Choosing a private high school

[teachermom2834]

I have homeschooled from the beginning and although my oldest is just finished 6th grade high school is weighing heavily on my mind. For various reasons regarding state laws/ state college aid/ etc. having all my ducks in a row for high school is going to be very important.

 

I would like to homeschool high school and know we could pull it off but I am also considering a local Catholic high school. This school has an excellent reputation and well performing graduates receive great scholarships to Catholic colleges. My ds also is an athlete with college potential in a sport that is difficult to support outside of a school setting. This school as an excellent sports program with many graduates receiving athletic scholarships.

 

This school is expensive but we could pull it off if we scrimped and saved. We would have to stop saving for college.

 

I am trying to weigh the tradeoffs. This would be expensive but may pay off in college scholarship money that might be more difficult to obtain if homeschooling. It seems this school as a "pipeline" to certain Catholic colleges and the guidance counselors are great with helping kids apply and get those scholarships. Being able to play baseball may open up opportunities at those same colleges resulting in better college opportunities for him.

 

I realize it is a gamble but wonder if anyone here has been in a similar circumstance. Has anyone chosen to invest heavily financially in high school instead of college? Part of me feels like college is much more important to invest in. The other part of me feels like there are lots of ways to pay for college and my obligation is to get him through high school with the best preparation for "launch" that I can.

 

Homeschooling in my state does involve quite a few hoops to jump through. It can be done but it won't be easy.

 

I know I've just rambled on here. I just wondered if anyone had considered a similar scenario and what conclusion you came to?

 

Has anyone invested in an expensive high school that they felt provided their students with college opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have had?

 

Any thoughts welcome!

 

Thanks.

Marie

[Teachin'Mine]

Have you considered Seton Home Study or Kolbe or others? Seton is accredited, so no more hoops to jump through, and they can hopefully be helpful with scholarships, but probably to a lesser degree than a private school, but I don't know for sure. I think that major scholarships are offered by the colleges themselves, are based primarily on test scores, and where they studied shouldn't matter so much. Of course that's generalized, but I think it's fairly true. Then again, I may be completely wrong.

[teachermom2834]

Seton is one avenue I'm considering.

 

One of my problems with Seton is that the way the law in my state is written, ds would not qualify for lottery scholarship funds ($4000 per year to be used at any college in the state) if he uses a school outside of TN. Quite silly, as Seton is accepted as legal cover for homeschoolers in TN.

 

If the state would allow ds to graduate with a diploma from Seton and qualify for the state lottery scholarship and allow homeschoolers to play public school sports I would be all set :)

 

There seem to be so many factors at play. I feel like I'm trying to squeeze a square peg in a round whole no matter what option I consider.

 

Thanks for letting me think out loud.

[FaithManor]

Well, I think that you'll need to do a lot of research. I'd ask the school for a statistical report of how their graduates perform. They should be able to supply you with a "% who attend four year college, % who attend community college, % who attend vocational school, % who received full or half scholarships to college, % of drop-outs, etc." I'd also ask to see the grading scale and talk to the teachers. If they claim a lot of 4.0's, is that because they really do teach to that level and many kids rise to the occasion or is it because the grading is easy or padded to make the numbers go up. Sometimes there is quite a lot of ancedotal evidence and it isn't actually supported by the facts. Try to get to know some kids who have gone there.

 

This happened at a local private school in our neck of the woods that really isn't academically stellar. One kid made it into a top flight school and then into the Coast Guard where he is now a Captain. This got blown up into a big reputation for the academy. But here's the thing, this kid was on independent study because his parents recognized that he wasn't being challenged and asked for more. Though they would have liked to homeschool, the military - at the time - was not exactly welcoming of home issued diplomas so they kept him enrolled in the school. He took college classes for most of his high school career. You would not believe how long the "legend" carried that school along. Finally, people have figured out that the program is not all that challenging and that most of the graduates aren't getting big scholarships.

 

My cousin paid mega bucks for his son to attend a huge, well-reputed private high school because of his boy's talent in soccer. They spent all of his college money on this high school and soccer coaching. He did get offered some very handsome soccer money for college but the HUGE caveat was none of those scholarships paid out the freshman year. He had to play for the school for one year to prove his worth and also prove that he could maintain the minimum required G.P.A. and travel with the sport. All of the schools that offered him these soccer "scholarships" were very expensive. Since they'd spent all of his college money, they couldn't afford to send him. He did very well on his A.C.T. and S.A.T., but he didn't score in that top tier that gets the big bucks in terms of academic achievement. So, he ended up going to a local college with no soccer program.

 

Of course, this is again, anecdotal information. That said, I would just be careful to do a lot of research and make sure, before spending his college money, that there really is an excellent chance that this will pay out and isn't just "smoke and mirrors". Some schools just greatly over-exaggerate their outcomes while others actually do deserve their reputation.

