Nakia Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Here's what it says: Â Dear Home School, Â We hope you are having a good summer. We begin by saying that the last thing we want to do is offend anyone who home schools. While we are committed public school people, there are days when we would love to have fewer regulations, more local control and more freedom in serving students. Â This letter was mailed to all known home schools in the county. We suspect the data base is a little old and some of you may no longer be home schooling due to graduation of your children or the return of your children to public school. We apologize up front if you received this letter inadvertently or if you do not want to be contacted by the public schools. If either applies, please disregard this letter. Â The purpose of this letter is two-fold. First, we want to gather a little information about the reasons you chose to home school. That will help do a better job of serving the children of the community in the future. While public schools have a number of regulatory limitations, there may be some things we can do to serve children who might otherwise home school. If you are willing to provide us with this information, please fax (xxx-xxxx) or email (...@...) the form on the back of this letter. If you email, please put "home school" in the subject line. We need three pieces of information to process your feedback (1) the name of your home school (2) if you school is still in operation and (3) the reason(s) you chose to home school. Â Second, I want to let you know how successful our public schools are in Haywood County. Many home school families plan to return to public school during the middle school or high school years and some never plan to attend public school. If public school is in your future plans, our publics schools are some of the best in the state. While most of this is covered in the media, we want you to know that all of our schools rank well in the state. Last year several schools were the top 6% of similar schools in the state. Our SAT scores are 32 points above the national average and 56 points above the NC average. We strongly believe that students should be well rounded in order to be successful in college and/or work. That is why we have over 100 student clubs, organizations, and teams. Â We hope this letter finds you well. Any feedback that you choose to provide wold be appreciated. We want to wish you all the best as you move into the new school year. Â Sincerely, (Name) Â Â Â Â So...I have a few thoughts. Oh, here are our NC requirements. My first snarky comment is that he needed a proofreader. Also, I want to point out that if you being something with "I don't want to offend you, but..." then you are probably going to offend, lol. I wonder if the schools feel threatened. I know a lot of people who have pulled their kids out of the public schools over the last year or so. Another part of me thinks this is harmless. Or is it possible he has good intentions? Should I ignore it? Should I encourage people to ignore it? Should I respond? Â Thoughts??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Red line edit it and mail it back. "This is why we homeschool, you idiot." Â I probably wouldn't bother giving him the information he asked, and honestly would probably just file it in the recycle bin and not think about it anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perogi Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Well, I don't know what you should say but I think that letter is ridiculous!!! Â I'm pretty sure I would ignore it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'd respond. I think it would be good for them to have some well-articulated responses. (And it's not like they will "track you down"--they already found you. :tongue_smilie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Caveat: I'm not really a homeschooler, just a preschooler, but... Â I think it sounds as nice and harmless as can be. It's obviously just a bit of marketing and/or market research, which is nice initiative on the part of a educational bureaucrat who doesn't get a sales commission per student enrolled! I'd be inclined the help the poor schmoe out and then return to your regularly scheduled business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjmakmom Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 For me personally, I would circular file it. But I try to have as little contact with the Board of Ed as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I would respond. It seems as if they made a genuine effort and really tried to be non offensive, and if they want to know why I homeschool, I would be more than happy to explain it to them. Â I don't get the hostility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXBeth Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Caveat: I'm not really a homeschooler, just a preschooler, but... I think it sounds as nice and harmless as can be. It's obviously just a bit of marketing and/or market research, which is nice initiative on the part of a educational bureaucrat who doesn't get a sales commission per student enrolled! I'd be inclined the help the poor schmoe out and then return to your regularly scheduled business.  :iagree: and I don't understand why he put that part about not wanting to offend because I don't see anything at all offensive about the rest of the letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicMama Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I am always wary of anyone collecting gratuitous data on myself or my family. However, his intentions may be what he says they are. If that's the case, I also find it interesting. Is he really surveying homeschoolers to see how he can improve his county schools? If so, for what reason? I would assume those reasons are to better retain or regain students. More students=more money for the system. More students also result in larger student bodies, and most districts are in no position to build new additions to keep up with a large influx of students. Has a charter school or new private school opened recently that is draining the county schools even more? My guess that he is trying to plug a budget shortfall with acquiring more students or trying to retain current students. It is odd to go to the "dissatisfied customer" for business advice, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I would respond. It seems as if they made a genuine effort and really tried to be non offensive, and if they want to know why I homeschool, I would be more than happy to explain it to them. I don't get the hostility. