Do your local private schools allow hsers to take classes?

[Catherine]

I went to a meeting last night held at a nearby private boys' school, held by the school to invite homeschoolers to consider enrolling their students in high school level classes there. They said they were motivated to do this by some formerly homeschooled students they had enrolled in recent years that had "really added to their community." Though it seemed unbelievable to me, they were going to ask community college rates for their classes-meaning about $300-500 per year (or maybe, per semester). This is a place where parents pay upwards of $22,000 a year for their child to attend.

 

I guess the cynic in me thinks that when parents of enrolled students hear about this, they will be strongly against it, because homeschoolers would seem to be getting such a cheap deal. They talked about lab science, writing and language courses, but were open to considering other classes as well, even English, history, and sports teams. My son will be returning from his exchange year this summer, and will still need to do "senior year" and apply to college, even though he will already be 18. It would be awkward for him to just take one class there, like English, because he would be a new student, but the headmaster was very supportive and strongly encouraged me to consider signing him up. I think he is done with "mom school" : ) and would like to do something different.

 

So is there a precedent for this out there? I suspect the school is hoping that some parents will love the school so much they will enroll their children, but I also see this as an attempt by the school to bring students they perceive as smart, well-adjusted, and mature into their environment. The sheer numbers of homeschooled students are growing, there is more recognition that homeschooling really works, and I think schools would like to tap into our success and share it. Then I wonder-what IS their environment like?? Kids who are flush with cash can get into a lot of trouble...

[fairytalemama]

The local private Christian K-8 school that one of my friend's daughters attends allows homeschoolers to enroll for extras like band, chorus, art, foreign language, etc. for a fee. This is a school that costs under $5K per year per child so your concerns about kids with lots of cash wouldn't apply to this school. Their acceptance of homeschoolers is one of the reasons my friend chose this school. She had wanted to hs, but couldn't because of her work commitments.

Edited February 16, 2011 by fairytalemama

[G5052]

They started out with the music program and a few of their extra-curriculars, and I understand that it has expanded.

 

Frankly I think that many private schools are struggling and are looking for income stream they can get. I know a number of private school teachers, and they all talk about the corners that are being cut and the meetings where they're being asked to take on more and more responsiblities.

 

The logistics is what would stop me.

[Catherine]

Yes-logistics is a biggie-eldest drives so he'd transport himself.

[bnbacademy]

We have been able to enroll dc in one class each at the nearby private school. I have 1 ds taking a Public Speaking class and the other ds taking PE for a nominal fee. We live close so it is convenient for us.

[elise1mds]

I know of at least one school - there may be a second - that allows homeschooled students to enroll by the class. It's a pro-rated program based on their current tuition, and there is a limit to how many classes you can take before they just say, "Hey... just enroll full-time already!"

[sheryl]

THis is interesting as I'm wondering the very thing the last few days. I don't know about our local set up, but I'm going to call to find out.

[sassenach]

Are you sure that they don't mean 300-500 a month? That tuition quote seems strangely low compared to their yearly tuition. Our local k-8 Christian private school offers classes for about that same price, but their yearly tuition is 5k.

[LibraryLover]

Nope. I tried to get one of my kids into a Latin class at the Catholic high school, and a local private high school. They both sort of giggled at me. ;) Here, all the private schools are all or nothing. The public schools aren't, but the high school does not have Latin. ;)

[Catherine]

They don't. The parents at the meeting double checked, and they mean to compete with CCs for our high schoolers.

[Wabi Sabi]

We have one local private school that has some special classes in which homeschoolers are allowed to enroll. They're not "regular" classes though, rather they're a special project-based class that just meets a few times (ie: an art class that meets three times total).

[Samiam]

Here, where I live now, I know HS'er can compete with on the private school sports teams. I am not sure about classes, as haven't paid attention to that.

 

Where we are going to be moving this summer, I know of at least one private school that accepts HS'ers. The private school is "university-model" school from 7th-12th, and classes can be taken ala-carte. I am seriously considering this for DS for 8th grade, for a few classes that I think may be better taught by a professional (ie Composition, Spanish, and perhaps Science in high school)

[Dmmetler]

My DD's former school allows church member children to participate in extracurriculars, but not academic classes, which makes sense. My DD has sung with the school choir on a few occasions when the director literally handed her the music for the song they were singing that day in the parking lot before Sunday services ;).

[Mrs Mungo]

A secular school near where we lived in Hawaii talked about this. However, when the final information was put out they had decided to charge something crazy, like $1200/class/semester and this school wasn't as expensive as the one you mention.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

FWIW - the one private school we have in our area dos not allow hsers. Neither does the local school district for that matter. Both options are all-or-none.

[Matryoshka]

Most of the private high schools around here that I know of (other than the Catholic ones) charge $40K+ - I can't imagine that I could afford a class there even if they offered them!

[Catherine]

I am thinking this is where it is all headed. They couldn't possibly do this for less than that.

[bnbacademy]

Believe it or not, we pay $6 per class here at a private Christian elementary school. I also cringe to think what the parents of full-time students would think. I actually enrolled them so we could play elementary soccer, which required one class enrollment per child. The public speaking class has been beneficial in every way and ds enjoys it.

 

I do think that the electives are offered due to the need for funds. I don't think I would have the classes available if the school were in better financial shape.

[Plucky]

Yes, but we have to apply and be accepted just like the other students and the prices for each class are in line with tuition, so it is very pricey.

