone reports you delinquent, you have to send a letter saying you're homeschooling and that's it - the burden is put on the school district to prove you're not doing enough.

 

Schools in NJ (especially right now) have WAY more to worry about that harassing homeschoolers. They have some serious budget woes right now.

 

I read somewhere that in some states you can claim educational materials as a tax deduction on your state taxes. Anyone know about this and what states it applies to?

[*Amber*]

Not here either. I am in Oklahoma and the state gives me nothing and I give them nothing. It's very nice. We are accountable to noone. I kind of like being invisible....:001_smile:

 

Ditto to what she said.

 

There's something available in Idaho, too, but I can't remember what it's called. There is some oversight and you get a sum of money per year per child to use on curriculum and other educational things, like the pp said, ballet, karate, etc. I looked into it, and it's really not a lot of hoops to jump through (and we don't have the extra income for my dc to do things like martial arts), but I just didn't want to change how we were doing things. Currently, we don't have to do anything for the state - and I like it that way.

 

I will have to look into that there is a slim chance we could end up in Idaho. Thanks for the heads up!

[Tidbits of Learning]

We don't get anything from the state here in NJ but we don't have to do anything either. The law actually states that we have to be providing equivalent instruction but that's pretty open to interpretation. If someone reports you delinquent, you have to send a letter saying you're homeschooling and that's it - the burden is put on the school district to prove you're not doing enough.

 

Schools in NJ (especially right now) have WAY more to worry about that harassing homeschoolers. They have some serious budget woes right now.

 

I read somewhere that in some states you can claim educational materials as a tax deduction on your state taxes. Anyone know about this and what states it applies to?

 

Louisiana passed this for state taxes and it started last year. It is a nonrefundable tax credit though.

The deduction is for 50 percent of the costs paid per dependent, limited to $5,000.

However, that does not mean that you get back $2500. What that means is that you can deduct some percentage off of your taxable income and move down a tax bracket. It was confusing and not as good as everyone thought in the end. Also, it says only SBESE approved home study programs are eligible. SBESE approved programs have to answer to the state and test yearly and such. Private schools not seeking state approval do not have to answer to anyone.

I debated seriously about switching to SBESE to get this credit until I realized it would only give us about $30 back on our state refund after it was all said and done.

I think it will entice new homeschoolers to choose the SBESE home study program over the private school option in the misguided belief that they will get 1/2 of the money they will spend on curriculum back in tax refund dollars.

[King Alfred Academy]

We're signed up through a charter school in CA. It has given us many opportunities to do things, learn things, and use things we may otherwise had never had the chance to do, learn, or use. Some people think it's "selling out" to the PS system, but it's a good opportunity for us. Especially having to live on a grad. student stipend.

 

In exchange for...

*meeting with an accredited teacher every 3 weeks (she comes to my house)

*taking the standardized test (which is possible to get out of)

*completing a writing assignment the school sets up (also possible to get out of)

*piecing together a very simple portfolio of the boys' work

 

We get...

*a large amount of money to use for curricula (secular), supplies, games, books, activities, supplemental items like Discovery Streaming,ect.

*to participate in great classes (fencing, rock climbing, drama, art, Latin, swim lessons, ect)

*to attend plays and musicals and visit museums.

 

I lucked out and got a great adviser who believes in homeschooling (she is a homeschool mom herself!) and does not push PS standards on me AT ALL. She supports my decisions 100% and leaves me alone (I like that!). Like I said, it's a great situation for *us*.

[Midwest Pixie]

Wow! Sounds like a pretty nice deal, though I'd take the $150/kid option and teach them what I wanted, instead of the state's mandated curriculum. That would still be $900 for our family! That would buy a lot of curriculum :D

 

We don't get anything in MO, but now you have me curious. Maybe I'll google "Can I get paid to homeschool in MO?" LOL!

 

Isn't there some sort of federal educational tax credit, too? :confused: I don't know, since we've never tried to take it.

[Katiebug_1976]

Not here either. I am in Oklahoma and the state gives me nothing and I give them nothing. It's very nice. We are accountable to noone. I kind of like being invisible....:001_smile:

 

:iagree: As nice as it sounds to receive money for homeschooling, this is why I love homeschooling in Oklahoma!

