Preparing to transfer to a public high school?

[Chava_Raizel]

My twins just started 6th grade at home. I found out a few days ago that a grade 9 - 12 performing arts charter school is opening up next fall. This would be an amazing opportunity for my boys - they are very excited about it. I'll admit, my dream was always to live in NYC and go to the Fame school. Of course, they are way more talented than I ever was. The school also offers visual arts, so Robbie will get to take lots of neat art classes as well as music.  

I have no idea yet (as they haven't opened) what admissions are going to look like. We'll find out more in a few months when they have an open house. All I do know is that they are only admitting 40 students per grade. I like that it's a small group, I just hope it doesn't lessen their chances of getting in. I'm hoping that once they open next fall I can get them on a waiting list.

Since I'm a planner by nature, I'm wondering what I should do to prepare them for public school high school. What sort of record keeping would they most likely want to see? If you've sent your always homeschooled child to public school for high school, what did you do to get them ready?

[wapiti]

Unless there will be some sort of competitive admissions process (as opposed to admission by lottery, which in my area is more typical for PS charters), all you would probably need would be information relevant to class placement.  In particular, while they may have a placement tests for math if your student took algebra in middle school, they might also inquire about the text used.  Foreign language would be another subject that could involve placement info.

[PollyOR]

I think it depends on the individual child's age, personality, and academic needs.

 

My 15yo daughter recently entered high school.  I wish she had been more familiar with the campus.  Getting lost the first week was a little nerve wracking.

 

Some good things:

 

She announced on Facebook that she was going to start school.  Other students who already knew her rallied around her offering to help her find classes and to eat lunch with her.  Adults gave her pep talks.

 

She already knew quite a few kids from our church.  Seeing familiar faces in the halls really helped.  A few of the students from co-op are taking classes too.  She feels a special bond with them since they are all new to the public school experience.

 

 

My advice then is familiarity, either the school or the people (students or teachers).  When so many new experiences are coming at you, being familiar with a few can be comforting.

[Ellie]

My recommendations:

 

7th grade Standardized test scores, even if you live in a state where homeschoolers don't have to be tested; 8th grade if possible (depending on when you have to apply)

a report card of some kind

immunization records (or waivers if allowed in your state and that's what you did)

photocopy of birth certificate

 

When you're talking to TPTB, don't be apologetic in any way about the fact that you homeschooled. Don't entertain any suggestion that your dc aren't ready for ninth grade-level work. Don't volunteer your dc for placement tests if it is not common for *all* applicants to do that. Oh, and don't offer to show/prove in any way that you complied with the homeschool laws in your state (yes, some people have had to do this). Providing academic records such as test scores to help their teachers understand their academic ability is a valid request; proving that you complied with homeschool laws is not.

 

My older dd attended a performing arts magnet school briefly (academically it was a bust), and I'd have considered allowing my younger dd to attend (even though academically it was a bust, because she was truly a performer), but then we moved to the other end of the state.

 

Hope it works out well for you. :-)

[Chava_Raizel]

Thanks for the responses.

 

I'm not too concerned about the academics at this school, the boys aren't very academic as it is. They are all about their music (they play guitar and drums and have their own heavy metal band) and think "school" is a waste of their time.  :001_rolleyes:  I figure, if I can get them to do some math, grammar and read good books, we're doing well. We've always done yearly standardized testing, so I'll have those on record. I think I'll set them up on Scholaric. I just started using it with my dd - it's pretty easy to use and it keeps a record of work done as well as a report card.

 

They're pretty active in the music scene here in our area, but we don't know too many other kids their age that play. Most of the people they know are older - either older teens or adults. Part of the reason I would send them to this school is so that they can find peers who are like them. They have friends now, but none that are musicians. 

 

We are planning on attending the next open house (hopefully in the next month or two) so we can get a feel for the campus - we'll probably bring the boys along. I imagine the school will be fairly small - they only plan on having 40 students per grade, so I don't think getting lost will be an issue. 

[Night Elf]

My youngest dd started public high school as a 9th grader last year. She did great. Mostly we focused on math and writing. She needed to be on the same page as her peers. Although she did Algebra at home, we chose to put her into the regular Algebra class at school and she did really well. Her Literature class had a lot of essays so we were glad she learned how to do the same kinds of essays at home. One big adjustment for her was learning how to study for and take a test in one class period. She didn't have any formal Science at home but started in Honors Biology and did extremely well.