CA homeschoolers - if you choose not to use an umbrella school...why?

[anewday]

CLARIFICATION: I'm not referring to a public/charter school. I'm referring to a private umbrella school. Sorry for any confusion. :)

 

Each year we re-evaluate whether we want to do it again. For those who opt not to use an umbrella school, can you tell me your reasons?

 

BTW, the only involvement required of us in this umbrella school is that we send them our records each quarter (attendance, course of study, report cards).

 

Thanks!

Edited May 27, 2009 by Dawn

[Sputterduck]

To me the question is why would you bother?

 

I did just enroll my son in a charter school, but that's because I can still do my own thing with him and he gets cool classes like farming and woodworking (even at 5 years old) and they do 150 field trips a year.

 

But other than stuff like that, why bother?

[JenneinCA]

We aren't using a cover school because it doesn't give us anything useful and requires more paper trail.

 

We don't use the classes on the approved vendor list and I don't want to go through the monthly review of work for no benefit. If it was to our advantage then I certainly would use them. But it isn't and we aren't.

[DawnM]

Because they pay for all of the curriculum and often outside classes.

 

Dawn

 

To me the question is why would you bother?

 

I did just enroll my son in a charter school, but that's because I can still do my own thing with him and he gets cool classes like farming and woodworking (even at 5 years old) and they do 150 field trips a year.

 

But other than stuff like that, why bother?

[DawnM]

Most people I know who did not choose an umbrella school did so for political or religious reasons. Some say they don't want the government involved at all (because it is ps funded) and don't want to have to test. Others prefer to use a high volume of Christian or religious materials rather than using secular and adding Bible in themselves. Umbrella schools won't pay for a program like BJU or A Beka.

 

I have done both.

 

Dawn

[Sputterduck]

Our Charter school won't be paying for much of our curriculum I wouldn't think. The Last thing I want is to use ps curriculum for my son.

[anewday]

To me the question is why would you bother?

 

I did just enroll my son in a charter school, but that's because I can still do my own thing with him and he gets cool classes like farming and woodworking (even at 5 years old) and they do 150 field trips a year.

 

But other than stuff like that, why bother?

 

When we began homeschooling 7 years ago, a good friend who was a veteran hser recommended the umbrella school to me for 2 reasons: Accountability with paperwork and (mainly) not having to submit the affadavit each fall because the school does that. Basically, it afforded us more annonymity with the school district. Her view was that though hsers enjoy the freedom of hsing, it doesn't mean that will always be the case, and having a certain amount of "protection" seemed wise.

 

Now back then, being somewhat clueless and wanting to heed the wisdom of someone who knew more than I did about the matter, dh and I thought it was a good decision.

 

Since then, we've continued with it, but honestly, I'm just weary of it. I'm tired of sending in records. That's all I have to do, but it's a pain. LOL

 

We have HSLDA. I confess I AM a bit leery of filing independently, but I'm not really seeing a real good reason not to do it, other than the off chance I get harrassed by the district (in which case I have HSLDA). And with recordkeeping, I know I'd continue with it w/o the umbrella school...

[anewday]

I just want to clarify that I'm not speaking of a charter/public school at all.

 

This is a private umbrella school.

[Sputterduck]

Well... one paper a year is a lot easier than sending in records :P

 

And you have lots of anonymity with the filing as a private school. The district can't even ask you the names of your kids and they have No authority at all over you because private schools are not their jurisdiction.

[Sputterduck]

Does the umbrella school cost you a lot?

[dangermom]

I want to be independent; if I'm going to homeschool my kids I want complete control and not have to report to someone else or work with pre-chosen curricula or talk with supervisors. Filing the R-4 really could not be easier.

 

(That said, now that we're broke I'm considering going for the money. But I don't want to unless I absolutely have to!)

[anewday]

Does the umbrella school cost you a lot?

 

Initially no...but every year the price has gone up considerably. It's now more than I want to spend....

[anewday]

Dangermom... this is where my thinking tends to be as well - especially when deadlines loom to send in my paperwork. I remind myself that I have 100% control over whatever curriculum I choose and that this school exists as a help to me and not to control my decisions...but I still don't like it. LOL

[LG Gone Wild]

I am independent because I haven't found anything I like. Just recently I came across something that is really close. It isn't an umbrella school (I don't think). I will still have to file. It offers courses and will keep records for regarding the courses.

[DawnM]

Well, now that I know you are talking about an private umbrella school, I can't see any reason to do it in CA at all. I have done both, but the one I was a part of was public and I was the educational specialist anyway!

 

Dawn

 

When we began homeschooling 7 years ago, a good friend who was a veteran hser recommended the umbrella school to me for 2 reasons: Accountability with paperwork and (mainly) not having to submit the affadavit each fall because the school does that. Basically, it afforded us more annonymity with the school district. Her view was that though hsers enjoy the freedom of hsing, it doesn't mean that will always be the case, and having a certain amount of "protection" seemed wise.

 

Now back then, being somewhat clueless and wanting to heed the wisdom of someone who knew more than I did about the matter, dh and I thought it was a good decision.

 

Since then, we've continued with it, but honestly, I'm just weary of it. I'm tired of sending in records. That's all I have to do, but it's a pain. LOL

 

We have HSLDA. I confess I AM a bit leery of filing independently, but I'm not really seeing a real good reason not to do it, other than the off chance I get harrassed by the district (in which case I have HSLDA). And with recordkeeping, I know I'd continue with it w/o the umbrella school...

Edited May 27, 2009 by DawnM

[Surfside Academy]

I file my own affidavit and have't looked back once. I have a good support system through our coop so if I have a question, I have other moms (many classically bent) who I can bounce ideas off. Since our coop also does field trips, I wouldn't use the "extra curricular" activities that umbrella schools offer. I have considered using one when my boys are in high school just because they would provide a h.s. diploma but that's still a big "if."