[TracyP]

We don't get anything from the state here in NJ but we don't have to do anything either. The law actually states that we have to be providing equivalent instruction but that's pretty open to interpretation. If someone reports you delinquent, you have to send a letter saying you're homeschooling and that's it - the burden is put on the school district to prove you're not doing enough.

 

Schools in NJ (especially right now) have WAY more to worry about that harassing homeschoolers. They have some serious budget woes right now.

 

I read somewhere that in some states you can claim educational materials as a tax deduction on your state taxes. Anyone know about this and what states it applies to?

 

In MN if your yearly income is under 35,000 you can get up to $750 dollars worth of "educational expenses" paid for in a tax credit. Any income can claim those expenses (up to $2500 I think) as a deduction.

[coop]

Wow. I had no idea how different each state's requirements were. Here in FL we have to register with the local school district and provide test scores or a portfolio each year demonstrating that our kids are on-track. We get no $$.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

We do not get any money in Wyoming. We have to submit our letter of intent to the public schools before the first day of public school year and they have to have their little board meeting to "approve" our "requests" as they call them. They have never dared to "disapprove" anybody-- which is good. In our letter we have to provide the address we will be homeschooling at, the curricula for each subject or a comprehensive scope and sequence and inform them we will not be in need of any of their services for the year. So far that is it. Thank goodness no testing! I wouldn't want to get paid if I had to get secular curricula with it. I wouldn't use it. We love our Christian curriculum! One of the biggest reasons we homeschool!!!!

Edited May 20, 2010 by wy_kid_wrangler04

[mommy4ever]

In Alberta, you can receive $750-1500(approx, think it is actually $747) depending on if you are traditional(you get $750), to blended(somewhere in between) to full aligned(can get full $1500).

 

No matter what, you can expect meeting with a facilitator 2x per year, and in mid year phone call. They want to see a portfolio to see that learning outcomes are being attained, that learning is occurring. Traditional, you pick the curriculum, what you will be teaching. To blended, which may involve correspondence or online learning being checked by teachers and you doing your own thing and needing to send samples in. To just doing school at home online and not necessarily teaching yourself just helping based on the courses, is how my school board explained, it's pretty simplistic, there is more in depth things going on, the in's and out's but I am traditional so they are pretty hands off, only doing the 2 required visits and one email/phone call.

[melmichigan]

We don't get any money in Michigan. Unless you want your child to receive auxillary services or elective classes you don't need to do anything either though.

[Annabel Lee]

I'm in AK and I'm familiar w/ the 4 main homeschool programs. You don't just get handed a wad of cash, but they will reimburse for approved things IF you're enrolled in one of these programs, each connected w/ a ps district. You have to meet w/ a teacher & set up their ILP/IEP (forgot which it's called) at the beggining of ea. year. They will only reimburse for secular materials (although 1 program reimburses for materials from religious publishers that aren't necessarily religious - Horizons math for instance) directly related to courses listed on your ILP.

 

They don't reimburse for the water park, that rule is listed specifically in the handbook. They will only reimburse for "fun" field trips (zoo, museum, etc.) if you show how it correlates to your child's ILP, and the child has to write a report about it. You have to participate in mandated state testing and have contact (any contact) w/ the "teacher" once a month. You have to turn in work samples from each child every quarter. Some programs are strict about wanting to know what lesson out of how many lessons total the child is on, others just take the work sample you hand them no questions asked.

 

I manage to use whatever I want, including Christian curriculum; do whatever I want (year-round instead of Sept - May), and still participate in their system. I list whatever course I want on the kids' ILP, even if it's Christian, and the program can still reimburse for non-religious support materials (like stuff for science experiements even though the main program is Apologia, but they wouldn't pay me back for the Apologia itself). They don't allow you to put all your reimbursement funds towards elective-type classes, they will only pay for a balance of things - so if you use up all your PE funds before the ballet year is up (or karate, piano lessons, etc.), you pay the rest on your own, even though you may still have funds available for "core" classes like math, science, & lang. arts.

