Considering correspondence school - need to help in weighing the options (long!)

[lewelma]

Well, this has gotten really long, but I still hope some of you will read it and advise me! 

 

Before I can even get to my questions, you need to understand the differences in the systems between the US and NZ.

 

1) NZ is an exam based system.  If he has enough high marks in enough exams, he gets in automatically.  No transcript and no lottery. 

2) NZ has both external exams (like the AP) and internal assessments (like music performance, experiments, writing portfolios, etc). Internal assessments are moderated, so all students throughout the country should be getting the same marks for the same work.  Homeschoolers can take external exams at local schools, but are unable to access internal assessments.  So homeschoolers have to take more classes to earn as many credits, as the internals are out.

3) Once you take a class post-secondary, you don't need a high school exam for that subject to count for uni entrance, as a tertiary class trumps highschool

 

So I've done the numbers, and unless ds gets internal assessment for music, he won't have enough credits to get into uni. 

1) He will take the external exams for Chemistry, Physics, and English.  (kind of like the A levels in the UK)

2) DS does not want to take the externals for music as they are on theory and composition, so wants the internal performance assessments .

3) He has portfolio entrance for math at the university so will have post-secondary classes. For those of you who don't know, ds is competitively internationally in math and will enter 2nd year courses next year at the university (in 10th grade), which is partly why the correspondence school is working so hard to accommodate him.

4) He is currently not planning on taking exams for his mandarin

 

After 5 months of phone calls, it has finally been decided that the only way to get internals for music is to do it through the correspondence school. Each class each year is $1500 as it includes teaching.  We do not need teaching, just assessment, so I have been working since October to find a solution.

 

The head guy at the correspondence has been wonderfully accommodating and has offered two options.

1) they will assess ds's music free of charge and use him as a trial to see how much it costs to provide this kind of service for homeschoolers

2) ds can enter the correspondence school full time for free through the 'elite musician' pathway (Sadly, there is no path for his math).  This is a very good deal, as full time would be $8,000 each year until he is in 11th grade when it is free. They tried a pretty hard sell on me a couple of days ago as they really want ds to be full time.  I think they honestly think it would be the best option for him, and they are willing to bend over backwards to make it work.

 

Full time admission would give him:

a) access to the external exams without having the run around of going through the local school

b) mandarin classes

c) english classes

d) music assessment

e) teachers where he wants them

f) access to the chemistry box with all the real equipment and experiments

g) chance for ds to deal with requirements, mailings, teachers, etc.  He does have AoPS right now, but I can see how setting him out of his box could be a good thing for *this* child.

 

Plus they are willing to totally change the requirements for ds.  Instead of having very average booklets to turn in for each class every 2-3 weeks, they will allow ds to:

a) use his own materials (so Knight's college physics, rather than average highschool level booklets)

b) turn in *any* work from *any* source to demonstrate 'engagement'

c) allow ds to work towards the 11th grade english assessments over 2 years, and only mark them formally when he is ready.  So offering feedback on papers he turns in that meet the assessment criteria. This is good as the 9th and 10th grade materials are really annoyingly low level and ds would rather work on the tough stuff and just slowly increase his grades

d) Practice speaking mandarin in person with the local teacher as we are in town with the main office

e) be *required* to only turn in work every 2 months, instead of every 2-3 weeks, and only *has* to be in one subject to keep him formally enrolled,  So basically, we could use the correspondence school just for assessment if we want and avoid the teachers/courses altogether.  We just send them 5 english papers a year.

f) they would also choose a student advisor (the person with the big picture) that would best fit ds's desire to work independently on his own terms, and understands this unusual situation and agreement

g) I don't know if this is true, but being in a 'school' may make it easier to get a traveling grant from a certain government agency for ds to attend the IMO, which could save us $2000.

 

What we loose is:

a) our homeschool exemption (although we can get it back if we need to, but it would take some work)

b) some control I'm sure, but I can't figure out exactly what.

DS would still be at home, doing the classes he wants to do with the materials he wants to use in a time frame that suits him.

 

If we choose stay homeschoolers

1) We have to continue to pay tutors for Mandarin

2) I have to prep ds for the English exam, and have to hire someone to assess his progress as we prep over the next few years

3) I have to deal with school who don't want to give externals to homeschoolers (although this is not a huge deal, just somewhat stressful for me)

4) the correspondence school will still assess ds's music for free (plus there is a very good chance that he will earn a post secondary diploma in music which would trump the high school exams.)

5) He would have to take the SAT if he wants to attend ANU in Australia. This is actually a pretty big problem as he has to score in in the 99th percentile (strict cutoff) and the new SAT has a large component of American civics/history that he would have to do some major prep for

 

So overall, ds is being offered a pretty good deal to enter the correspondence school on his terms.  Really, I just feel like I must be missing something -- there are just not a whole lot of negatives except to my pride (it was pretty special seeing 'homeschool NZ' next to ds's name in an international competition).  My biggest fear, I guess, is that we get him formally enrolled, and then they change their tune.  So I should definitely get some of this stuff in writing.  I also worry that the teachers may not feel the same way the administrators feel about these special arrangements.

 

I know this is long winded, but please help me think this through.  It seems a pretty big deal to enrol ds full time into school, even if it is correspondence school.  And I am feeling pretty frozen with indecision.

 

Ruth in NZ

 

[Lanny]

I believe as you wrote that out you made your decision.  I would discuss your worries about the teachers etc., get it in writing, and go for it. It sounds less complicated for you and for your DS.   Others will probably have better comments than  mine, but I believe that is a positive and better way for you to go. Be sure that you and your DS and the school are on the same page and do not allow anything ambiguous, if you need to sign a contract.   GL

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Obviously I don't know all the ins and outs of your personalities and lives, but to quickly address the topic of control...

 

You mentioned you would probably lose some control.  This may be true and is something worth exploring thoroughly. On balance, however, it appears you are actually using some leverage to increase your ds's control.  Sometimes we need to give up control over minor, pesky areas in order to gain control in a larger sense.

 

Just my $0.02. :)

[Chrysalis Academy]

It does sound like you are getting a lot for what you are giving up.  It's so hard to give other people advice about their lives! But it reads like an excellent option that might really smooth the path as far as uni prep goes.  I think your ds will be fine either way: which option feels better/easier/more smooth for you, and for the rest of your family?

 

Decisions get harder, not easier, don't they?  :grouphug:

[kiana]

Looks brilliant to me. Can you back out if it's not working? That would be my only question. 

[Cosmos]

It sounds fantastic to me. I wish we had an option like that.

 

What does he want to do?