New HS Mom in TN Looking For Advice!!

[HippieMom]

Okay... I posted this in intros, but I'm going to post it here, too! Not sure if many people check intros often!  :laugh:

Hello! I will be homeschooling my (soon to be) 5 year old this year. I'm still trying to decide... some have told me to go with the school board (I'll explain that below), some have said HomeLife is great, some have said Daniel 1 is awesome, and some have told me to skip the heartache and go with PS, to be honest.  :( I need advice!

I called the school board and was told with homeschooling, my kids won't get a diploma and almost no where accepts a HS certificate. I was also told she would be tested in 5th, 7th, and 9th grade. The woman I talked with also convinced me to sign my daughter up for kindergarten this past week and she told me if I still want to homeschool, just call and let her know and she can withdraw her, no problem. Has anyone else ever heard of this? Will this be an issue?

Please help me decide a homeschool program! I'm all new to this! And how do I keep track of grades for elementary school students? 

Oh! And I read Daniel 1 gives a discount card for things... I believe I read that on HomeLife, as well... are these any good? Thanks in advance, everyone! God bless!

[rutamattatt]

Hi fellow TN mom!  Welcome to the world of (possibly) homeschooling!  I didn't homeschool from the get go with my kids (one went to PS through 3rd and one complete Kindergarten in PS before we began homeschooling), so I am not sure I can answer about registering/withdrawing your student from PS kindergarten.  I will tell you that we are using an umbrella school for our kids (now in 9th grade and 6th grade), and it has been very helpful for me.  I have heard good things about Home Life and also Daniel 1 - we use Aaron Academy and like it very much.  AA is considered an "umbrella" school, so they handle the paperwork necessary with our district (withdrawing students) and with the state (keeping track of grades).  We submit our curriculum list to them at the beginning of the year, and turn in attendance and grades at the end of each semester.  The students are granted a diploma upon completing graduation requirements.  Recently laws in TN were changed so that a diploma from a Christian umbrella school or homeschool are supposed to be weighed on equal footing with public school diplomas.  I know many students who not only went to college with a diploma from a homeschool umbrella school, but went on to law school, med school, etc.   I know families who do not use an umbrella school here, and they submit a portfolio to the district for review and have never had any issue.

 

It can be hard to start the journey to homeschooling, especially when you may be hearing that your child may not receive a valid diploma, it's too hard, your child won't be socialized, etc. etc.  It really helps to talk to people who have BTDT, and this board is a wealth of knowledge and encouragement!   

[HomeAgain]

You're getting played.

 

I'm very impressed that your school district is looking 13 years down the road to high school, yet neglects any research that shows that

-you can issue a diploma

-you can do an accredited school online if you want.

-hs diplomas are accepted just as private school ones are

-children can start college before they finish high school

-you can change your mind at any point in the next 13 years and put your child in public school.

 

 

Now that your child is enrolled in school you may have to go through a separate dis-enrollment process.   I don't know how it is in your state, but around here it requires sending a letter to the district office and hope that they do their paperwork right and don't send out the truant officer (which they've done) or harass parents over the phone.

[The Girls' Mom]

We are in TN.  Often, TN school districts don't know beans about homeschooling.  I highly recommend an umbrella.

 

We used HomeLife.  I have graduated one, who is now 20 and about to graduate from community college in May.

I have two more that graduate from our homeschool in May.  They have both been accepted into every university they've applied to, gotten into the Honors College, and received merit scholarships.

We liked HomeLife because other than requiring you to submit your plans for the year and entering grades each semester, they leave you alone if that is what you want.  They also offer some guidance if you ask.  They issue a diploma at the end, and provide official transcripts to colleges and such.  

Welcome to the world of homeschooling.  There is no one perfect and right way to do it, but you have the ability to do what works best for your family.  



 

Edited March 25, 2017 by The Girls' Mom

[fourisenough]

Welcome! And relax! Homeschooling a five year old isn't much different than parenting a five year old; presumably you've been by her side while she learned to eat solids, drink from a cup, walk, toilet-train, stack blocks, complete puzzles, climb stairs, dress herself, etc. etc. Just keep in expanding her world: help her learn to write her name, read words, do simple math, learn the names for things outside your window, etc. Read her good books and take her to museums and parks. It's pretty hard to mess up kindergarten!