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Shredder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I am always wary of anyone collecting gratuitous data on myself or my family. However, his intentions may be what he says they are. If that's the case, I also find it interesting. Is he really surveying homeschoolers to see how he can improve his county schools? If so, for what reason? I would assume those reasons are to better retain or regain students. More students=more money for the system. More students also result in larger student bodies, and most districts are in no position to build new additions to keep up with a large influx of students. Has a charter school or new private school opened recently that is draining the county schools even more? My guess that he is trying to plug a budget shortfall with acquiring more students or trying to retain current students. It is odd to go to the "dissatisfied customer" for business advice, though. Â I would copy this response, change a few words to make it directed to the Superintendent and send it to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Wow, thanks for the quick responses! Â I have to ask though. Who is being hostile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I have to ask though. Who is being hostile? Â Not you, Nakia. But Red line edit it and mail it back. "This is why we homeschool, you idiot." sounds pretty hostile to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skadi Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 You should ask the superintendent for a list of all the addresses of students attending public school in your county, so that you can send them a very nice letter explaining how homeschooling students make the public school's much touted SAT scores look paltry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Our county started a homeschool program to help a few years ago, so maybe that's what they're aiming for. Here they have a link on the district website now for homeschool resources (different publishers), for regulations/rules, forms, about attending for sports and other extra-curriculars, and a link for the virtual school. Our county is quite homeschool friendly so I probably would respond nicely and just think they were trying to improve and help more families. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeritasMama Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Not you, Nakia. But  sounds pretty hostile to me.  I wouldn't say hostile, more just annoyed. I am also tired of having needless govt paperwork wasting my time. What is life but time? If I am going to waste my life by wasting my time it had better be for something worthwhile, like posting on the WTM boards :tongue_smilie:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 It does sound fairly harmless (though I'd snark about needing a proofreader too), but I'd probably ignore it, simply on principle. I feel that home educators should be as separate from the school district as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I would respond. It seems as if they made a genuine effort and really tried to be non offensive, and if they want to know why I homeschool, I would be more than happy to explain it to them. Â :iagree: But I wouldn't include my name on my reply. That's just me. Â I think at times we are ambassadors, in what ever way we are a minority. A little graciousness costs me very little, but may need a lot to someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Hmm...I think I'd give the benefit of the doubt unless there is a history of bad blood between this district & HSers in the area. Â Â I'd give the reasons that I HS, and some book recommendations (TWTM). Freedom from "Teaching to the Test" would be prominent.;) (Shoot, that may give some administrators some ammo to fight some red tape. Who knows?) Â He started the letter saying that the PS wants fewer regulations, more local control and more freedom in serving students. If a bunch of HSers can back up that thought, it *may* be the start of some good changes in your PS system. (Not likely, given that the Red Tape is top-down and the school actually does NOT have much control over that.:glare: But, I guess you can confirm for them that it's not simply an issue of bad local staffing.) Â Â If schools across your state and across the nation asked HSers this question, and *voters* actually listened...we might salvage the PS system for the next generation. (Idealistic, but I can dream.) Â Â I would answer this b/c it might help the students whose family cannot HS, but would benefit from their PS taking some HSers thoughts into consideration. I'd end my letter with an encouraging word. I'd rather teach for FREE than have to fight the PS system...oh, wait...I do - I HS.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyK Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I would be uncomfortable with it, and just ignore it. For reason's that pp stated. I'm just cautious with giving out info about my family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 You should ask the superintendent for a list of all the addresses of students attending public school in your county, so that you can send them a very nice letter explaining how homeschooling students make the public school's much touted SAT scores look paltry. Â :lol: Spewing soda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oops, duplicate account :/ Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) We had something similar happen in our area and OCEANetwork stepped in. Here's a portion on the letter they sent to them and us that may be helpful to you-especically the encoragenent to NOT give out more than is lgally required and why.    ... Northwest Regional ESD does not have legal authority to require additional notifications. In particular, you do not have the legal authority to require those notifications after your staff deliberately discards the original notifications.  On behalf of homeschoolers spread across your service area, OCEANetwork is respectfully asking Northwest Regional ESD to:  1. Stop requiring/pressuring homeschoolers to provide an email address in order to do business with you. 2. Quit threatening homeschoolers when they choose to follow what is specified in the law rather than following your own internally-developed procedures.  I would be pleased to discuss this in more detail if you wish.  Sincerely,  Rodger Williams OCEANetwork Legislative Coordinator http://www.oceanetwork.org   ---------- end open letter ----------  NOTE TO HOMESCHOOLERS  This situation is a classic example of why OCEANetwork recommends that homeschoolers supply to public school authorities (the ESD) only the information required by law.  To begin with, the ESD asked for the optional email addresses in order to have convenient access to your data. Many homeschoolers provided their email address.  As a result, the ESD was emboldened to require the email address from all homeschoolers.  And finally (at least for now), the ESD threatened to withdraw recognition of legal homeschooling status if homeschoolers did not follow the ESD's own internally-developed procedures.  Forewarned is forearmed.  Rodger Williams OCEANetwork Legislative Coordinator Edited July 19, 2012 by JENinOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Here's what it says:Â Dear Home School, Â We hope you are having a good summer. We begin by saying that the last thing we want to do is offend anyone who home schools. While we are committed public school people, there are days when we would love to have fewer regulations, more local control and more freedom in serving students. Â This letter was mailed to all known home schools in the county. We suspect the data base is a little old and some of you may no longer be home schooling due to graduation of your children or the return of your children to public school. We apologize up front if you received this letter inadvertently or if you do not want to be contacted by the public schools. If either applies, please disregard this letter. Â The purpose of this letter is two-fold. First, we want to gather a little information about the reasons you chose to home school. That will help do a better job of serving the children of the community in the future. While public schools have a number of regulatory limitations, there may be some things we can do to serve children who might otherwise home school. If you are willing to provide us with this information, please fax (xxx-xxxx) or email (...@...) the form on the back of this letter. If you email, please put "home school" in the subject line. We need three pieces of information to process your feedback (1) the name of your home school (2) if you school is still in operation and (3) the reason(s) you chose to home school. Â Second, I want to let you know how successful our public schools are in Haywood County. Many home school families plan to return to public school during the middle school or high school years and some never plan to attend public school. If public school is in your future plans, our publics schools are some of the best in the state. While most of this is covered in the media, we want you to know that all of our schools rank well in the state. Last year several schools were the top 6% of similar schools in the state. Our SAT scores are 32 points above the national average and 56 points above the NC average. We strongly believe that students should be well rounded in order to be successful in college and/or work. That is why we have over 100 student clubs, organizations, and teams. Â We hope this letter finds you well. Any feedback that you choose to provide wold be appreciated. We want to wish you all the best as you move into the new school year. Â Sincerely, (Name) Â Â Â Â So...I have a few thoughts. Oh, here are our NC requirements. My first snarky comment is that he needed a proofreader. Also, I want to point out that if you being something with "I don't want to offend you, but..." then you are probably going to offend, lol. I wonder if the schools feel threatened. I know a lot of people who have pulled their kids out of the public schools over the last year or so. Another part of me thinks this is harmless. Or is it possible he has good intentions? Should I ignore it? Should I encourage people to ignore it? Should I respond? Â Thoughts??? Oh, ignore it. Please. Don't encourage those people. Â Of course, it might not hurt to make corrections in red ink and mail it back anonymously... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 The tone of the letter is polite and they mention several times they do not intend to offend - perhaps not the best beginning but they may have wanted to clarify that up front. I don't know enough about the homeschooling atmosphere in your state or county to really judge the true intent of the author. Is there a homeschool organization who could look this over and advise you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I found the letter to be humble (in that at no point did he put down homeschooling, just offered information about the ps for those that would opt to go that route), informative and yes seeking information but it is not like they asked for birthdates, grades and social security numbers, just why you homeschool. They even say if you don't want to respond toss the letter. No skin off his nose kwim. I don't get the hostility about it. If you do not want to have contact with the school board toss it out and move on. No need to be snarky in reply to it. If you choose to reply do so following the spirit of the letter which I feel was out of honest curiousity. Perhaps they are looking for ways to improve their schools so that more parents want to put their kids in. Maybe they are looking for ways to create programming for homeschoolers. Maybe the guy is just nosy. Who knows but I didn't read any negative intentions into the letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 We had something similar happen in our area and OCEANetwork stepped in. Here's a portion on the letter they sent to them and us that may be helpful to you, specically the encoragenent to not give out more than is lgally required and why.   