[May]

I have homeschooled in CA the past five years. When my dd started high school, I made the decision to go with a private umbrella school. The reason being was they offered accredited transcripts and were flexible regarding curriculum choices. I'm very much a type A person so meeting their requirements wasn't a problem. The reason I decided to go with the accredited transcripts was that I knew our family would be moving and didn't want not having accredited transcripts affect school choices in the future. I haven't regretted my decision.

[Brilliant]

We have been in a private program this year. I don't think we're going to continue with it because of the cost and the burdensome paperwork requirements. I spent so many hours of my life doing the required paperwork. None of their forms were in electronic format; I had to hand-write every course description and every report card (which required detailed notes about what had been completed).

[Ellie]

When we started hsing in San Diego in 1982, I filed an affidavit, because the only hser I knew said that I should. :-) I did that for 5 years, as did almost every other hser.

 

I didn't know that the hsers in the Los Angeles area had started with the private umbrella thing (not called an umbrella, but that's what it is). Los Angeles Country was very hostile to hsers, and having several families file one affidavit made them more anonymous (a private school with only a couple of students is probably a homeschool). Several of those early founding families were also into that whole accountability thing, which is something I never did understand.

 

We moved to San Jose in 1987; I filed an affidavit that year, and learned, for the first time, about the umbrella school concept. There were several in the Bay area, all of which were not only pricey but required A TRUCKLOAD of meetings, paperwork, testing, and all that stuff. Uh, no.

 

But I'm a realist. I figured out that if people wanted an umbrella school, they could enroll in mine.:D However, my school was the alternative one: minimal paperwork (annual proposed course of study, only certain forms when enrolling for the first time), no required meetings (other than an interview when first enrolling), no testing. Parents were just supposed to call me once a month and tell me what they did; I didn't care what they did, but I wanted them to be able to sound like a person capable of teaching (state requirement for being a private school teacher in Calif) so the monthly phone call gave them the opportunity to learn educationalese.:D I kept cum files, did curriculum counseling, requested records from previous schools, transferred records to new schools, kept transcripts (if parents gave me grades), provided work permits...all that stuff. I passed the school on to one of my faithful families when I left Calif; it celebrated 20 years, now the oldest in Northern California. :-)

 

When people would call and ask for information, I would tell them that the primary benefit of enrolling in my school was the anonymity. All the other stuff was helpful, but most hsers do it all themselves. Now, there was a time when HSLDA recommended that people use an umbrella when withdrawing their dc from a public school in the middle of a school year, or from a government charter school, because those were the ones most likely to be harrassed; since last year's court decision, this might no longer be true.

[TravelingChris]

I lived in California and homeschooled with the affavidit rather than an umbrella. I knew some people who were urging me to homeschool under the umbrella provision when I first moved there but I thought that filing an affadavit was much easier. SO I did that for three or four years with no problem. I didn't see any reason to pay anyone more money nor for me to waste my time with additional records and requirements. I had only small children then. I gather that some umbrella schools provide additional services for high schoolers but I think we moved around the time my oldest was in sixth grade so we had no need.

[Sparkle]

No, we don't use an umbrella school. I just file the R-4 every year. Very simple, nothing to keep track of, doesn't cost anything. We did use a public charter for a few years and that was a pain in the patootie. In a way, it was OK to have the accountability, but the school got to be so intrusive and onerous, it wasn't worth it. Now, with my oldest starting high school next year, I'll have to be more diligent about record keeping, but I don't think it'll be too big of a deal.

[Sparkle]

When we started hsing in San Diego in 1982, I filed an affidavit, because the only hser I knew said that I should. :-) I did that for 5 years, as did almost every other hser.

 

I didn't know that the hsers in the Los Angeles area had started with the private umbrella thing (not called an umbrella, but that's what it is). Los Angeles Country was very hostile to hsers, and having several families file one affidavit made them more anonymous (a private school with only a couple of students is probably a homeschool). Several of those early founding families were also into that whole accountability thing, which is something I never did understand.

 

We moved to San Jose in 1987; I filed an affidavit that year, and learned, for the first time, about the umbrella school concept. There were several in the Bay area, all of which were not only pricey but required A TRUCKLOAD of meetings, paperwork, testing, and all that stuff. Uh, no.

 

But I'm a realist. I figured out that if people wanted an umbrella school, they could enroll in mine.:D However, my school was the alternative one: minimal paperwork (annual proposed course of study, only certain forms when enrolling for the first time), no required meetings (other than an interview when first enrolling), no testing. Parents were just supposed to call me once a month and tell me what they did; I didn't care what they did, but I wanted them to be able to sound like a person capable of teaching (state requirement for being a private school teacher in Calif) so the monthly phone call gave them the opportunity to learn educationalese.:D I kept cum files, did curriculum counseling, requested records from previous schools, transferred records to new schools, kept transcripts (if parents gave me grades), provided work permits...all that stuff. I passed the school on to one of my faithful families when I left Calif; it celebrated 20 years, now the oldest in Northern California. :-)

 

When people would call and ask for information, I would tell them that the primary benefit of enrolling in my school was the anonymity. All the other stuff was helpful, but most hsers do it all themselves. Now, there was a time when HSLDA recommended that people use an umbrella when withdrawing their dc from a public school in the middle of a school year, or from a government charter school, because those were the ones most likely to be harrassed; since last year's court decision, this might no longer be true.

 

Now I could see where an umbrella like yours could be very helpful, especially to people just starting out. I do think some people need that extra layer of security - I know I did the first year or so.