I've homeschooled my 2 kids from day one. We live in good ol' California. They are now preparing to enter 9th & 10th grades this coming year. I have been homeschooling them both using the PSA in California, in which you basically file as a private school & therefore set up your own guidelines for graduation. I had planned to continue this thru 12th grade. I had their HS coursework all planned out according to CA state standards and CSU entrance requirements (even though they both planned to attend the community college near our home due to cost and for other reasons). I had planned for them to take 4 yrs of English, 3 yrs Math (Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2) 2 years lab science, 2 years foreign language, 1 year VPA, etc.--all the classes you need in CA to not only graduate but to attend 4 year university. Then I learned, a bit to my dismay, that these courses would not count towards meeting CSU or UC requirements because they are not a-g accredited. Classes have to be approved by the UC system as being a-g and as a homeschooler there was no way to get my classes to count as a-g qualified, even though they may be just a rigorous (that word the colleges love to throw around lol) as any class at a traditional HS. We as homeschoolers know we have to pick our battles so as frustrating as this was, I thought "oh well, they want to attend community college anyway, so to hell with this a-g nonsense." Then another shocker.
I called my local community college to verify that my kids would have no problem being admitted with a parent-issued HS diploma when they turned 18 and had graduated. They concurred. Anyone who is 18 can attend community college they said. I responded with, "Well yes but they will have a HS diploma." Once again they basically said that yes anyone 18 yrs or older could attend community college. This didn't sit well with me so I researched to see if CA community colleges recognized homeschooled parent-issued diplomas as "true" HS diplomas. I could not get a clear answer. Would the college view my kids as having never attended high school? Surely this would be unfair as they have spent countless hours doing rigorous schoolwork and receiving a top-notch, wonderful education. Would the college see them as beneath even those who dropped out of HS & obtained a GED? These questions plagued me and I couldn't get a clear answer. Things were not looking good.
Then finally I found an online source that said in order to enter certain fields, even at the community college level, an accredited HS diploma is required. I called the CC back to confirm this. The admissions officer said he was not sure so he needed to "ask around." And then the dreaded answer: yes an accredited HS diploma is required for some fields like Nursing & Criminal Justice, among others. That was my final straw. I had first limited my kids by taking away their option of attending 4 year university right away. Granted they were certain about attending Community College 1st, but still. Now I was limiting the fields they could enter? No. I bit the bullet & went against some of my strongest beliefs about education and enrolled them in a Charter School homeschooling program, with WASC accredited Sky Mountain Charter School.
What I've learned:
1) As a homeschooler in CA you have a lot of freedom which is great but when it is time for HS you should consider homeschooling thru an umbrella so you can ensure your kids are issued an accredited diploma and so they can take the approved a-g courses if they want to attend 4 year university right away. Yes there may be ways to get around this but it may be harder than you think. Sometimes it feels like jumping thru hoops in fact. Ways to overcome these obstacles:
~apply for Christian colleges who may accept homeschooled parent-issued diplomas. I did not want my kids attending Christian schools but if you are all for them, this might be a good way to get around things. Call and ask before the freshman year of HS.
~If your child scores very high on the ACT or SAT and takes community college courses concurrently in HS the CSU/UC may be willing to overlook that the HS transcript is not a-g certified. This is a big MAYBE.
~Some parents have suggested taking all the a-g courses at a community college while in HS but I don't see how this is possible since ALL college prep courses must be a-g certified to attend CSU/UC and community colleges usually only allow 2 classes to be taken concurrently. And here again if they are taking so many CC courses, what's the difference in homeschooling thru a Charter?
~Your kids can obtain a GED in lieu of an accredited diploma but as others have pointed out this comes with a stigma. And on top of that your child deserves a diploma! They have just completed 4 long years of study and this is NOT the same as simply taking a test and passing to get a GED.
~Your child can take and pass The High School Exit Exam. This is supposedly viewed like an accredited HS diploma but here again I've found contradictory evidence.
2)Homeschooling thru a Carter School isn't all that bad. You just need to find the right one for your family. Some give more freedom than others. Following a Charter School's curriculum is really no different from what you do at home anyway. Sure there may be topics you consider boring or inconsequential and yes your child will have to learn them, but you still have the option to skim thru those and focus on the ones you find more interesting or important. You will have to do state testing, which I abhor, but it doesn't affect grades so they really are inconsequential. Find a charter that offers the most freedom possible, so you can stick as closely as possible to your educational philosophy & beliefs. The right fit will allow some flexibility in curriculum choice and also allow your child to move at their own pace. You can augment the curriculum with things you want them to learn. Most offer educational funds so paying out-of-pocket for books & curriculum becomes a thing of the past. You can pay for tutoring in subjects your child may need extra help with using educational funds. My daughter's Charter pays for 5 hours of dance class per week (that she was taking anyway) which counts as PE so we no longer have that $185 per month bill to pay. There are definitely pros and cons but in the words of Pulitzer in Newsies, "it's a compromise we can live with," if it means my kids will be earning the accredited diploma they need and deserve.