 

Any one item purchased for reimbursement cannot exceed $199, and all items or lessons/tutoring must be from an approved vendor (if you want reimbursement, that is.) They don't prevent you from paying for things yourself that are not on the "approved" list, so they're not necessarily pushing ps curric. onto homeschoolers.

 

There's alot of rules but it can be a sweet deal if you get to know the system well. The moment their system gets in my way, I'll go completely independent, which is another option in AK. I think all of you should move up here & we can have a WTM co-op. :D

[mommy4ever]

I didn't articulate properly, there is up to $747-1500 in reimbursements, not just a wad of cash. Most things can be, memberships, lessons, materials, etc.

[8filltheheart]

Our state has a virtual school we could use. As others have said, I won't use them. If I did, my children would be legally considered ps students. I want absolutely no connection to public schools in any way. $$ doesn't entice me b/c with $$ always comes strings. I want freedom.

[abrightmom]

Our state has a virtual school we could use. As others have said, I won't use them. If I did, my children would be legally considered ps students. I want absolutely no connection to public schools in any way. $$ doesn't entice me b/c with $$ always comes strings. I want freedom.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

In Oregon we don't get any $$ either but could opt to participate in a virtual charter school with state chosen curriculum. We looked into it (briefly!!) and they required my KINDERGARTEN student to log 20 HOURS of school work (read: SEAT WORK) every week. I was like, "Are you NUTS????" Sheesh. That and the THOUGHT of the state government breathing down my neck was enough to make me :auto: with a smile on my face. I'll leave the provision for home school curriculum in God's hands!! :D We DO have to report our students to the local school district when they are 7 and we are required to begin testing in 3rd grade. I wish we could just be off the radar completely though! There is always something happening "on the hill" with the state legislature here. There are quite a few law makers who don't support home schooling. Thank God for those savvy folks that stand up in defense of home schooling and debate with these law makers on the hill. More than once in recent years some nasty legislation has been stopped.

[TracyP]

In MN if your yearly income is under 35,000 you can get up to $750 dollars worth of "educational expenses" paid for in a tax credit. Any income can claim those expenses (up to $2500 I think) as a deduction.

 

I should clarify. This is for all students. I would imagine a homeschooler racks up more costs, but there are no strings attached to it.

[Guest Cheryl in SoCal]

Our state has a virtual school we could use. As others have said, I won't use them. If I did, my children would be legally considered ps students. I want absolutely no connection to public schools in any way. $$ doesn't entice me b/c with $$ always comes strings. I want freedom.

:iagree::iagree:

[greenmamma]

My kids are enrolled in BC also, with a small Christian school. I appreciate that we qualify for the $1000 per student in funds as my husband is a student this year. I have never had any problems purchasing any curriculum I want.

 

I agree about the PLOs though. I just submit a list of what we have done to our "teacher" and let her worry about ticking the boxes.

 

I have considered registering instead and wouldn't hesitate if I felt our values and beliefs behind homeschooling became compromised.

[m4given]

So after my ramble (thanks for reading this far), does anyone else have the option of getting paid to homeschool, or is B.C. the only place in the world who funds homeschooling? I wonder ........????

 

P.S. And next year, I'm registering ........ :auto:

 

No option here. But we need to send our "Intent to Homeschool". Then we need to either to an evaluation or a test at end of year. Sometimes I feel like moving to Oklahoma or Alaska or somewhere else where it's less hassle.

[Orthodox6]

I'm addressing the OP with this. . .

 

I remember this general idea coming up in other threads. In general -- and I am not issuing ANY kind of "right or wrong" regarding this -- I implacably support parents' rights to provide any bona fide education for their children that they choose -- . . . In general, the customary definition of homeschooling, which definition can be very broad, does not include education that requires certain kinds of involvement with "the State", which includes state-paid stipends for purchasing curricula, periodic assessment by a state-paid teacher, enrollment in a charter (or "virtual") school, and so forth. These students are participating in "distance education". Again, distance education is neither "right" nor "wrong". It simply is one type of education, but is not homeschooling, according to the generally-accepted use of that term. Receiving payment from the government places education into the distance-ed category. The only exception I know of is the tax credit issued to income-qualifying families by Minnesota. But a tax credit is not the same as payment to encourage homeschooling.

