Homeschooling the right way?

[misscometa]

Some states in the USA, require that one is part of a Church School, in order to Homeschool lawfully. Do any of you, if you are in a situation like this, still

are registered with a Satellite School e.g: Seton or Kolbe? or do you only used the material you think best fits your son/daughter and that's enough?

 

I am asking because I was approached by someone in my state, who told me: why are you wasting your money with a Satellite School? :001_huh: when you can homeschool with just being register with the Church School? I agree, but there are many what if's in my mind?

 

I am concerned that Church School registration, is not enough when it comes to time to move to another state, or for graduation purposes.

 

Please throw in your opinions,

 

Thanks

[Jean in Newcastle]

Whether you register with a church school or not, you as the parent are responsible for making sure that your child gets a good education. In the elementary and middle school years, you don't have to keep records of that. In high school, you will need some kind of transcript, whether it is generated by you or someone else. At that level, you or your high school child will need to check into what entrance requirements colleges have. In fact, it is best to do that in middle school because if there are prerequisites, you need to plan for them.

[Photo Ninja]

Meet the regulations in your current state. When you move, you need to meet the regulations in that state, which could be more stringent or require no reporting at all. Graduation requirements will be based on any applicable laws in the state where you reside when that time comes. Just keep your records or get them from the agency/school that is keeping them for you. That way you have what you need for graduation when the time comes.

[Ellie]

I think there's only one state that has a church school option, but there are some others that have similar options.

 

It is important to know the law in your state. For example, in California students must be enrolled in a private school which has filed an affidavit in California. Distance-learning schools like Kolbe are not legal options; that is, if you enrolled your dc in Kolbe because you like what it has to offer, you'd still have to file a California private school affidavit yourself or enroll with a private school satellite program (PSP).

 

It's possible that in your state you still need to find a church school, in addition to doing Kolbe or whatever, in order to be in compliance with your state's laws.

 

I'm not sure what you mean when you wonder about a church school being "enough" if you move to another state or for graduation purposes. :confused:

[misscometa]

I think there's only one state that has a church school option, but there are some others that have similar options.

 

It is important to know the law in your state. For example, in California students must be enrolled in a private school which has filed an affidavit in California. Distance-learning schools like Kolbe are not legal options; that is, if you enrolled your dc in Kolbe because you like what it has to offer, you'd still have to file a California private school affidavit yourself or enroll with a private school satellite program (PSP).

 

It's possible that in your state you still need to find a church school, in addition to doing Kolbe or whatever, in order to be in compliance with your state's laws.

 

I'm not sure what you mean when you wonder about a church school being "enough" if you move to another state or for graduation purposes. :confused:

 

Hi, what I mean by the Church School not being enough, I mean that is it really all I need to homeschool, plus my curriculum. Or, if being part of a school like for example Kolbe or MODG is better in addition to being register with the Church school.:confused:

[Mona100]

I am from Alabama and the law here is that you have to use a church "umbrella" school. That is all you need, you don't have to sign up for another outside school. You use whatever curriculum you want. Depending on the church school you are enrolled under, they can tell you what curriculum to use. Personally, I want it to be as hands off as possible. My church school doesn't require a specific curriculum.

[misscometa]

I am from Alabama and the law here is that you have to use a church "umbrella" school. That is all you need, you don't have to sign up for another outside school. You use whatever curriculum you want. Depending on the church school you are enrolled under, they can tell you what curriculum to use. Personally, I want it to be as hands off as possible. My church school doesn't require a specific curriculum.

 

I'm also in Alabama, have been homeschooling for 2 years, but I have never really understood the whole Church School thing. I have my son registered of course, so I can Homeschool, but then I went ahead and register with another school outside of here, it's what the call a satellite school. One of the reasons I did it, is because I wanted to make sure I was giving my child the right education, and second, because I'm paranoid of the what if I need to move or something, and another state won't take the Church School transcripts the same way they would take a School that is accredited transcripts :confused:

[Dmmetler]

In TN, CRS are required to be accredited in the same way any other private school is. So it's unlikely you'd run into any more problems transferring from a CRS homeschool program than you would a church-run private school.

 

I do, however, know people who do the satellite programs for high school for the same reason you do, while maintaining their registration with a CRS for the state-they want to make SURE their child has a high school diploma which counts.

[Guest Katia]

I'm also in Alabama, have been homeschooling for 2 years, but I have never really understood the whole Church School thing. I have my son registered of course, so I can Homeschool, but then I went ahead and register with another school outside of here, it's what the call a satellite school. One of the reasons I did it, is because I wanted to make sure I was giving my child the right education, and second, because I'm paranoid of the what if I need to move or something, and another state won't take the Church School transcripts the same way they would take a School that is accredited transcripts :confused:

 

First of all, there is no 'right' way to homeschool. Everyone does it differently. As long as you are complying with your state laws, you are fine in how you choose to actually implement it.

 

As far as moving to another state goes, it really depends on the age of the child/ren you are talking and whether or not you are talking about sending them to a public school when you move.

 

See, if your kids are elementary age, it simply doesn't matter no matter where you move. There are no transcripts involved to transfer. If the dc go to public school, they will be assessed to see where they are at and then placed in the grade level that matches their age. And, if you are just changing states and continue to homeschool, it is even less of an issue because the 'state' isn't involved with anything regarding transferring homeschoolers; they only want to you comply with their state laws.