On behalf of homeschoolers spread across your service area, OCEANetwork is respectfully asking Northwest Regional ESD to:  1. Stop requiring/pressuring homeschoolers to provide an email address in order to do business with you. 2. Quit threatening homeschoolers when they choose to follow what is specified in the law rather than following your own internally-developed procedures.  I would be pleased to discuss this in more detail if you wish.  Sincerely,  Rodger Williams OCEANetwork Legislative Coordinator http://www.oceanetwork.org      I don't see any requiring, pressuring or threatening in the letter quoted in the OP.  I understand if one doesn't want to offer information to the PS, but I don't think the quote above applies to this situation. I think it would be a bad move to reply in such a defensive manner (or the snark in earlier posts). There is no reason to encourage hostility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I would respond. It seems as if they made a genuine effort and really tried to be non offensive, and if they want to know why I homeschool, I would be more than happy to explain it to them. I don't get the hostility.  Perhaps not necessarily hostility but cautiousness. There are constantly efforts under way to make home education illegal. This letter does not sound at all as if it has outlawing homeschooling as its goal, however, caution seems always advised when dealing with representatives of the school district. You may not have to worry too much since - I think - neither you nor your children are American citizens. Forgive me if I am wrong. They may not single out your family since you could leave the country at any point in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Here in PA we have public cyber-charter schools, available at no charge to the student. When a student enrolls in one instead of the local public school, his district has to pay on the order of $8K a year to the cyber (which is usually run by a private company). At first, the districts tried to push back against the cybers, but when that didn't work, they realized that the cybers had something to offer that they didn't, so they have been scrambling to figure out why families are choosing them, and what the districts can do to woo those dollars back. If a family with four kids puts them in cyber, that's $32K a year the district is paying out, without realizing an equivalent savings to the district, as they are still running the school bus and classrooms those kids would have used. You can buy a whole lot for $32K if you don't need a classroom or a school bus. Thus, in PA, the reaching out to homeschoolers is beginning. Â On the whole, I think it's a good thing. The free market at work. The district realizing that they have to please their customers, rather than a take-it-or-leave-it, only-game-in-town attitude. Personally, I'm not at the stage in my homeschooling where it's worth taking the risk that their new ventures will be worthwhile. However, in schooling as in birthing, I think the more choices that are out there the better it is for everyone, as you're more likely to find the right fit for a given child's set of gifts and challenges. Â Ya gotta love your district's effort. Even if it's a pretty clumsy attempt, it does look like they're trying. (Oh, and it would have been nice if the letter had been an invitation to actually join their "100 student clubs, organizations, and teams".) Baby steps, I guess. Â ETA: But no, I probably wouldn't respond. Edited July 19, 2012 by askPauline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Hmm...I think I'd give the benefit of the doubt unless there is a history of bad blood between this district & HSers in the area.  I'd give the reasons that I HS, and some book recommendations (TWTM). Freedom from "Teaching to the Test" would be prominent.;) (Shoot, that may give some administrators some ammo to fight some red tape. Who knows?)  He started the letter saying that the PS wants fewer regulations, more local control and more freedom in serving students. If a bunch of HSers can back up that thought, it *may* be the start of some good changes in your PS system. (Not likely, given that the Red Tape is top-down and the school actually does NOT have much control over that.:glare: But, I guess you can confirm for them that it's not simply an issue of bad local staffing.)   If schools across your state and across the nation asked HSers this question, and *voters* actually listened...we might salvage the PS system for the next generation. (Idealistic, but I can dream.)   I would answer this b/c it might help the students whose family cannot HS, but would benefit from their PS taking some HSers thoughts into consideration. I'd end my letter with an encouraging word. I'd rather teach for FREE than have to fight the PS system...oh, wait...I do - I HS.:tongue_smilie: Ok, see, here's the thing:  NC hsers have to file a one-time notice of intent to homeschool. Apparently, the Division of Non Public Education (DNPE) has given that information to another state division. Is this even legal? Also, DNPE has a long, long track record of overstepping its legal authority, which it can only do so consistently because homeschoolers over-comply with the law (and, in fact, the state homeschool association encourages this). So although this is a different department, on principle I wouldn't have anything to do with it.  