 

I often have thought about the K-12 charter, "at home" option; however, it is inflexible in many ways, and I have an LD student whose needs dictate our choices.

Edited May 21, 2010 by Orthodox6

[nd293]

As Willow mentioned, there is a payment in New Zealand. As I recall, the payment existed because parents of distance learners were paid a "supervisor's allowance" or something like that, and homeschoolers fell under the same law? It certainly counted in NZ's favour when we were considering moving there!

 

Here in Australia we don't get paid, but we do get a tax rebate for anything spent on education. According to a tax specialist we spoke to, that could include Internet payments etc, and we include all books, outings etc that I remember to record. It's open to all parents, but is most beneficial to homeschoolers or private schoolers, one would suppose.

[RENEEinVA]

I wish I got paid to do this, but no.

[Amber in AUS]

We don't have any funding at all here. I have spoken to our state and federal governments and although we pay taxes to educate other peoples children we are not entitled to any of those funds to educate our own! I think it really sucks! We also have a moderator attend yearly to check on your childs progress and your plans for the future. If they don't like what they see they can revoke your right to homeschool.

[Guest rubilynne4]

We have public charter schools here in California too. Your child is a public school student, enrolled, and the family gets various amounts of money to be used for curriculum. It is not cash but curriculum provided for your child's use. They vary in degrees of restrictiveness from completely parent-chosen basically (i.e., pretty flexible, secular only though) to the school gets to decide the curriculum (i.e., restrictive).

 

ditto for me in sac ca. i hope it isn't anathema to you all, but i do use an indepenndent charter school, and it works well for us, but i think that as my children get to be in middle school and high school it will become much more restrictive. we may opt to become completely independent at that point. that said, most of the curriculum i choose would be considered classical by most here, but nothing sectarian is allowed. i often supplement myself when i find something i want to use that the school doesn't allow. for ex i am using rod and staff english for my grammar next year instead of having the school purchase it. but for writing and literature i am using IEW SWI and Teaching the Classics which the school is purchasing.

[mjbucks1]

Here in Ohio we get nothing, but we pay A LOT in property taxes to fund the public schools. We do have to send in a list of the books we use each year and EITHER have the children tested each year OR have their portfolio reviewed each year. I know many people feel we shuld get a tax break, but honestly I am happy just as long as I am not told WHAT I have to teach.:)

[robsiew]

Our school district offers a minimal amount ($70) or so per child. Can't be used for any religious materials and needs to be materials used directly with the child. Technically, the material is considered district property, although I think it's rare they ask for it. This year I chose not to receive the money, but next year I will only enough to pay for the testing my state makes me do (my dh was not happy I didn't reimburse myself for that). I firmly believe the more I take from the govn't the more they can take away.... I highly value my right to home school the way I want to so if it were up to me I would not accept any $$$, I need to bend to my dh's wishes though.

[joannqn]

Washington has a lot of different options:

 

Independent homeschool: You must "qualify" to homeschool (one of four options), declare your intent to homeschool each year, must teach 11 subjects, must keep records, and must test every year after the age of 8. No one checks the records/scores except maybe if you reenter public school or have CPS issues. You get no funding or tax breaks.

 

Part time public school: You do all of the above but you can enroll part time in the public school for classes of your choice. You are considered both a homeschooler and a public schooler.

 

Various Parent Partner Programs: You do all of the independent homeschool stuff but can also choose to enroll in enrichment classes offered by the school district. You are considered a homeschooler and a public schooler.

 

Washington Virtual Academy: WAVA provides you with the K12 curriculum, gives you the schedule you are to follow, requires daily online attendance, and does your annual testing requirement. I'm not completely familiar with their requirements so I may be partly wrong about the above and I may be missing requirements. You can enroll part time or full time. If part time, you are both a homeschooler and a public schooler. If full time, you are a public schooler.