 

Now, if you are talking about a high school age, then you need to keep transcripts, but the state still isn't involved unless you are planning to enroll them into public school. And every school district in every state has different policies when it comes to enrolling a high school homeschooled student, so you would just have to roll with where you land.

 

Honestly, as long as you are following each states' laws, you are fine. There is no state approval of transfers in any state that I am aware of. You just start where you are and comply with the laws.

 

Hope this helps. I've moved several times and have never had an issue at all. There is really nothing to worry about.

[misscometa]

First of all, there is no 'right' way to homeschool. Everyone does it differently. As long as you are complying with your state laws, you are fine in how you choose to actually implement it.

 

As far as moving to another state goes, it really depends on the age of the child/ren you are talking and whether or not you are talking about sending them to a public school when you move.

 

See, if your kids are elementary age, it simply doesn't matter no matter where you move. There are no transcripts involved to transfer. If the dc go to public school, they will be assessed to see where they are at and then placed in the grade level that matches their age. And, if you are just changing states and continue to homeschool, it is even less of an issue because the 'state' isn't involved with anything regarding transferring homeschoolers; they only want to you comply with their state laws.

 

Now, if you are talking about a high school age, then you need to keep transcripts, but the state still isn't involved unless you are planning to enroll them into public school. And every school district in every state has different policies when it comes to enrolling a high school homeschooled student, so you would just have to roll with where you land.

 

Honestly, as long as you are following each states' laws, you are fine. There is no state approval of transfers in any state that I am aware of. You just start where you are and comply with the laws.

 

Hope this helps. I've moved several times and have never had an issue at all. There is really nothing to worry about.

 

Thank you Katia, you've explained a lot, I need to be more educated about all of this. So, many thanks for taking the time to explain this to me:001_smile:

[misscometa]

In TN, CRS are required to be accredited in the same way any other private school is. So it's unlikely you'd run into any more problems transferring from a CRS homeschool program than you would a church-run private school.

 

I do, however, know people who do the satellite programs for high school for the same reason you do, while maintaining their registration with a CRS for the state-they want to make SURE their child has a high school diploma which counts.

 

That's exactly what I have heard, parents who want to make sure the HS diploma counts, so they enroll their children in a satellite school, besides being enrolled in CRS. This is all so confusing, I'm surprise I home school, really! :001_unsure:

[Ellie]

I'm also in Alabama, have been homeschooling for 2 years, but I have never really understood the whole Church School thing. I have my son registered of course, so I can Homeschool, but then I went ahead and register with another school outside of here, it's what the call a satellite school. One of the reasons I did it, is because I wanted to make sure I was giving my child the right education, and second, because I'm paranoid of the what if I need to move or something, and another state won't take the Church School transcripts the same way they would take a School that is accredited transcripts :confused:

If you begin homeschooling in another state, no one will ask for transcripts from the previous state. Really.

 

And if you put your dc in school in another state, there's no guarantee that the school will accept a transcript (and "transcript" implies high school) from an accredited school more easily than they will from your Alabama church school.

 

Many people enroll their dc in distance-learning schools as you did, because they also wanted to extra help or whatnot that they think they might get there. It is important to understand, though, that there's nothing intrinsically "better" in doing so, especially when it comes to legal issues.

[Sasharowan]

And if you put your dc in school in another state, there's no guarantee that the school will accept a transcript (and "transcript" implies high school) from an accredited school more easily than they will from your Alabama church school.

 

Even moving within the same state doesn't guarantee that the public school will accept your transcript, even from an accredited school. In 10th grade I moved from Key West, FL to Jacksonville, FL and was required to retake Govt/Economics because the KW school had it under a different name.

[misscometa]

If you begin homeschooling in another state, no one will ask for transcripts from the previous state. Really.

 

And if you put your dc in school in another state, there's no guarantee that the school will accept a transcript (and "transcript" implies high school) from an accredited school more easily than they will from your Alabama church school.

 

Many people enroll their dc in distance-learning schools as you did, because they also wanted to extra help or whatnot that they think they might get there. It is important to understand, though, that there's nothing intrinsically "better" in doing so, especially when it comes to legal issues.

 

Are you talking transcripts for High School only when you say implies to high school? sorry got lost in there:confused:

[Alyce]

I've never moved so can't help with that side as well except to say what I've heard which may or may not be right. It's better to hear it from someone whose done it. I can speak to the highschool issue. When my children went to highschool I did not enroll them in any on-line,umbrella etc school. I did it all myself. Picking curriculum, keeping grades and making and giving my own diploma. We saw no need for the extra benefits and the fact that the other programs are "accredited" had no play in the matter for us. All the schools we applied to had no problem with my diploma and didn't care one bit that it wasn't "accredited". I've heard a lot of homeschoolers who have had the same experience. Most people who sign up with those types of schools do so because they want someone else to be responsible for grades and they will issue a transcript. Some use them because they feel the school can teach the subject better. All of us have choices to make, that's the beauty of homeschooling but if you are doing all this just to be "accredited" I think you are wasting your money. You can just as easily do it yourself and rarely if ever be questioned.