 

As for TN-specific homeschool info, I'm no help. But I would suggest you look at the high-school/college sub-forum of this site to see the amazing things some WTM kids are doing. Many (most?) are indeed attending colleges, some of the most selective in the country, on 'mom' issued diplomas. Your school district contact is either woefully mis-informed or was intentionally deceiving you.

 

Good luck on your journey. It isn't rocket science, but it is hard, worthy work. Stick around here, read The Well Trained Mind (and other homeschooling books), and you'll learn all you need to know.

[cbollin]

another TN person here.

Been using Home Life since we moved to TN about 8 or so years ago.  Oldest had no problem getting into college with scholarships.  Daniel 1 is not something I've heard much about in our part of TN (western side).  I decided to use cover school instead of reporting to local district for several reasons.  One reason is that I have some children with developmental delays and such; therefore I did not want to deal with any mandatory testing in the school system but instead, work with private sector evaluators that made sense for our needs.  Another reason is that in general I wanted private sector options so picking a cover school that matched my way of homeschooling was the way I wanted to go even if it meant a registration fee.   Home Life has been a really good job as far I'm concerned.  About to graduate my second child with them.  Youngest is in high school now and I like that I have options for her special ed track. It's just nice to not feel alone if I need the help, but to be left alone to do the work. 

 

Not all cover schools do homeschool the way I want.  But home life met my needs.

 

In terms of what the school district told you about "not getting a diploma":  what they mean is that the school district does not issue those, nor the transcripts.  You have to do that on your own.  But your child is almost 5.  That's not an issue right now.  It's not hard to keep a spreadsheet or word processing document with that stuff. and there are templates out there for that stuff these days. I can't imagine it will get harder in the next decade on that.  There are more options now for easy to print transcripts and companies to print a pretty diploma than when my oldest was 5.  Don't worry about high school graduation when making the decision for now.  What an odd thing they'd say.

 

In TN, you will need to be registered either with local district or with cover school. (and yes, there's an option for online accredited stuff).  and yes, do this for kindy year with 5 year old  Why?  because if something unforeseen should happen and the child needs to go to brick and mortar public school the following year, she needs to have had a legal form of kindy in order to start first grade. It's a TN thing and was in law at least a few years ago and I've never heard of the repeal of that law so I presume it is still on the books.  That's a minor issue. but some people might try to tell you that at 5 years old you don't "have" to.  But it's a wiser decision to do that.

 

I don't know anything about changing the enrollment with PS for kindy.  But you haven't attended yet so it should be relatively easy on this stuff without much nightmare. But definitely something to have cover school help you with.

 

Welcome to homeschooling.  I know this coming weekend is one of the state homeschool conferences in nashville area.  It's one with heavier religious emphasis than others if that's an issue for you.  I'm not sure what part of state you are in. But there should be a few other conferences in other cities.  You might enjoy going to some to hear ideas, ignore other ideas, and browse a huge selection of materials.  Welcome to the vendor hall this year.. over 100 vendors and each one just right for your family.  wink. or so the old joke goes in any case.

[8filltheheart]

They are feeding you PS spin. My kids have had no problems getting into college. Our oldest graduated in 2007 from our homeschool while we lived in TN. At that point we used Homelife as our cover school. He is now a successful chemE.

 

My 5th high schooler is a sr this yr. Check out the list of schools that the kids of just the frequent posters on this forum have been accepted to so far. (Some schools still haven't released acceptances.)

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/630977-list-view-of-class-of-2017-college-acceptances-updated-323/

[CuriculumMom]

I actually work at a college in TN and we have accepted students from both Daniel I and Homelife Academy. The only major difference between going with certain umbrellas vs a private school umbrella is when dealing with the Hope scholarship.  The Hope scholarship requires a 21 ACT OR 3.0 GPA for students in public/private brick and mortar schools.  For independent homeschoolers, and those under certain umbrellas, it is a 21 ACT AND a 3.0 GPA. Berean Christian here in East TN is a popular umbrella that is linked to a "real" school, and those students fall under the OR category.  That is the only difference! All of these options are considered real high school diplomas and colleges will recognize them as a real diploma.

