What's it like to homeschool in Maryland?

[H.S. Burrow]

My DH may be offered a job in Maryland soon. I've looked at the requirements (open portfolio, church umbrella, school umbrella) and was wondering what those are *really* like. :001_huh:

 

We currently live in Texas.......so I'm not accustomed to ANY oversight or reporting. :D

 

I have looked at some of the church umbrellas in the area we are considering and noticed that not many churches are listed as an umbrella. So......how does that work? If the church/denomination that you are does not have an umbrella is it difficult to establish one?

 

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!! :)

[3and3]

We are under our church umbrella which is pretty laid back. Some are more strict than others. We are required to have 1 mand meeting(ours are mainlyy just handing out papers and fellowship) per yr and 2 progress reports per yr. which our church keeps.

 

I do have friends who go through school board. For their portfolio they bring in a sample from each subject they are doing, a list of materials, and that is it. Testing and attendence are not required.

 

The law states that the child needs to be making progress not that they have to be on level. HSLDA has a good summary of the laws for each state. We are in Wicomico county. Each county is a little different. Here from what I have been told the co is pretty HS friendly. I don't think it is too hard for a church to become an umbrella from what I remember.

 

HTH

Jenny

[samba]

I think homeschooling here is relatively simple...and I came from NJ which had no oversight at all. When I moved from CA I needed to find an umbrella quickly just to make sure I was legal and I chose http://www.crscs.org/

 

I don't belong to the church, I've never met anyone there (just spoken on the phone a couple of times) and I have one portfolio review done each year by a fellow member of the umbrella. It has been easy and non-intrusive. I am happy with their hands-off attitude...that's exactly what I was looking for. I don't appreciate the idea that I need someone checking up on me.

 

HTH,

 

Carolyn

[~Kirsten~]

I'd encourage you to join some Yahoo homeschooling groups for Maryland, particularly the county-specific ones. Marylandhomeschool and MHRN are two Maryland state groups that I can think of off the top of my head. Though the regulations are for the state, it does seem that each county enacts them differently, and so the reviews differ from county to county.

 

We elected to go through the county first before joining an umbrella, and thus far, I'm pleased with the decision. I've had all of one review, though, so keep that in mind. :D The state law requires that you show "regular and thorough" instruction in 8 subject areas: language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, physical education, health, art, and music. My county does 2 reviews per year, 1 per semester (I believe by law there could be 3 reviews). I'd gladly tell you a little more about the process itself or answer any questions I can, if you want to PM me.

 

Best wishes as you contemplate a move! Really, I'm quite happy with homeschooling in MD, and I've met a lot of other homeschooling families this year, which has been fantastic. I'd imagine it will indeed be different than Texas, but hopefully it won't bee too much of a shock to your system. :001_smile:

[Mandamom]

Homeschooling in MD isn't too difficult although there are definitely more requirements than Texas.

 

Regarding oversight -- I chose to go with the county and was more than happy with my experience there. If I had lived in the neighboring county I might have chosen an umbrella because each county reviewer does things just a little bit differently.

 

The umbrellas have to be an approved church in order to establish themselves as an umbrella (makes things a little difficult to choose one if you aren't a religious person). Each one has different requirements and it will be a matter of calling around to see what they require. Some have church/religious requirements for your kids' schooling while others don't require anything. So, whether or not it is in your own denomination may not matter.

 

Regarding homeschooling it was pretty easy. Fill out a homeschool notification form 15 days before homeschooling and up to 2x per year of reviews which generally took about 15 minutes. I had a binder divided up by the required subjects and took that in. Sometimes I just dropped it off and picked it up a couple hours later. Some of the jurisdictions and umbrellas come to the home to do reviews while others do a drop off like mine.

 

Since you know the area you are interested in, you might want to connect with some local/county groups to find out more information.

[Beach Mom]

Not as easy as TX (but most places aren't), but not terribly intrusive either.