 

Columbia Virtual Academy: There are two programs. If you enroll in their custom program, you get up to $1200 fund per student per year to spend on curriculum, extra curricular activities, field trips, and supplies. You chose your curriculum (they can't use the funding for religious curriculum), your teaching method, your schedule, etc. Attendance is by weekly phone calls or email by the student. A monthly review is submitted by the parent. They do your annual testing at no cost to you. If you enroll in their Calvert Partner Program everything above applies except that you get the full Calvert curriculum instead of the fund. Their requirements are very homeschooler friendly and flexible. You can enroll part time or full time. If part time, you are both a homeschooler and a public schooler. If full time, you are a public schooler.

 

In all the above programs, you must comply with WA homeschool laws if you are a homeschooler either part or full time. The oversight by the certified teacher through the virtual academies is one way to "qualify" to homeschool. The others include having a certain number of college credits or taking a homeschool certification class or being deemed qualified by the school district.

 

ETA: We use the custom program at Columbia Virtual Academy. The fund pays for DS's taekwondo, DD's and DS's swimming lessons for the past 3 months, and some of our curriculum.

Edited May 21, 2010 by joannqn

[TracyR]

Nothing like that here. If you want to homeschool it comes out of your own pocket. Our state offers cyberschooling , which is free curriculum( their choice , not yours) with teacher oversight. So really its not free at all.

Other then that we pay Homeschool Legal Defense just in case we have issues with our school district to defend our right to homeschool. PA is one of a few of the strictest homeschooling states in the U.S.

 

I wish someone gave me money to homeschool.

[ElizabethB]

Kisses, hugs.

 

I also got a nice picture on Mother's day that said "Thanks i'm Homeschooled! Love You!"

 

I didn't even mention the capitalization issues.

[jen_white]

wow! I have been edjucated today!

I love Indiana's 'don't ask, don't tell' way of homeschooling. :D

[TandLMommy28]

I've heard that they have this available in my state but I have also heard you get ZERO say in what the child learns, you must use the curriculum that they pick. I've also been told that by enrolling in these programs, the state has the right to come into your house to check up on you because you are technically a satellite of the public school system. So basically you are giving up all the freedom you gain by home schooling.

[TandLMommy28]

No option here. But we need to send our "Intent to Homeschool". Then we need to either to an evaluation or a test at end of year. Sometimes I feel like moving to Oklahoma or Alaska or somewhere else where it's less hassle.

 

Or Indiana. There are literally no rules here except "keep attendance". We have to go to school for 180 days but there is no definition of what qualifies as a "day." We don't have to report to anyone, take any tests or do anything else!

[johnandtinagilbert]

A girl can dream....not a penny....but also very little oversight. IF I had to gain much oversight or legal boundaries in order to get said money, then I wouldn't want it, but if things could be basically the same....I'd be happy to get a lil' for each child. P.S. gets over $8,000 a year here....can you imagine what all of us could do with that much money!?!?

[MomLovesClassics]

We don't have any funding at all here. I have spoken to our state and federal governments and although we pay taxes to educate other peoples children we are not entitled to any of those funds to educate our own!

 

:iagree:

 

I have to say I appreciate being able to use the library. The state charter school is no longer an option for us. The charter wants to go strictly by the age appropiate grade level. They refused to accept transcripts stating they did not come from an accredited school. We do not feel right making our kids repeat material they have already completed. Times are tough for us at the moment, as they are for many other families. I would like some curriculum allowance.

[hsmom2girls]

I don't get anything for homeschooling. I do so independently. I'm not tied to any charter school or other programs. If someone does elect the charter school option they are essentially considered a public school student and are subject to the rules of public schools.

 

The HSLDA discourages it's members from using charter schools as they say it takes away the parent's right to choose the education for their child since they are essentially a public school student just being taught from home.

 

They also will "NOT" defend anyone that uses a charter school setup as they say it's not homeschooling.

[delaney]

Nada thing! We don't have to do much in the way of "proof" except a test at year end. I would be happy with some kind of tax credit for supplies...although we never qualify for anything anyway.

[CalicoKat]

Alaska has a deal for homeschoolers... Last time I heard... the family said $1500 for school per child AND it can be used for anything "educational" including things like water parks and ballet...

 

Hmmmm :)

Intersting, I wonder what living in Alaska is like . . . . .:D

[shinyhappypeople]

We're going to be using a public charter for the upcoming school year. We won't be paid to homeschool, but will receive funding for activities and curriculum. The charter we chose is very, very flexible. The parents I've talked to run the gamut of homeschool philosophies, from classical to traditional textbooks to full-on unschooling.