 

Something to consider might be to homeschool but pay for coaching from a four year college. DD's friend, a left-handed softball pitcher, did this. Her pitching coach was the assistant coach at the college she eventually attended. She signed up for lessons with him, he saw the talent, and got her on a traveling team made up of kids from many, many different schools. There were homeschoolers on her team. The coach didn't care where these kids were educated, just that they had the ability.

 

Faith

[MBM]

I agree with all of what FaithManor said.

 

But here's the thing, this kid was on independent study because his parents recognized that he wasn't being challenged and asked for more.

 

This is common in our area, and it's also what we do (which is why I'm on this board). Many of the students who do well in our schools are studying extra material at home. The schools then take the claim. It isn't an accurate portrayal, though.

 

...I would just be careful to do a lot of research and make sure, before spending his college money, that there really is an excellent chance that this will pay out and isn't just "smoke and mirrors". Some schools just greatly over-exaggerate their outcomes while others actually do deserve their reputation.

 

Yes. Be a pest and find out as much as you can. If the school is truly as good as they claim, then they will be happy to provide you with the details you need.

[Beth in OH]

Do a keyword search on this board for ncaa, and you'll find many threads about the ins and outs of college sports. I'm not sure your specific question has been addressed, but there's a lot of experience here.

 

Beth

[teachermom2834]

Thanks for all the replies. I really did want to hear others' thoughts/opinions.

 

IF we choose to go this route it will not be for a big payoff at the end. We would have to believe the overall experience was worth it regardless of college scholarships, etc.

 

I do personally know students from there that have done VERY well with college scholarships- even some that were not outstanding students.

 

I really would be comfortable with the academics/ athletics side of it. I'm not sure I can get comfortable with the tuition or the social scene. If we chose to send him there I would still have all my ducks in a row to homeschool him if I wasn't happy. Knowing I could bring him home without panic would be important.

 

Thanks again and I'd still love to hear the thoughts of anyone who has chosen this or considered it.

[8filltheheart]

Seton is one avenue I'm considering.

 

One of my problems with Seton is that the way the law in my state is written, ds would not qualify for lottery scholarship funds ($4000 per year to be used at any college in the state) if he uses a school outside of TN. Quite silly, as Seton is accepted as legal cover for homeschoolers in TN.

 

If the state would allow ds to graduate with a diploma from Seton and qualify for the state lottery scholarship and allow homeschoolers to play public school sports I would be all set :)

 

There seem to be so many factors at play. I feel like I'm trying to squeeze a square peg in a round whole no matter what option I consider.

 

Thanks for letting me think out loud.

 

I think you are confused about TN law. You do not have to have an "approved" diploma to qualify for HOPE. My ds's diploma is from Homelife Academy (basically, I went online and entered his information and they printed the transcript) As a homeschooler, your ACT scores are what are important and the qualifying score is pretty low.....something like a 21.

 

The sports question.....that I know absolutely nothing about. The HOPE I know I am correct b/c my ds has been receiving it since he graduated.

[teachermom2834]

I think you are confused about TN law. You do not have to have an "approved" diploma to qualify for HOPE. My ds's diploma is from Homelife Academy (basically, I went online and entered his information and they printed the transcript) As a homeschooler, your ACT scores are what are important and the qualifying score is pretty low.....something like a 21.

 

The sports question.....that I know absolutely nothing about. The HOPE I know I am correct b/c my ds has been receiving it since he graduated.

 

No. Seton is a category III school under Tennessee law. It is approved for legal cover but if my ds earns a diploma from them he is disqualified from the lottery scholarship. For a student to get a lottery scholarship he needs to either graduate from a homeschool or a school in the state of TN. If he graduates from Seton he will not fall into either of those categories. He will be a graduate of an out of state private school and not eligible for the scholarship. I have verified this with a lawyer.

 

You are fine with Homelife because you are eligible as a homeschooler. By enrolling in Seton (or Indiana University online high school or Keystone, etc.) my ds does not qualify regardless of test scores because he has no standing in TN as a homeschooler or as a graduate of a high school in TN. It's just a glitch in the law. My understanding is that it was just an oversight. Nonetheless, it is there for now.

 

I did have a few reasons for wanting an accredited diploma though I realize it is usually not necessary for homeschoolers.

[Renee in NC]

No. Seton is a category III school under Tennessee law. It is approved for legal cover but if my ds earns a diploma from them he is disqualified from the lottery scholarship. For a student to get a lottery scholarship he needs to either graduate from a homeschool or a school in the state of TN. If he graduates from Seton he will not fall into either of those categories. He will be a graduate of an out of state private school and not eligible for the scholarship. I have verified this with a lawyer.