 

Of course you have quite some time until you have to worry about that, but still don't let anyone bully you out of homeschooling. We currently use Homelife Academy, and as previous posters have said, you just have to enter grades once a semester, report attendance, and they leave you alone.  If you need/want more guidance, a private school umbrella may provide that, and also local co-ops.

[Dmmetler]

Another west TN homeschooler. I would say that for an out of the box kid, HLA is a good fit because they stay out of your way, but also are good at putting things into school terms as needed. So, for example, if your child needs accommodations for the SAT/ACT, they are able to take the report from the psychologist and distill it into a letter from the school that supports it (I just went through this with a teen I work with). Or, alternatively, they have been accepting and willing to work with my greatly accelerated DD starting college coursework in 7th grade and pursuing a double associates concurrently with high school. However, the downside is that they tend to not hold your hand much-if you don't keep up with high school credits and making sure your child ticks the boxes required for graduation and college admissions, HLA is unlikely to catch it until your child applies for graduation.

 

In general, each umbrella has a slightly different flavor, so finding one that works for you as far as the amount of hand-holding and flexibility is a good thing.

[cbollin]

. However, the downside is that they tend to not hold your hand much-if you don't keep up with high school credits and making sure your child ticks the boxes required for graduation and college admissions, HLA is unlikely to catch it until your child applies for graduation.

 

In general, each umbrella has a slightly different flavor, so finding one that works for you as far as the amount of hand-holding and flexibility is a good thing.

 

sharing my HLA high school hand hold on credits reviews prior to graduation application.

They do send out the yearly transcript reviews each year of high school (once you list your student in grades 9-12 that is). Those reviews show if you're on track and how many credits in each category are needed. There are other side notes on the review.   This wasn't a wait until graduation. It was done as you went along.  When my oldest (who graduated in 2014) was in high school, I don't remember if it was automatically done, but I do remember hitting the button to do the review each year. I know the yearly transcript process has been automatic with my middle child who graduates in a few weeks.  I got all of mine in an email. And they show up in the records systems as completed so if the email didn't arrive, one in theory could ask records dept to send it again if it's completed.   Maybe with the unique path your daughter has with being in college in grade 7, your file isn't flagged quite the same way. ??  But my experience is that they catch this stuff prior to the 2 weeks before you request diploma.

 

and completely agreeing that each cover school has its own flavor.

 

however, all of that is very much in the future for original poster.  I still hope it helps her see that there are plenty of options to homeschool all the way through and have jobs and college.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Wow, whoever told you that a Homeschool diploma isn't accepted is lying.  I spoke with MTSU 2 weeks ago and the admissions guy said he'd take your HSing transcripts/diploma even if it was written on a paper napkin.... but he'd prefer 8 1/2 by 11.  

 

I have 1 (10th grader) who's registered with the LEA (school board), and 3 who are registered with HomeLife. Next year all but the youngest will be with the LEA.  The only reason is that I hate jumping through hoops and paying money to do it (the requirements aren't that bad I'm just an anarchist type personality).  If you're feeling unsure then you should register  with Homelife or one of the others, they make it fairly simple and most of them are reasonably affordable.

[ScoutTN]

Welcome to the Hive! 

 

The ps person was definitely NOT telling you the truth! My local ps people are clueless about and hostile to homeschooling. Ugh!

 

Find a reputable umbrella program/cover school and go with that. I am in middle TN and we use a local classical school  which is very supportive of homeschooling. I have several friends who are happy with HLA. For most umbrella schools, you just register your child's attendance and grades online each semester. Takes 5 minutes. 

 

Homeschooling Kindergarten is easy and fun. Relax! Keep it simple. Reading, math and penmanship. Do normal preschooler stuff - nature, art, library story time, play outside every day, read zillions of library books while snuggled on the couch, go to the zoo and the science museum, take naps, listen to music and sing, color, build with legos and playdoh,  fill a bird feeder and watch the birds, grow some veggie or some flowers, etc. As a longtime member of these boards has said, "Enjoy your little people."

 

Do some research. Read some good books about homeschooling and read here too. Find homeschool moms who are ahead of you by at least 4-5 years to have coffee and talk with. Do you have some homeschooling friends?

