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Can we talk about umbrella schools and transcripts


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and filling me in on these high school credits? Our home school convention is next week and I am still at a lost with it all. We have always been a bit eclectic and so we do not use all one company- shall I get an umbrella yet?

 

My dd is entering 9th in the fall. I think I am to decide on credits for her courses (rough examples being 1 for Eng and math and 1/2 for music and art) and she should get about 5 per year so she has 20 to graduate- is this) right?:confused:

 

I hear maybe Kolbe which is Catholic will let you pick your own stuff and they will write the transcipts for a nominal fee. I have not looked into how much that fee is yet-anyone know pricing of any.

 

I am wondering how many of you are using an umbrella school vs keeping transcripts yourself. What is the best way to keep transcripts-are there certian companies or software?

 

I want to know so I can check things out next week at the convetnion.:tongue_smilie:

 

Thanks for all your help,

Kathy

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I am not using an umbrella; I am writing my own transcripts. I have learned so much from the people on these forums over the years that I feel very confident in doing it myself. I have also looked at Lee Binz' offerings (The Home Scholar) and it is very similar to what I have pulled together for myself over a period of years. If you want something to direct you how to do it yourself (from transcripts & class descriptions to building a scholarship notebook) her stuff is great--you may be able to view it at your convention or look her up online. http://www.thehomescholar.com/

Edited by Maverick
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...that working with an accrediting agency diverted an incredible amount of time and energy from teaching into record-keeping and hoop-jumping. (I had to use the "service" one year only for a relative who lived and homeschooled with us for a single year before returning to a private school to graduate. The private school required us to use the accrediting agency for that year.) I have never used such an agency for my own children, and I found that the standards required were significantly below those I require, but the time devoted to record-keeping was far beyond what I have found more than adequate for my own children's transcripts, scholarship applications, and college admissions.

 

IMHO, the money, time, and energy required to put everything into the order the umbrella schools want to see is money, time, and energy you won't have to put into the more important job of educating the child. There are some circumstances in which an accrediting agency may be essential. It seems that I have heard that they may be needed for admission into certain service academies (??) that will not accept a homeschool transcript from a parent. But those circumstances are most rare.

 

I also think that from a philosophical standpoint, by submitting to an umbrella school, we are, in a sense, contributing to acceptance of the idea that homeschooling parents are not capable of administering their own children's education, but instead, they require oversight by professionals. That's not a concept I want to support.

 

Writing a transcript sounds intimidating, but it really isn't as difficult as it seems, and there are lots of helps available, including many of us here who have written transcripts to represent the work of numerous children who have gone on to college and careers.

 

My pocket change...

 

Under His mercy,

LaJuana

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I also think that from a philosophical standpoint, by submitting to an umbrella school, we are, in a sense, contributing to acceptance of the idea that homeschooling parents are not capable of administering their own children's education, but instead, they require oversight by professionals. That's not a concept I want to support.

 

:iagree: :iagree:

 

Umbrella schools are HUGE in my area and you stated my feeling so well and the reason I will not join one. Now, what to do?

 

I joined a Yahoo group, HS2Coll , great for gathering information and getting questions answers.

 

I visit here to gain from the folks who BTDT and are so willing to share their expertise. Thank you ladies.

 

From these two sources I was lead to online sites where I could look at others transcripts and course descriptions. Enough sites where I got that nice warm-and-fuzzy feeling that I could really do this. I've put my DS transcript together and am in the process of putting together course descriptions to go along with his transcript. It hasn't been tough and I found plenty of examples to follow.

 

Carole

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I agree whole heartedly with LaJuana on this one.

 

Out of fear of the unknown, I did use an umbrella school for my oldest (who is graduating this year), and I regret the time and money spent. At the end of last school year, I had a disagreement with the umbrella school, and my son ended up applying to college as if he were an "unattached" homeschooler. I made his transcript myself using a template from HSLDA's website, and it was accepted without any questions. He was even offered some scholarships.

 

I ended up traveling the path that Carole mentioned, too, using the wise advice of the folks here at TWTM boards, the yahoo group hs2coll, and the forum college confidential to navigate through the college application process.

 

Brenda

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Okay.....so umbrella is out. Now that I see it that way, it is not what I want as as I do very much agree with you on all these points. It more time is not something I have, nor money I can spend better on curriculum rather than umbrella.

 

Now that we are settled on transcripts I will check out the HS2Coll yahoo group. I want to find these online sites where I can view others though. That will help me to develop and find things out about credits too.

 

Do you know what I sites I can visit to view others transcripts? it seems there are a lot of companies selling them out there.

 

Did anybody buy software to do this-or homeade all the way?

 

Thank you again, now I can focus more on what I need.

 

Kathy

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Now that we are settled on transcripts I will check out the HS2Coll yahoo group. I want to find these online sites where I can view others though. That will help me to develop and find things out about credits too.

 

Do you know what I sites I can visit to view others transcripts? it seems there are a lot of companies selling them out there.

 

 

 

Another one here who has made her daughter's transcript. I adjusted the transcript posted by Dori in the files section of the Yahoo group hs2coll. There is also an example of a narrative transcript there.

 

Here's another site with examples: Covenant College transcript

 

and another: Donna Young site.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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While I agree that lots of research and good mentors (thanks, ladies!) can sufficiently help you navigate the high school to college path, you could also consider hiring a consultant to review your dc's work and transcript. I think it's money well spent and I know of several instances in which the consultant (an experienced homeschool parent) really helped dot the i's and cross the t's for the college app and scholarship process.

 

HTH,

Lisa

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There is one reason you may want to reconsider going with an umbrella school. If there is any chance your dc may need to transfer into the public schools, you need to know what their policy is on accepting homeschool HS credits.

 

I know that state law in MD makes it difficult to transfer credits from non-accredited HS's or home schools. This is the only reason I'm considering an umbrella school.

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I have used an umbrella the whole time we've been homeschooling and I wouldn't trade it for the world. However, our umbrella is more of a hybrid academy and that is really why we love it most.

 

I like the umbrella for several reasons. I liked the accountability for me to keep up with recording what my student had done. For us, having an umbrella means that we don't have to meet with any state or county officials to prove that we are doing a decent job. That alone is enough for me....I just don't want to deal with the county, period.

 

For students in jr and sr high, our umbrella offers group classes that have been great both academically and socially...so if the umbrellas you are considering are just for transcript purposes, that would obviously not be part of your decision....But for us they were wonderful.

 

Finally, for the college app process, we didn't advertise that ds was homeschooled....it did get discussed later in the process, but not initially. We found it nice not to have to jump through special homeschool hoops with the colleges. As far as the admissions folks were concerned ds looked just like any other private academy kid.

 

Anyway, they decision to use an umbrella has lots of facets to it. Just thought I'd share our different perspective.

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