 

You are fine with Homelife because you are eligible as a homeschooler. By enrolling in Seton (or Indiana University online high school or Keystone, etc.) my ds does not qualify regardless of test scores because he has no standing in TN as a homeschooler or as a graduate of a high school in TN. It's just a glitch in the law. My understanding is that it was just an oversight. Nonetheless, it is there for now.

 

I did have a few reasons for wanting an accredited diploma though I realize it is usually not necessary for homeschoolers.

 

You enroll in Seton and then enroll in HomeLife. Don't use Seton as your cover school. HomeLife is pretty cheap (we can use them in FL as well.)

[teachermom2834]

I do understand that it is possible to do it. It wasn't fully the reason I was considering the private school.

 

My point is that the downside to homeschooling is that there is a lot of hoops here in this case.

 

The NCAA would be much easier with the Seton diploma. But I can't do that because of the HOPE scholarship issue. I don't think schools are going to want to see 2 diplomas from me :confused:

 

If ds goes out of state then he is fine with the Seton diploma. BUT, if he stays in state he will have to use the Homelife diploma. If he wants to play sports I will have to jump through the NCAA hoops for homeschoolers which could be avoided with the Seton diploma.

 

I do understand that technically I can use Seton and HomeLife and earn two diplomas. It is just an extra frustration to push me to consider the private school.

 

It's just enough to make my head spin when I really start thinking about it.

 

Thanks!

[Sunshine State Sue]

I know I've just rambled on here. I just wondered if anyone had considered a similar scenario and what conclusion you came to?

If you get to ramble, then I get to ramble.

 

My athletic son is completing 8th grade. Here in FL, he is allowed to play public school sports, and he has played on the local middle school basketball team for the last 2 years. He will try out for the local high school team next year. At the same time, here in FL, public school spending on sports is very, very low, so competition to make the team is fierce because there are fewer opportunities. For example, in TX, at my boss's son's high school, they have a 9th grade bball team, a JV team, and a varsity team. Here, there is only JV and Varsity.

 

Last summer, my son participated in a basketball camp at the local Catholic high school. The coach asked him where he was going to high school. When he found out that we homeschooled, he said "Come play for me". When my son informed him that he was going into 8th grade, the coach didn't pursue any further. I'm not 100% sure that he was serious because he had no clue if he could actually get a hs'er on the team when I questioned him. Ds is going next month to the same school for basketball camp. Send me an email or PM me in a month, and I'll give you an update. ;)

 

I know a lady across the bridge (in Tampa) who's children have played for both public and private schools, so I know it happens nearby.

 

Out of curiosity, have you spoken with the baseball coach at the Catholic high school (or other private high schools) to see if they have accepted/would consider accepting a homeschooler on the team? I imagine that the talent pool at the private schools is a whole lot smaller than at the public schools.

 

Have you checked into AAU baseball? From what I hear, college recruiters supposedly check out AAU tournaments more than public high school games because they can check out bunches of teams in a weekend. In fact, we were at a tournament a few weekends ago and there were college recruiters there. At least that was the rumor I heard.

 

I have considered the local Catholic high school. I even went on a tour. I scheduled it on a day that ds was particularly ugly (will *I* survive puberty?). It's a lovely school. I would so like to not have to worry about high school academics and the TERRIFYING prospect of pleasing the almighty NCAA as a homeschooler who does not use Florida Virtual School, which is naturally accredited. OTOH, ds is adamantly opposed and $15,000/yr is a lotta money, especially when CC is free in 10th-12th grade and ds can tryout at the public school.

 

Hijack and Rant: I just contacted the NCAA today to try to find out if our online history program that uses no textbook would be "worthy" of a high school credit. The hs liason was nice, but he never bothered to respond to me 6 months ago when I sent him all the info the first time. :rant:

 

So, to answer your question: I just wondered if anyone had considered a similar scenario and what conclusion you came to? Yes, we have considered a similar scenario. It looks like we will remain homeschoolers (though I may need to pay Clonlara to hide the fact from the NCAA).

[teachermom2834]

Thanks, Sue. You have responded to my questions about the NCAA before and I appreciate it.

 

In our state, not only can homeschoolers not play on public school teams, but they cannot play on private school teams either. Recently our state athletic governing body ruled that homeschoolers could compete as individuals (swimming, golf, etc.) but not team sports. If a public or private school had a homeschooler on their team the team would be disqualified from all competitions. There is legislation up to change that but I'm not hopeful it will happen any time soon. We have been involved with travel baseball at a high level for a several years already so I am aware of that option. It just seems like it will be much more difficult to pursue without a school to play for.