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2017 by ScoutTN

[Caglehs]

ScoutTN 

If you don't mind my asking, what classical school do you use to support your hs. We are also in TN (Southeast area) and are looking at cover/umbrella schools since we are new to this and have 4th/5th graders.

 

 

[teachermom2834]

I am in southeast TN and have homeschooled for 16 years. I have two in college who were accepted everywhere they applied and also got scholarships. I have done it all the different ways. We started out with the local education board when my kids were little. It was easy and free. When we got to middle school and my kids had to test, we did so at the schools but decided we didn't want to keep doing that. In Knoxville, the accredited brick and mortar schools that issued diplomas were being pushed and everyone told me I HAD to do that and I did. It was expensive and so many hoops to jump through.

We moved and I left the brick and mortar affiliated schools (had actually used two different ones at the high school level) and went with Homelife. I much prefer it to the other options and plan to continue it. My ds that graduated with a Homelife diploma had no trouble and they were helpful and quick sending out transcripts, etc. even on short notice. No complaints about the service.

BUT- there are still some things about Homelife that annoy me. It's fine for now but if I get annoyed with a hoop or I don't like the way they want my transcript written I'll circle back to the local education board and issue my own transcript/diploma. 

All that to say you can do it any of those ways and it is absolutely fine. I've been through college admissions twice now and I would have zero reservations about going it alone without an umbrella school if necessary. So don't fret too much. You aren't going to mess this up. Any option is fine and you can switch to another option any  year.

I have used the local education agency, three different brick and mortar affiliated umbrella schools, and now Homelife. There really is no difference in how I actually homeschool or the outcome for my kids. All those agencies just keep me legal. None of them are all-knowing. I don't always agree with the advisors. I trust my gut and do what is right for my kids and I use these agencies to meet the legal requirements. That's all it is. Right now Homelife is also serving to keep tidy records for me and  mail out transcripts. But that is something I could do myself easily if I so choose.

Long message to say you can take any path you choose. Don't overthink it. Try one approach this year and if you don't like it you can switch.

There are cultural differences regionally. When I was in Knoxville everyone pushed the brick and mortar affiliated schools and told you your child couldn't get into college without them. No one I knew registered with the local school board. Where I Iive now the prevailing approach is to register with the school board in K-7 and then switch over to Homelife in 8th through high school. And kids are going to college from both places!

Edited June 25, 2019 by teachermom2834

[ScoutTN]

3 hours ago, Caglehs said:

ScoutTN 

If you don't mind my asking, what classical school do you use to support your hs. We are also in TN (Southeast area) and are looking at cover/umbrella schools since we are new to this and have 4th/5th graders.

 

 

Pm'd you.

[Skippy]

On 3/24/2017 at 10:47 PM, HippieMom said:

I called the school board and was told with homeschooling, my kids won't get a diploma and almost no where accepts a HS certificate.... The woman I talked with also convinced me to sign my daughter up for kindergarten this past week and she told me if I still want to homeschool, just call and let her know and she can withdraw her, no problem. Has anyone else ever heard of this? Will this be an issue?

This makes me mad but doesn't surprise me. This person is either totally ignorant about this subject or is lying and bullying. In either case, she should not be working at the school board.

Her behavior leads me to believe that you should go with a private umbrella school option and not homeschool through your local school board. I started my homeschool experience (in TN) through my local school board but switched to an umbrella school due to frustrations in dealing with the less-than-helpful employees at the school board. I have used Homelife Academy since then and have been very pleased. My experience is similar to cbollin. They did yearly reviews in high school to make sure that your student was on track long before time for graduation. Two of my children have graduated from college and now are both excelling at their jobs and have not encountered any problems due to home education. 

Don't let this (at best) uninformed employee dissuade you from homeschooling in Tennessee. It has been a great blessing for our family, and I am thankful that we have had the freedom and opportunity to do it. Like others have said, don't be anxious about teaching your five year old, just enjoy every minute of it! They grow up fast! 

 

[fourisenough]

Heads-up: this is an old thread from 2017. Presumably the OP is now a seasoned, confident homeschooling mama, or has moved on. Although, the wisdom on this thread is still as relevant as ever!

[ScoutTN]

Yes, an old thread! 

I replied because a new poster directed a question about an umbrella school to me.