[gingersmom]

There is not a chance that a private school (secular) would allow that in my area. With tuition for high school starting at $28,000 I can guarantee you it won't happen. Plus they have no shortage of students.

 

I could see a religious school (that may be struggling) willing to open their doors to homeschoolers.

[sheryl]

I went to a meeting last night held at a nearby private boys' school, held by the school to invite homeschoolers to consider enrolling their students in high school level classes there. They said they were motivated to do this by some formerly homeschooled students they had enrolled in recent years that had "really added to their community." Though it seemed unbelievable to me, they were going to ask community college rates for their classes-meaning about $300-500 per year (or maybe, per semester). This is a place where parents pay upwards of $22,000 a year for their child to attend.

 

I guess the cynic in me thinks that when parents of enrolled students hear about this, they will be strongly against it, because homeschoolers would seem to be getting such a cheap deal. They talked about lab science, writing and language courses, but were open to considering other classes as well, even English, history, and sports teams. My son will be returning from his exchange year this summer, and will still need to do "senior year" and apply to college, even though he will already be 18. It would be awkward for him to just take one class there, like English, because he would be a new student, but the headmaster was very supportive and strongly encouraged me to consider signing him up. I think he is done with "mom school" : ) and would like to do something different.

 

So is there a precedent for this out there? I suspect the school is hoping that some parents will love the school so much they will enroll their children, but I also see this as an attempt by the school to bring students they perceive as smart, well-adjusted, and mature into their environment. The sheer numbers of homeschooled students are growing, there is more recognition that homeschooling really works, and I think schools would like to tap into our success and share it. Then I wonder-what IS their environment like?? Kids who are flush with cash can get into a lot of trouble...

 

This is my 2nd post, I think. I just called several private schools. Most fall under the umbrella of the church. Our church is "considering" doing this, but the school is in a seperate location (and quite far for traveling on a regular basis) to our church which is close to us.

 

One place I'm waiting to hear back from....they "may" consider it, but I may have to pay for a 1/2 day even if dd doesn't take all of the classes for a 1/2 day which would be $5000 maybe. Nope, can't afford that. One class, yes.

 

I'm trying to get infor from 2 more places. I would like 2 classes that meet only 2-3 days a week, NOT 5, but that will be impossible, I suppose. We do have such a place here and she was enrolled several years for 1-2 classes, but I'm not interested in returning to that particular academy b/c if you have an enrolled child then you must close your homeschool with the state. :confused:

[Catherine]

This school is not strictly secular, it's an Episcopal school, but for all intents and purposes, I think it is. Their website embraces diversity of a religious nature. Chapel attendance is not required.

[Photo Ninja]

What your local private high school is offering sounds good as far as the price. If the school wants to take advantage of the home school market, it needs to charge a low enough price that hsing families can afford it. Many parents both work in order to afford private school for their dc. Hsers tend to be single income families, so the price needs to be low so they can take the classes.

 

The school is also wise enough to realize that if they charge more than the cc then hsing students will just go to the cc. Even if they charge the same, my dc would probably still go to the cc because they can get college credits. But for students who don't want cc classes or for those who are not ready for cc classes, taking some at the private school could be a good option.

[m0mmaBuck]

The local private Christian K-8 school that one of my friend's daughters attends allows homeschoolers to enroll for extras like band, chorus, art, foreign language, etc. for a fee. This is a school that costs under $5K per year per child so your concerns about kids with lots of cash wouldn't apply to this school. Their acceptance of homeschoolers is one of the reasons my friend chose this school. She had wanted to hs, but couldn't because of her work commitments.

 

The private school where my MIL teaches does this.

[Cinder]

Where we are going to be moving this summer, I know of at least one private school that accepts HS'ers. The private school is "university-model" school from 7th-12th, and classes can be taken ala-carte. I am seriously considering this for DS for 8th grade, for a few classes that I think may be better taught by a professional (ie Composition, Spanish, and perhaps Science in high school)

 

My ds's attend a University Model School. Ds1 takes 5 classes there and ds2 takes 2 classes--they need to take 6 classes to be considered full-time students. It's an option that has worked well for our family.

[workingmom]

Frankly, I'd just have him enroll in CC that way he gets guaranteed college credit rather than just high school credit. Similar to dual enrollment.

[Beth in SW WA]

Yes. DD 8th takes high school Spanish 2 at local private school. She scored the only 100% on yesterday's test. :001_smile:

[Tenaj]

The larger Christian schools in our area do this - we looked into participating in sports and my son would have been required to take two classes in order to participate in any extracurriculars and the charge was basically 1/2 of the regular year's tuition so we decided not to enroll. It sounds like the school you're looking at is charging a very reasonable fee compared to our area.

 

On the other hand, my sons now play basketball, soccer and baseball for a small Christian school that allows this participation with no fee and no class enrollment required. We always donate to the school as we are so thankful but they welcome the homeschoolers with no strings attached and we have always felt at home there. In fact, when the soccer team was voting for practice times we were amused to realize that there were more homeschoolers than actual students on the team. (They outvoted the "students" who had a day off of school on whether to have practice that day or not :) ).

[Night Elf]

I can't speak for all of them, but the one I did contact many years ago acted like I had 2 heads. They told me it was full enrollment or nothing. Our public schools are the same. Homeschoolers are totally on their own here in Georgia, or at least they are in my neck of the woods.