 

I guess I'm getting tired of things being so difficult. Yes, the NCAA will approve homeschoolers but it is difficult. Going with Seton (or Clonara) would make it easier but then I have the issue with not qualifying for the HOPE scholarship. Yes, I could enroll in both Seton and HomeLife to satisfy the NCAA and the state HOPE scholarship people but then I have to deal with earning two diplomas/ two transcripts/ etc. If ds wants to go to a state school what issues will I run into with having provided different transcripts to the NCAA and the institution? It is just about enough to make me crazy! I have other children to educate.

 

And here I had been thinking that everything would be easier if we would move to Florida and ds could play public school sports.

 

So I guess my issue is that sports and eligibility for the state HOPE scholarship and getting him actually educated is all getting so complicated!

I have confidence that I can homeschool this child but I am exasperated by just thinking of navigating all of this.

[Sunshine State Sue]

In our state, not only can homeschoolers not play on public school teams, but they cannot play on private school teams either.

That stinks. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

I guess I'm getting tired of things being so difficult. Yes, the NCAA will approve homeschoolers but it is difficult.

I share your frustration. I spent the better part of the day today wading through the NCAA website. If I'm reading it right, if ds takes a CC, say Spanish, class. Although the CC publishes the fact that a semester long CC Spanish class is worth a high school credit, the NCAA only allows .5 credit. I'll be pestering the NCAA guy about this next. It irks me that if I have to go with Clonlara to hide the fact that I'm a homeschooler from the NCAA that ds will be put in the 'Clonlara' bin for the ACT/SAT instead of the 'homeschool' bin. If I homeschool through high school, I'd like our stats to be in the homeschool bin, for crying out loud. But, now I sound like a raving lunatic.

 

Time for bed. Too bad I already brushed my teeth. Chocolate would be good right now.

 

:grouphug:

[teachermom2834]

LOL, Sue. I hope you get your chocolate today. Better yet, I hope you just plain feel better about it today!

 

I can tell you it just helps to have someone to relate to on this. I will be keeping up with you and your ds. Mine is only finishing up 6th grade so I still have time. Sometimes I think it is good that I still have 2 years to figure this out. Other times I realize that is just 2 extra years to stress:)

 

What is so frustrating is that I do really want to homeschool. But then all this stuff starts adding up and I start thinking maybe I should just let ds give the Catholic school a try and focus on my younger dc.

 

Thank you for all your insight on this...and keep it coming!

 

Marie

[8filltheheart]

No. Seton is a category III school under Tennessee law. It is approved for legal cover but if my ds earns a diploma from them he is disqualified from the lottery scholarship. For a student to get a lottery scholarship he needs to either graduate from a homeschool or a school in the state of TN. If he graduates from Seton he will not fall into either of those categories. He will be a graduate of an out of state private school and not eligible for the scholarship. I have verified this with a lawyer.

 

You are fine with Homelife because you are eligible as a homeschooler. By enrolling in Seton (or Indiana University online high school or Keystone, etc.) my ds does not qualify regardless of test scores because he has no standing in TN as a homeschooler or as a graduate of a high school in TN. It's just a glitch in the law. My understanding is that it was just an oversight. Nonetheless, it is there for now.

 

I did have a few reasons for wanting an accredited diploma though I realize it is usually not necessary for homeschoolers.

 

I know lots of families that use Seton and still file under a TN umbrella. I don't think any of them have ever considered any of legalities you have!

 

Ditto to families using Kolbe or MODG. Both of them are accredited as well.

 

Do you legally have to file under a category III? Can you not simply file under the homeschool umbrella statute and use whatever sources you see fit to satisfy your umbrella's legal requirements?

 

I don't use any of them, so it isn't even anything I had ever considered. But, jeepers, that is nuts.

[teachermom2834]

I know lots of families that use Seton and still file under a TN umbrella. I don't think any of them have ever considered any of legalities you have!

 

Ditto to families using Kolbe or MODG. Both of them are accredited as well.

 

Do you legally have to file under a category III? Can you not simply file under the homeschool umbrella statute and use whatever sources you see fit to satisfy your umbrella's legal requirements?

 

I don't use any of them, so it isn't even anything I had ever considered. But, jeepers, that is nuts.

 

Yes, I believe I can still file under the homeschool umbrella statute and use whatever sources I see fit. There is nothing to legally stop a student from earning diplomas from two different places. BUT I would then have to use the umbrella school transcript to apply to in state schools. If ds wants to play a sport in state I would have to use the Seton diploma to get through the NCAA. So if ds wants to play ball at ETSU, for example, and use HOPE scholarship funds we would have to apply to ETSU as a homeschool graduate but get cleared throught the NCAA as a private school graduate.:confused:

 

If sports weren't an issue or if we didn't want the HOPE scholarship funds it would be fine. Trying to satisfy both those requirements is what is proving tricky. I don't know if he'll play ball and I don't know if he'll go to college in state but I don't want to close any doors for my ds.