How do I set up hs in VA?

[Alicia64]

Writing from freak out central here in No. Cal. My dh got the job in Richmond, VA and, for all my big talk, am floored. I think I thought we were having a fun mind adventure where we yakked about plans etc.

 

Turns out he was serious. I'm really scared.

 

But I digress. How should I start the process of getting my two 6 year old boys legally set up for homeschool in VA? They're technically in the first grade.

 

Anything you can tell me about Richmond is appreciated too. I need all of the uppers I can get. If it were just us leaving CA, I'd be thrilled. It's having my boys leave their friends, activities etc. that's breaking my heart.

 

Also, dh will work in Glen Allen. He doesn't want a commute. But I've heard that Midlothian is a "hub" for hs'ers (thanks Grace's mom!!). But if we move to Midlothian, dh will have a 30 min. commute. Any thoughts on this too?

 

Sorry to overwhelm. I'm overwhelmed!!

 

Alley

[Tess in the Burbs]

VA is really easy to hs.

 

http://www.heav.org/ and http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/ both have the laws listed.

 

basically if you have a high school diploma you file with a list of subjects you plan to teach(language arts and math are required) each year to the superintendent and test/eval once a year. It's super easy.

 

we live in Hampton Roads area so don't know anything about Richmond...but the convention is there in June!!!

[lionfamily1999]

Find out what school district you'll be in. Send in a letter of intent (see heav.org), a copy of your high school diploma, and an overview of what you're teaching. If you don't have a high school diploma, write your letter of intent (here, we have to include a copy of the intent form as well), be sure to use good English :p Now, a mastery of the English language is all it takes (no need for a hs dip :) ). Before July (maybe August?) send in scores from a standardized test (we use CAT), or a portfolio showing where the dcs are at and that they are making adequate progress.

 

Then, you send it all in again for the beginning of the next year.

[Alicia64]

Thanks!!

 

We'll be moving in mid-January. Don't I need to get them set up for the spring semester '10? I shouldn't wait till the summer, should I?

 

Where the heck do I get a high school diploma??? Call my high school?

I have a masters degree from CSU, Sacramento. I'm also licensed by the State of Ca in my field.

 

Would any of that do? Or do they need to see a high school diploma?

 

Thanks!

 

Alley

[MariannNOVA]

Thanks!!

 

We'll be moving in mid-January. Don't I need to get them set up for the spring semester '10? I shouldn't wait till the summer, should I?

 

Where the heck do I get a high school diploma??? Call my high school?

I have a masters degree from CSU, Sacramento. I'm also licensed by the State of Ca in my field.

 

Would any of that do? Or do they need to see a high school diploma?

 

Thanks!

 

Alley

 

Hey, Alley: An official college transcript should accompany all of the other paperwork since you have a post-high school degree. I would also have on hand (just to cover everything) copies of the documents that you submitted to CA and any approval letters you have from CA. VA is an incredibly easy state in which to file. You will file in the county where you will live, so if you do not have a resident county, yet, you may have to wait till you arrive. HTH --:001_smile:

[lionfamily1999]

Thanks!!

 

We'll be moving in mid-January. Don't I need to get them set up for the spring semester '10? I shouldn't wait till the summer, should I?

 

Where the heck do I get a high school diploma??? Call my high school?

I have a masters degree from CSU, Sacramento. I'm also licensed by the State of Ca in my field.

 

Would any of that do? Or do they need to see a high school diploma?

 

Thanks!

 

Alley

You'd need them set up for the rest of this year. You only have to send stuff in at the beginning and end of the year.

 

You can use your master's degree instead of your hs diploma. They just want to know you graduated from something :P I write out my letter of intent, so they don't even 'use' my diploma, just the evidence of English use in my letter ;)

 

Once you actually have a house, then you'll know where you're at. You find the local school board office and send this stuff to the superintendant. :grouphug: Super easy!

 

Virginia statute §22.1-254.1 (B) states:* “Any parent who moves into a school division or begins home instruction after the school year has begun shall notify the division superintendent of his intentions to provide home instruction as soon as practicable and shall thereafter comply with the requirements of this section within thirty days of such notice.â€

 

If you’re a new Virginia resident, or you’ve moved within the state from one school district to another, and wish to educate your child(ren) under Virginia’s homeschool statute, you must comply with Virginia statute §22.1-254.1. Inform your local division superintendent that you are in his district. You may contact the superintendent’s office by phone, letter, or by filing a preliminary “Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction†form. (The Notice of Intent form can be downloaded from the law section at www.heav.org.) You then have thirty days to complete the requirements and fully comply with homeschool statute §22.1-254.1.