I don't believe that cheerfully participating in this survey will benefit anyone. I'd like to, and maybe I'm too cynical, but I just don't think it will. I guess I've seen too much over the last 25 years to believe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oops, duplicate account :/ Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) I don't see any requiring, pressuring or threatening in the letter quoted in the OP. I understand if one doesn't want to offer information to the PS, but I don't think the quote above applies to this situation. I think it would be a bad move to reply in such a defensive manner (or the snark in earlier posts). There is no reason to encourage hostility.  I meant similar in that they are asking for additinal info. above what is legally required and the slippery slope that may be and that is a concern to some, but, yes, these situations are also different. So the other part of the letter that you did nog quote was the more pertinent part, imo:  NOTE TO HOMESCHOOLERS  This situation is a classic example of why OCEANetwork recommends that homeschoolers supply to public school authorities (the ESD) only the information required by law.  To begin with, the ESD asked for the optional email addresses in order to have convenient access to your data. Many homeschoolers provided their email address.  As a result, the ESD was emboldened to require the email address from all homeschoolers.  And finally (at least for now), the ESD threatened to withdraw recognition of legal homeschooling status if homeschoolers did not follow the ESD's own internally-developed procedures.  Forewarned is forearmed.  Rodger Williams Edited July 19, 2012 by JENinOR H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I don't think I'm being hostile when I say to throw the letter away. If the county truly wanted to understand homeschooling, they should Google for the information. There is so much information right at their fingertips. They wouldn't have needed to spend money on all that paper, ink, and stamps. Â You could send them the title and ISBN of The Well Trained Mind and explain that when the schools follow that education plan, you will consider enrolling your children. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Ignore it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Here's what it says:Â Dear Home School, We need three pieces of information to process your feedback (1) the name of your home school (2) if you school is still in operation and (3) the reason(s) you chose to home school. Â Â Thoughts??? Â The letter seems straightforward, although I wonder why they need the name of the homeschool. It seems to me there could be more honest information about reasons for homeschooling if the name wasn't required. I can understand why they would want to know if you are still hsing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 The letter seems straightforward, although I wonder why they need the name of the homeschool. It seems to me there could be more honest information about reasons for homeschooling if the name wasn't required. I can understand why they would want to know if you are still hsing. Â Ahhh, that's a good question, especially considered the envelope is specifically addressed to "Adonai Academy" which is the name of our homeschool. :D Â I don't know why I feel the need, but I want to clarify that I am not offended, not pissed off, and certainly not feeling hostile. I'm just curious. Yes, I had a few snarky thoughts, but that doesn't mean I'd actually include those in any response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I would respond. It seems as if they made a genuine effort and really tried to be non offensive, and if they want to know why I homeschool, I would be more than happy to explain it to them. I don't get the hostility. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 It kinda bothers me that they want the name of your homeschool and an emailed or faxed response. Why not just send out anonymous surveys to send back via mail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 That is just so, I don't know, bizarre. Maybe it's because public education is such a huge mess in California, but I think he should have better things to do with his time than send out a lame survey to homeschoolers to find out why they homeschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caraway Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I would respond that I would be happy to meet with him, in person, to discuss my passion for homeschooling. If he is sincerely interested he can put his time where his mouth is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I don't see anything wrong with either responding politely or disregarding entirely. If, as the letter states, you do not wish to be contacted again by the school district, disregard the letter. I didn't see it as threatening at all. I didn't even see it as offensive. It's just a bit of a sales pitch. Thanks but no thanks, circular file, and done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I would respond. It seems as if they made a genuine effort and really tried to be non offensive, and if they want to know why I homeschool, I would be more than happy to explain it to them. I don't get the hostility.  :iagree: In our case, my kid hit the ceiling of the GT screener the school gave him in kindergarten. And then couldn't fit him into the mediocre full time GT program because kid's are chosen via lottery and not by need. The system got enough more ridiculous this year because now there is sibling preference for the GT program.  Anyway - I'm more than happy to remind the public school system why my kid isn't there and isn't likely to be for the foreseeable future. If we were to return to school before high school, we'd probably chose private school or drive to another district with a real GT program.  I think it's fine to disregard to if you don't feel you have specific info to share, or you just don't want to jump through that hoop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) I would respond. It seems as if they made a genuine effort and really tried to be non offensive, and if they want to know why I homeschool, I would be more than happy to explain it to them. I don't get the hostility.  