I've homeschooled my 2 kids from day one. We live in good ol' California. They are now preparing to enter 9th & 10th grades this coming year. I have been homeschooling them both using the PSA in California, in which you basically file as a private school & therefore set up your own guidelines for graduation. I had planned to continue this thru 12th grade. I had their HS coursework all planned out according to CA state standards and CSU entrance requirements (even though they both planned to attend the community college near our home due to cost and for other reasons). I had planned for them to take 4 yrs of English, 3 yrs Math (Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2) 2 years lab science, 2 years foreign language, 1 year VPA, etc.--all the classes you need in CA to not only graduate but to attend 4 year university. Then I learned, a bit to my dismay, that these courses would not count towards meeting CSU or UC requirements because they are not a-g accredited. Classes have to be approved by the UC system as being a-g and as a homeschooler there was no way to get my classes to count as a-g qualified, even though they may be just a rigorous (that word the colleges love to throw around lol) as any class at a traditional HS. We as homeschoolers know we have to pick our battles so as frustrating as this was, I thought "oh well, they want to attend community college anyway, so to hell with this a-g nonsense." Then another shocker. I called my local community college to verify that my kids would have no problem being admitted with a parent-issued HS diploma when they turned 18 and had graduated. They concurred. Anyone who is 18 can attend community college they said. I responded with, "Well yes but they will have a HS diploma." Once again they basically said that yes anyone 18 yrs or older could attend community college. This didn't sit well with me so I researched to see if CA community colleges recognized homeschooled parent-issued diplomas as "true" HS diplomas. I could not get a clear answer. Would the college view my kids as having never attended high school? Surely this would be unfair as they have spent countless hours doing rigorous schoolwork and receiving a top-notch, wonderful education. Would the college see them as beneath even those who dropped out of HS & obtained a GED? These questions plagued me and I couldn't get a clear answer. Things were not looking good. Then finally I found an online source that said in order to enter certain fields, even at the community college level, an accredited HS diploma is required. I called the CC back to confirm this. The admissions officer said he was not sure so he needed to "ask around." And then the dreaded answer: yes an accredited HS diploma is required for some fields like Nursing & Criminal Justice, among others. That was my final straw. I had first limited my kids by taking away their option of attending 4 year university right away. Granted they were certain about attending Community College 1st, but still. Now I was limiting the fields they could enter? No. I bit the bullet & went against some of my strongest beliefs about education and enrolled them in a Charter School homeschooling program, with WASC accredited Sky Mountain Charter School. What I've learned: 1) As a homeschooler in CA you have a lot of freedom which is great but when it is time for HS you should consider homeschooling thru an umbrella so you can ensure your kids are issued an accredited diploma and so they can take the approved a-g courses if they want to attend 4 year university right away. Yes there may be ways to get around this but it may be harder than you think. Sometimes it feels like jumping thru hoops in fact. Ways to overcome these obstacles: ~apply for Christian colleges who may accept homeschooled parent-issued diplomas. I did not want my kids attending Christian schools but if you are all for them, this might be a good way to get around things. Call and ask before the freshman year of HS. ~If your child scores very high on the ACT or SAT and takes community college courses concurrently in HS the CSU/UC may be willing to overlook that the HS transcript is not a-g certified. This is a big MAYBE. ~Some parents have suggested taking all the a-g courses at a community college while in HS but I don't see how this is possible since ALL college prep courses must be a-g certified to attend CSU/UC and community colleges usually only allow 2 classes to be taken concurrently. And here again if they are taking so many CC courses, what's the difference in homeschooling thru a Charter? ~Your kids can obtain a GED in lieu of an accredited diploma but as others have pointed out this comes with a stigma. And on top of that your child deserves a diploma! They have just completed 4 long years of study and this is NOT the same as simply taking a test and passing to get a GED. ~Your child can take and pass The High School Exit Exam. This is supposedly viewed like an accredited HS diploma but here again I've found contradictory evidence. 2)Homeschooling thru a Carter School isn't all that bad. You just need to find the right one for your family. Some give more freedom than others. Following a Charter School's curriculum is really no different from what you do at home anyway. Sure there may be topics you consider boring or inconsequential and yes your child will have to learn them, but you still have the option to skim thru those and focus on the ones you find more interesting or important. You will have to do state testing, which I abhor, but it doesn't affect grades so they really are inconsequential. Find a charter that offers the most freedom possible, so you can stick as closely as possible to your educational philosophy & beliefs. The right fit will allow some flexibility in curriculum choice and also allow your child to move at their own pace. You can augment the curriculum with things you want them to learn. Most offer educational funds so paying out-of-pocket for books & curriculum becomes a thing of the past. You can pay for tutoring in subjects your child may need extra help with using educational funds. My daughter's Charter pays for 5 hours of dance class per week (that she was taking anyway) which counts as PE so we no longer have that $185 per month bill to pay. There are definitely pros and cons but in the words of Pulitzer in Newsies, "it's a compromise we can live with," if it means my kids will be earning the accredited diploma they need and deserve.