[lionfamily1999]

They must be changing things on the heav web site... This is a little garbled, but it's a list of what you need :)

 

<!--[endif]-->Submit a letter or the completed form and (choose one):

 

• Show evidence of a high school diploma (attach a copy of your diploma or transcript, or higher degree), or
  
• Submit your Virginia teacher certification, (attach documentation) or
  
• <!--[if !supportLists]-->Provide evidence of acceptance by an approved correspondence course (attach receipt for payment or confirmation letter), or
  
• <!--[if !supportLists]-->Provide a curriculum that is consistent with the Standards of Learning Objectives (SOLs) for language arts and mathematics or
  
• <!--[if !supportLists]-->that you are able to provide an adequate education for your child. (SOLs and details concerning all options listed above are available at www.heav.org under “The Law.â€)

 

[Kim-Still in VA]

The others have given you great information on HS'ing in VA (which is a very friendly place to HS'ers). I will address one of your other questions, and that is I definitely would recondiser living in Midlothian and commuting to a job in Glen Allen. (I don't currently live in the Richmond area but did live in Glen Allen for 15 years). There is a new road that can be used to go from Midlothian to Glen Allen (Rt. 288 is now a western route around Richmond), but it is still a longer commute crossing the James River. You can live in any part of Richmond (the city itself, Henrico, Hanover or Chesterfield County) and find homeschoolers and active groups. Do you know what area of Glen Allen he will be working in?

[Ellie]

Thanks!!

 

We'll be moving in mid-January. Don't I need to get them set up for the spring semester '10? I shouldn't wait till the summer, should I?

Which semester it might be is irrelevant. When you get to Virginia, you notify your local superintendant "as soon as practicable."

[nukeswife]

Alley,

It's really easy.

 

All of the other ladies have given you great advice so all you really need is

 

1. Copy of your degree

2. Letter of intent

3. "description of curriclum" this is much easier than it sounds, basically a list of subjects you plan to teach. If you email me I'll send you a copy of mine and you could just adjust it accordingly. My email address is fawkes.academy@gmail.com

4. Give kids a standardized test (any nationally normed test is ok, we use the ITBS from brewer testing, but have also used the CAT from seton) Send a copy of the scores in by Aug.1

 

If you plan to homeschool the next year you can send your new letter of intent and description of curriculum in with the test scores which is easiest, otherwise that is due by Aug. 15th.

 

We're down in the hampton roads area, but we've found VA pretty easy as far as homeschooling.

[Alicia64]

Thanks everyone!!

 

Kim ~ I hear that question a lot, "where will he be in Glen Allen?" How big is the place??

 

I kept thinking it was relatively small for some reason. He's on Magellan Rd.

 

8550 Magellan Parkway. Richmond, Virginia 23227.

 

I don't get why it says it's in Richmond. My understanding is that it's in Glen Allen.

 

So Midlothian to Glen Allen would be a bad commute. That's great to know.

 

Is hs'ing really well accepted in VA? In CA it still very much has a stigma. Does it have a stigma in VA?

 

Thanks!!

 

Alley

[nova mama]

Here's everything you need to know, including sample letters:

 

http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/noi/filing_NOI.asp

 

Welcome!

[Kathleen in VA]

Thanks everyone!!

 

Kim ~ I hear that question a lot, "where will he be in Glen Allen?" How big is the place??

 

I kept thinking it was relatively small for some reason. He's on Magellan Rd.

 

8550 Magellan Parkway. Richmond, Virginia 23227.

 

I don't get why it says it's in Richmond. My understanding is that it's in Glen Allen.

 

So Midlothian to Glen Allen would be a bad commute. That's great to know.

 

Is hs'ing really well accepted in VA? In CA it still very much has a stigma. Does it have a stigma in VA?

 

Thanks!!

 

Alley

 

Glen Allen, per se, is tiny. The reason the address says Richmond has more to do with the post office and the way they function than the actual physical location of the place. Whatever post office is responsible for delivering your mail will determine what the address is. We live in Stafford County. A friend of mine lives just over the county line in Fauquier County but her address is Stafford because her mail carrier works out of the Stafford post office. Does that make any sense? Technically, the address you gave is in Hanover County - not Richmond City proper. (My dh is a letter carrier so he fills me in on all these little details.)

 

Is your husband going to be working at Bon Secours? It looks like it would be a relatively easy commute from Mechanicsville which is nice little area.

 

I believe homeschooling is generally accepted as a viable alternative here in Virginia, but then, that really gets down to individual opinions. We have a large hs-ing community here in Stafford. Our state hs org (heav) is one of the largest in the country and hosts an awesome convention each year at the Richmond Convention Center. Go ahead and sign up for the free weekly email Homeschool Update at their website (www.heav.org) and you will be able to get a good idea of what kinds of things are going on in the hs-ing world here in Va.

[grace'smom]

I definitely think Mechanicsville would be a great option. I think that's a 15-20 minute commute. I used to live in Mechanicsville and it was affordable and had less traffic.

 

The Richmond Metro area encompasses Richmond City, Chesterfield County, Henrico County (where Glen Allen is located) and Hanover County.

