Tangerine Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 In contemplating a move to the DC area, does anyone have an opinion on where to think about living regarding ease of homeschooling? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 DC only requires a notice of intent and to keep a portfolio on hand up to one year after school year which apparently they never ask for:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvasMom Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Maryland really depends on the county. We lived in Frederick County and you have to meet with the reviewer twice a year like the state law says. She's very very easy though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjmakmom Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I am also in Maryland, and go through a reviewer in Harford County. If he were any more laid back, he would be in a coma. :lol: But, it varies by area. We also have the option to go through an umbrella, in which case we never have to deal witht he county at all. Overall, it's really a non-issue. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I think Virginia's homeschooling laws are easier to live with than Maryland's. But I'm biased--I used to live in Virginia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 I love this place. :001_wub: I already have an opinion on each location. Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 HSDLA is located in VA -- not far out of DC in Loudoun Co. I think the rules in VA are very easy and I suspect that's probably due to lobbying by HSDLA. I don't belong to HSDLA, but I don't mind riding along on the positives they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 We are in Frederick county and LOVE our reviewer. She does a fall interview (literally 10-15 min long, where I bring a few samples of work to show her what we have been doing). The spring interview is just a phone call, where she asks if the kids are still doing well and tells me to have a good summer. She is very available to us anytime we need her, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I'd go with D.C. A portfolio that no one ever looks at trumps standardized testing or mandatory reviews. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 DC is super-easy--but I'd HATE to live there for other reasons. I'd go with VA. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Let me plug a fabulous local resource: the Baltimore Homeschool Community Center. It's located in a huge office suite in a business park just outside the Baltimore Beltway, and run by a homeschooling family. BHCC offers everything from a preschool co-op to high school science courses, with tons of enrichment classes like fencing, yoga, Lego robotics, and chess club. Members can also just drop in to do projects in the art room, play with the toy trains, or chat. It's been an awesome addition to our homeschooling life. (I don't have any financial interest in BHCC - I just love the place, that's all.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted June 16, 2011 Author Share Posted June 16, 2011 Let me plug a fabulous local resource: the Baltimore Homeschool Community Center. It's located in a huge office suite in a business park just outside the Baltimore Beltway, and run by a homeschooling family. BHCC offers everything from a preschool co-op to high school science courses, with tons of enrichment classes like fencing, yoga, Lego robotics, and chess club. Members can also just drop in to do projects in the art room, play with the toy trains, or chat. It's been an awesome addition to our homeschooling life. (I don't have any financial interest in BHCC - I just love the place, that's all.) That's sounds amazing! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I think DC is the easiest but any area I would want to live there is too expensive and that is with us having a relatively high income. Maryland is more annoying than VA but there are good areas and good homeschooling opportunities. VA has tons of activities, lots of good areas to live, and much better services (I know you asked about homeschooling but let me tell you, you don't want to be serviced by Pepco-which serves much of Maryland and DC, they have power outages all the time and long ones too. We have had some here too but Dominion is much, much, much more responsive.) For crime, Prince Georges county in MD is the worse followed closely by DC. VA is overall safer but Montgomery County, and further out Maryland seem nice too. Really the homeschooling will be fine in any of the places, it isn't PA or NY or even arbitrary MA. The areas are used to homeschooling and here in Fairfax County, the school officials I have had to deal with have been very helpful and supportive- more so than in any other state I have lived in. So concentrate on finding the right neighborhood and dwelling and you will be alright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 For ease of homeschooling, I'd go with VA over MD or DC. Actually, that goes for pretty much anything else too. I have friends who live in VA, and they say that the religious exemption makes it really easy to homeschool there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I live in VA, and I find the mandatory yearly testing (or assessment) suffocating. After hsing for many years, it is now for religious reasons, but when we moved here four years ago, I found the filing process for that to be too intimidating (varies by county, apparently). But I'd be more unhappy to meet with someone yearly. I'd start asking questions about why they aren't more concerned with kids in ps than my kids.:glare: I really resent government intrusion, can you tell?:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 MD doesn't have mandatory testing; you choose whether to opt in or out of standardized testing. You have the choice of being reviewed by the county reviewer (the personality of whom, as indicated, is variable by county, but the *requirements* are state level and the law states explicitly that individual jurisdictions may not add any), or an umbrella group. The groups (being religious organizations by definition) each define their own requirements and review process. For county reviews, you are required to show evidence of "regular and thorough" instruction in the subjects generally taught at grade level. You provide this through a portfolio of work samples. If you review with the county, you file a notice of intent the first year, then let them know you're continuing before the beginning of each school year by letter or email. If you go with an umbrella, they do the annual notification for you. I will note that I have some bias here because I direct an inclusive umbrella group. However, many of my friends review through their counties here on the eastern shore, and they don't have any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 I live in Loudoun County, VA. Each year I file a notice with the school board, and provide a list of subjects I will teach. For $25, I order the CAT test to proctor at home, and send the results to the school (I'm not sure which CAT it is, but my kindergartener could have passed the 3rd grade test my older son took). They have to score above the 25th percentile or something like that. I do have the option of having my kids take standard tests at the school for free. The whole thing is very easy. The county sends me reminders as well. It takes about 2 hours each year to administer the test, and about 10 minutes to draft the letter of intent to homeschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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