 

The only requirements are meeting with a school rep 1/mo (from what I've heard the meetings last all of 20 min. No big deal), over the course of the year create a portfolio of work and participate in state testing. None of this is a big deal to us. In exchange they provide funding for secular curriculum and/or activities. (I can use sectarian curriculum, but I'd have to pay for it myself).

 

I no longer have to try to homeschool for free. YEAH!

 

Legally they'll be public school students, but socially and academically they're homeschoolers. I direct their educations, set the pace, choose the curriculum, and customize every aspect of how we do things... all from home (or the library or car :001_smile: ).

 

So, so, so tired of holier-than-thou discussions about "real" homeschoolers versus "fake" homeschoolers.

[Celia]

I'm in British Columbia as well, enrolled with a large distance learning school. Having $1000 per kid enrolled for curriculum/sports/music lessons is great, but there are also many other benefits that the original poster didn't mention, which for the moment for our family, has the pro's outweighing the inconvenience of having to meet the Provincial Learning Outcomes.

 

-the school has funded my son for $1000 of occupational therapy this year. It's been great having the occupational therapist come to my house and work with my son. This is something I couldn't have afforded, and he wouldn't have had access to in ps. Within a couple weeks of my requesting he be evaluated for it, he was approved and we were on our way.

 

-the school we're with has an amazing library of homeschooling curricula, CD's, DVD's and of course, books! Even science kits that they restock the consumables. You browse their online catalogue and they deliver it right to your house, then send them an email when you're through and they arrange pickup. This is actually how I came across TWTM, and I currently have one of their CD's of SOTW that I've been listening to to see if I like it before I bought it. Likewise OPGTR, FLL, and hosts of other things. It's a huge bonus to be able to have a book at your home for a few weeks to see if you like it before you go and buy it!

 

-the school arranges and funds co-ops and learning camps that you can participate in at your discretion. We can get great deals on dance lessons, for example, because they pay a good portion of the cost. Right now, my son is going to homeschool track and field for 2hrs a week led by one of their teachers and there is a big track and field event in a few weeks that they're arranging and sponsoring. Several weeks of lessons, followed by a day long event that is a heap of fun is only costing me $30 (and it would be less if I volunteered to help!). And if you felt like teaching a co-op class, they pay you for your time. Not much, but it's nice!

 

-Because you are actually enrolled with the system, you get a graduation diploma. I don't really know at this point how much of an issue that will be when it comes time for university, but likely it will save my children from having to go through any hoops proving to the school that they have been well educated.

 

-Through the school I'm with, I've had access to online programs and curriculum that they pay the user fees for.

 

-On a much lesser note (but it has been kind of handy in dealing with family and friends that were concerned about our decision to homeschool) you have a teacher to ask questions to and provide encouragement. Keep in mind that these are quite often homeschooling moms who are working their 'teaching' job on the side. One of the teachers who is the go-to lady for curriculum questions (it's her job to keep up on what's out there) also teaches her kids using the classical method. If you know your homeschooling philosophy, the school will do your best to match you up with a teacher with the same philosophy.

 

So yes, meeting the Learning Outcomes could be a pain, although in K, we pretty much met those by living and breathing. I don't feel like my freedom has been taken away in the slightest. All I did when it was time to turn in the porfolio (3 times a year) is simply handed over the binder that we've been putting our work in, and the teacher picked it up and returned it a few days later. I send her regular emails of what we've accomplished in a week so she can check off what's been covered in the PLO's - and she recently informed me that we're well into meeting the Gr.1 requirements. Now, perhaps in the higher grades these plo's will become a pain to meet. This year, I read them once at the beginning of the year, taught what I wished, and they were met. I don't know, but should that happen I'll re-evaluate my decision to enroll at that time. For now, I just consider myself extremely blessed. The funding we received provided for all my son's curriculum and his piano lessons for the year, and next year with another child old enough to enroll, and less curriculum to buy as she can reuse a bunch of his stuff, I don't think I'll have to pay for any extra-curricular activities at all!