 

We have to notify the county of residence of intent to homeschool the first year and if you are using one who your umbrella is. After that your umbrella, if you use one, does the notification. You are not required to keep track of days or hours, nor is testing required. Portfolio review differs by county, I have heard stories that run from easy to a big pain, I think it just depends.

 

We have always been under a church umbrella. Our church did not offer this service, but many church umbrellas accept families outside their congregation. Ours requires one meeting in the fall for all parents which is basically an encouragement meeting that lasts about an hour and a half. At that time we have to turn in plans for the year - very basic such as Math - Singapore 5A or Literature - one book a month. They do not critique these plans in any way.

 

Then in February our oversight advisor comes to the house for a visit. We don't prepare anything special she just talks to the kids about what they are learning, they show her some things they have been working on and she checks in to see if we are making progress. Many times we have changed things from our plans, they expect that. Basically they just check in to see that you are in fact homeschooling in some way. At the end of the year we have to send in one page of math and writing for each child along with grades or a paragraph summarizing the year.

 

I know there are other umbrellas that are even more low key than ours. I don't find it a big burden, although I was nervous about the visit the first year. Our advisor is really nice and we usually end up discussing various curriculum and sharing ideas. She is usually here about 2 hours. So my total interaction with my umbrella is less than 5 hours including the time to gather my materials to send to them in June. I figure it is a small price to pay for being able to homeschool.

 

The upside to Maryland is there are lots of great field trip opportunities and you are close to mountains and the ocean. The downside is housing is pretty pricey.

 

Good luck in your research, if you know what area/county you might be considering we might be able to suggest some umbrellas.

[H.S. Burrow]

Thank you! This information does reassure me. :) I'll have to look at the yahoo groups. Psst....how do you search out yahoo groups? :o

The counties that we would consider living in are Wicomico, Somerset, and Worcester. We are Methodist and use a Catholic curriculum for religion. I didn't see any Methodist or Catholic churches listed in my search for an umbrella church...but I've done lots of searches for Maryland lately, so I may have missed it.

 

Thanks again!!

[3and3]

There are several umbrella churches in Salisbury MD which is in WIcomico county. We are 7 miles from there. PM me and I can give you some info.

Jenny

[~Kirsten~]

Thank you! This information does reassure me. :) I'll have to look at the yahoo groups. Psst....how do you search out yahoo groups? :o

The counties that we would consider living in are Wicomico, Somerset, and Worcester.

Okay, google Yahoo groups, and type in Marylandhomeschool. Then type in MHRN. Both of those should yield state homeschooling groups that you can join. Post on there with these same questions, and I'll bet you'll get some answers. Definitely mention specific counties when you do. Also, I don't know of any specific Yahoo groups for those counties, but I'm betting people on the larger groups would have some answers. I find the groups hard to search at times unless you have an exact name.

 

So you should be able to get specific info about the county reviews, info about umbrella groups in those areas, and info about more local Yahoo groups. :001_smile: By the way, I'm pretty certain my county, which you didn't list, is the one with the worst reputation for reviews, so hopefully that will reassure you as well. :lol:

[3and3]

there is a homeschool group on yahoo groups called familiesnews that is for those counties. I am sure if post question about umbrellas you will get an answer. I know of several umbrellas in that area that you do not have be a member of the church to be a member of their umbrella. We actually homeschool in the area you ar talking about.

Jenny

[gaillardia]

Samba indicates who she uses, I used them the first few years also, then switched to a different one, but they used to be affiliated, mine was in Churchville. A Methodist friend and a Catholic friend used them also. I would recommend either one, but there is also Excelsior Academy in Owings Mills. A lot of this is done through the mail, except the review. In our county p.s. reviews were not homeschool favorable. I understand Montgomery and Howard counties are easier. Some of the umbrellas in MD insist you use curriculum they approve of (which they want you to buy from them), not so with the one in Churchville. Or rather, they want to know what you're using, they don't tell you what curriculum to use. That was my experience and things may have changed since we left...a year ago.:auto:

[gaillardia]

Some of the Catholic churches do have homeschooling groups, one that I know of requires church attendance.

I hope it works out well for you!