I disagree. This letter is no different from a phishing scam. If they want to know why people homeschool, they should get a computer and google it. I would send the letter to HSLDA and let them address it. I get hostile because the public schools treat us with hostility. The minute they have your info, they WILL use it against you. I don't trust them and I never will. Edited July 19, 2012 by coffeefreak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Â The purpose of this letter is two-fold. First, we want to gather a little information about the reasons you chose to home school. That will help do a better job of serving the children of the community in the future. While public schools have a number of regulatory limitations, there may be some things we can do to serve children who might otherwise home school. If you are willing to provide us with this information, please fax (xxx-xxxx) or email (...@...) the form on the back of this letter. If you email, please put "home school" in the subject line. We need three pieces of information to process your feedback (1) the name of your home school (2) if you school is still in operation and (3) the reason(s) you chose to home school.I'd give the superintendent a pass, based on the bolded text. The letter is awkward to be sure, but I would respond in earnest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I don't think I'm being hostile when I say to throw the letter away. If the county truly wanted to understand homeschooling, they should Google for the information. There is so much information right at their fingertips. They wouldn't have needed to spend money on all that paper, ink, and stamps. You could send them the title and ISBN of The Well Trained Mind and explain that when the schools follow that education plan, you will consider enrolling your children. :D :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I disagree. This letter is no different from a phishing scam. If they want to know why people homeschool, they should get a computer and google it. I would send the letter to HSLDA and let them address it. I get hostile because the public schools treat us with hostility. The minute they have your info, they WILL use it against you. I don't trust them and I never will.They will only get responses from people whose addresses they already have, no? Because these are the only people to receive the letter. We're registered with our ESD. They send a sheet of homeschooling resources, including contact info for the state orgs, with their acknowledgement letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readinmom Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 This is similar to things that are happening around here. School districts are losing ada money (average daily attendance). Our school districts are offering their own brand of cyber schooling now. Not k12, but a program that offers online instruction in the convenience of own home. This way the school gets the ada money, and parents still get the flexibility of "homeschooling". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 They will only get responses from people whose addresses they already have, no? Because these are the only people to receive the letter. We're registered with our ESD. They send a sheet of homeschooling resources, including contact info for the state orgs, with their acknowledgement letter.  Right, but they said themselves that they think they have an old list. I guess I should also point out that I come from a state with little to no regulation. However, change is on the horizon with public schools panting after homeschoolers. The district I currently live in is becoming openly hostile, so I view anything like this with huge suspicion. Maybe that's the deal. Some of you wouldn't think anything of it because the district you live in is respectful of your decision, and are not hostile towards you. For those of us that live in districts that are hostile, we say, "RUN AWAY!!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 What bugs me about these kinds of letters are: Â 1. they are a waste of my time. (And yes, this is a huge reason why most likely I would just toss it. Â 2. it is a waste of their time. I don't see any reason why they should be wasting precious educational funding on advertising to people who already know the school district exists, knows what they offer (or could easily google the district's website to find out), and have already decided to educate their children differently. Â 3. It seems to be one more example of: these poor homeschoolers need someone to educate them as to why they need professionals to help them out or to do the work for them. Do they send out letters to everyone who has decided to send their children to private school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Red line edit it and mail it back. "This is why we homeschool, you idiot."  I would do this, minus the you idiot part ;) but I would do it anonymously  I disagree. This letter is no different from a phishing scam. If they want to know why people homeschool, they should get a computer and google it. I would send the letter to HSLDA and let them address it. I get hostile because the public schools treat us with hostility. The minute they have your info, they WILL use it against you. I don't trust them and I never will.  Right, but they said themselves that they think they have an old list. I guess I should also point out that I come from a state with little to no regulation. However, change is on the horizon with public schools panting after homeschoolers. The district I currently live in is becoming openly hostile, so I view anything like this with huge suspicion. Maybe that's the deal. Some of you wouldn't think anything of it because the district you live in is respectful of your decision, and are not hostile towards you. For those of us that live in districts that are hostile, we say, "RUN AWAY!!!!"   I couldn't have said this better myself!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I haven't read the other replies, but I say trash it. Comply with NC law, but you have no obligation to waste your time doing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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