 

I didn't mean to make you think Midlothian was the only place to go for homeschooling. There's homeschoolers all over Richmond. Midlothian has a lot of the homeschool action, but you will find homeschoolers here no matter where you land. Did you check out the Richmond yahoo group? They might be able to help you tap into the local resources in all the different locations.

[lionfamily1999]

Is hs'ing really well accepted in VA? In CA it still very much has a stigma. Does it have a stigma in VA?

 

Thanks!!

 

Alley

It really depends on who you talk to :p

 

I've found MOST people accepting, very few are outright against it, a lot are very pro hs.

[grace'smom]

I mapquested the work address against Lee Davis High School in Mechanicsville and his commute would only be 11 minutes on 295! If you moved to Midlothian it would be 30 minutes and he'd hit 3 different tolls. And that's mapquest saying 30 minutes at off peak times. You have to factor in heavy rush hour traffic and it would probably be more like 40-45... That's a long commute compared to 11 minutes.

 

Oh, and Mechanicsville has lots of super nice houses in the price range you mentioned.

[lionfamily1999]

I would take grace'smom's advice. Traffic around Richmond is not to be trifled with lightly. (It's not the Beltway -for that be grateful-, Virginians from the North can I get an, oh yeah?)

[Kim-Still in VA]

Hi Alicia, I asked about the location in Glen Allen because Glen Allen has a lot of different meanings depending on who you ask. It started out as an area few people lived in but has quickly grown to include more space in people's descriptions. It is really funny but I actually lived almost right across the street from your husband's work location! There is a neighborhood on the other side of Parham Rd. from him that is called Chamberlayne Farms, and that is the last location we lived in. Based on his exact work location, I definitely would not live in Midlothian or anywhere south of the James if I had a choice. I would more look in the Hanover County/Mechanicsville/northern Henrico area, or southern Hanover County/Atlee along the I-95/Rt. 1 corridor (even though traffic on 95 can be a pain). We loved our home and neighborhood in Chamberlayne Farms but only as homeschoolers. I would not have sent my kids to the public school in that district. Hanover County used to have lower taxes than Henrico County but not sure if that is still true. Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck!

[Alice]

Repeating what others said somewhat...

 

1) You don't have to send in a high school diploma if you have a copy of a higher degree. I used my med school diploma because that's the one I had a copy of. I have to admit I stressed about it a bit and was going to ask my parents to find my high school one until my dh told me how silly I was being and just to send in the med school one already. :)

 

2) I think homeschooling is very well accepted in VA.

 

3) I grew up in Richmond and went to college there. My parents are in northern Henrico County very close to Glen Allen. Another town you might want to look at is Ashland, it's a bit further our from Glen Allen but is a very nice and cute town. My Dad has always wanted to live there. I think Midlothian would be a bit of a commute. One thing about Richmond that has always cracked me up is that people don't cross the river. It's like a different world even if it's only 10 minutes away.

[Alice]

Hi Alicia, I asked about the location in Glen Allen because Glen Allen has a lot of different meanings depending on who you ask. It started out as an area few people lived in but has quickly grown to include more space in people's descriptions. It is really funny but I actually lived almost right across the street from your husband's work location! There is a neighborhood on the other side of Parham Rd. from him that is called Chamberlayne Farms, and that is the last location we lived in. Based on his exact work location, I definitely would not live in Midlothian or anywhere south of the James if I had a choice. I would more look in the Hanover County/Mechanicsville/northern Henrico area, or southern Hanover County/Atlee along the I-95/Rt. 1 corridor (even though traffic on 95 can be a pain). We loved our home and neighborhood in Chamberlayne Farms but only as homeschoolers. I would not have sent my kids to the public school in that district. Hanover County used to have lower taxes than Henrico County but not sure if that is still true. Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck!

 

You must be close to where I grew up...lots of people at my high school were from Chamberlayne Farms.

[MariannNOVA]

I would take grace'smom's advice. Traffic around Richmond is not to be trifled with lightly. (It's not the Beltway -for that be grateful-, Virginians from the North can I get an, oh yeah?)

 

oh yeah!:scared:

[Chris in VA]

Hi and welcome to VA!

 

Here's a little tip about the copy of the diploma--I use my BS degree. It's framed, so I just took a digital picture of it (didn't have to go get a copy made) and printed that out, and sent it in. This year, I told them in my intent letter that they had a copy "on file" from two years ago, and didn't send anything but the intent letter in! lol That's me--the less paperwork, the better...

[grace'smom]

 

 

 

One thing about Richmond that has always cracked me up is that people don't cross the river. It's like a different world even if it's only 10 minutes away.

 

I cross the river all the time, but I know I am a minority in that regard. My husband grew up in Ashland, I grew up in Chesterfield. We have large gasoline bills. But a lot of that I think is changing over time. People seem to be more willing to travel now than they used to. My daughter has two regular playdates that require crossing the river, but we do always try to meet in the middle at Maymont or The Childrens' Museum.

 

I'm so excited for someone new to see Maymont Park for the first time! Richmond really is a nice place!