Enrolling in public high school

[Guest Lorrie]

I am enrolling my 10th grader in public school after 4 years of homeschool. Does anyone have any advice for me as I meet with the counselor? One question I have is, should I be asking the school to give him credit for his 9th grade work as part of their transcript, or should I plan for him to have 2 transcripts when he graduates, one from me and one from the public school? If this has been addressed in other posts please direct me to those. Thanks!

[Mad Jenny Flint]

Most high schools just issue a diploma after requirements are met. They will not issue one before that happens. So, if your credits from 9th grade year are to be used, they would be transferred (those the high school would accept) and then the student would work to earn the remaining credits necessary to graduate. So your job would be to get the materials necessary for the counselor to evaluate whether your 9th grade credits would fit any of the requirements of that particular school, so that they can be used toward graduation credit requirements.

[Adrienne_in_TX]

I'm not sure if it is this way everywhere, but when I considered putting our daughter back into public high school it wasn't really a matter of how I wanted to do it.

 

The only way they would accept the work that she had done was to give end of course exams that she would have to pass. Otherwise, she would have to repeat the grade. They seem to be suspicious of the fact that work is legitimately being done; I'm sure that sometimes families are not working as they should. This is regardless of the fact that most of the students that they educated could not pass these same exams. In fact, Texas administers an Algebra 1 End-of-Course exam that has over a 50% failure rate.

 

I think that I would be prepared to provide proof of assessment like tests, papers, final exams, etc.

 

I hope that everything goes in your favor when you meet with the school.

 

Adrienne:001_smile:

[Ellie]

I am enrolling my 10th grader in public school after 4 years of homeschool. Does anyone have any advice for me as I meet with the counselor? One question I have is, should I be asking the school to give him credit for his 9th grade work as part of their transcript, or should I plan for him to have 2 transcripts when he graduates, one from me and one from the public school? If this has been addressed in other posts please direct me to those. Thanks!

You will want to have your professional-looking transcript in your hand when you go in. Standardized test scores would be great, as it might validate the transcript. And immunization records, maybe even a photocopy of your ds's birth certificate. These should be in a manilla folder--that's his cum file.

 

The school will either give your ds credit or not...their choice. It might or might not make a difference if you also have a bibliography of any texts used, as well as course descriptions. One never knows.:glare:

 

Don't go in there all apologetic and wringing your hands, which is what many hsers do. "Oh, please Mr. School Guy, please accept my sweet homescooled dc in your school. Gosh, I don't know what grade he should be in. Oh, well, I'm not sure if he wants to go to college. I'm just a homeschool mom!" No. Go in there confidently, cum file in hand.

 

If the school does accept his 9th grade credits, I believe those will be included on his final transcript. If not, yes, when he applies to college, he'll have his 9th grade transcript and his 10-12 transcript.

[Photo Ninja]

Be strong and confident. Know what the ps must do and have policies in writing in case you are speaking with a counselor who makes up policies as he goes along. If the ps is allowed to transfer in his 9th grade credits, then be sure to bring in his transcript, course of study, course descriptions, and any other documents the ps may want to see. Don't let the ps counselor speak down to you, but be polite and professional. If the ps can transfer in your ds's 9th grade credits, then firmly expect them to, and provide the needed documentation. It may be that they won't care about your documentation and will require your ds to take their end of course exams to prove he knows the material and will base transferring credits on those test results.

 

In my state, the ps won't accept any hs courses, so if you were here, you would be enrolling your dc in 9th grade where he would repeat the courses again. There is no other option. The ps must enroll the student, but does not have to accept any hs credits. Even a student who should be in 12th grade must start over as a ps 9th grade student.

 

If the ps doesn't transfer the 9th grade hs credits, then the ps will require your ds to repeat those classes in order to graduate and get a diploma. Your ds will be in 9th grade again next year. You won't need to send colleges a copy of his 9th grade transcript because the ps will prepare one for him for grades 9-12. There will only be one high school transcript.

[J-rap]

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Edited March 1, 2023 by J-rap

[Mary in GA]

If at all possible, try to talk some other homeschoolers in your area who have done what you are going to do. Where I live, if you plan to send your dc to public high school, you really need to do it in 9th because the schools do not recognize a homeschool transcript and will require testing. Everyone I know who has looked into the back-to-school route after 9th has ended up doing private school, independent learning academies, or stuck it out until the dc could do JE. But this all depends on what the schools do in your location. I would really get that information before meeting with anyone from the school if at all possible. Good Luck!

 

MAry

[laurad1125]

The school districts near me also charge for those tests. :glare: Somewhere in a neighborhood of $40 per class per semester.

[melmichigan]

My best advice would be to research your school district and building policy before your meeting. It really can vary greatly.