Tell me about schooling in CO, WA, NY and AK

[Mom in High Heels]

It's very possible that we will be moving sometime next year when James Bond gets back from deployment. They are dissolving his unit and so everyone will be moving to new posts. On his wishlist, JB has put:

Ft. Carson, CO

Ft. Lewis, WA

Ft. Drum, NY (for reasons as yet unknown to me!)

Alaska (I can't remember the name of the post)

 

He may not get any of them, as needs of the army come first of course, but since the unit is being dissolved and people are moving well before they should be, they are trying to give them one of the posts they request. We'll see how that goes.

 

Anyway, if you hs in any of these states, can you tell me what it's like? Is it difficult? Are there a lot of regs and requirements?

 

I know I could look all this up, but the Hive has more personal answers and experience.

[akmommy]

There are no requirements for independent homeschoolers in Alaska.

 

There are also publically funded homeschool programs with varying degrees of benefits, and requirements from relaxed to rigid for those who are interested.

[hellen]

Wouldn't it be better to pick based on other criteria? I had a friend at Ft. Drum and it felt like the entire time she was there her Facebook posts were about the enormous amounts of snow.

 

I've lived in Colorado but not at Ft. Carson. Colorado Springs is a conservative town. The base is on the south side of town. The north side of town near the Air Force Academy is prettier but the south side is still fine. The north side is closed to a pass so it is or was much greener. While you were living there you would be able to explore the mountains, see Garden of the Gods, explore Cheyenne Zoo. Denver has the mint and a few museums. Denver isn't too far away but traveling through Colorado Springs is slow. Colorado has great all season weather so it is always a good time to be outside.

 

I've only visited Ft. Lewis so I don't know much. I have a friend there who loves it but she was in NC prior to this. Does anybody love Ft. Bragg? The trees are pretty. The weather is rather cool in the summer and it can be a bit gloomy but I'm used to the Colorado sunshine. When the sun shines and one can see Mt. Rainier the area is spectacular but it doesn't happen very often. Traffic in Seattle is very heavy. There is a lot of fun things to see there and the food is amazing.

 

I'm a military wife as well and I always look at an upcoming move as an opportunity to experience the local culture and traditions. Here in Kentucky we've attended a maple syrup festival, traveled to Lake Michigan, and Disney World, seen the Kentucky Derby, and the fossil beds of the Ohio River among other things. When picking a new spot I consider the library system and our opportunity to experience new things.

 

Good luck with the decision. Those sound like popular choices and I hope you get one of them. I think any of them would be awesome.

[mschickie]

NY looks like a pain on paper but in actuality it really is not too bad. Yes there is alot of "paperwork" but it normally does not take to long to fill out. There are some districts that are real pains but most of them are fairly laid back and work well with hs'ers.

 

 

Letter of Intent: you need to submit a letter of intent to the district telling them you plan to hs. They are then supposed to send you back a packet (within 10 days...I sent mine July 2, still waiting) of forms you can use (you can use your own).

 

IHIP: By Aug 15 or 4 weeks from you getting the packet you need to turn in an IHIP which really is just a list of what curriculum you plan to use and the dates you plan to turn in your quarterly reports.

 

Quarterly Report: Everyone usually gets all stressed out about doing the quarerterly reports, it is just a breif overview of what you did during the quarter and your hours, they take about 5-10 minutes to do.

 

Hours: you need to complete: 900 for grades 1-6 , 990 for grades 7-12 (you can include any "educational" experience ( music lessons, Church choir, field trips, reading, living skills...) in these, so it is very easy to meet the hours)

 

Annual Assesment: grades 1-3 written narrative, 4-8, standardized test every other year and a narrative for the other years, 9-12 standardized test yearly

 

Subjects:

grades 1-6: Englis Language, US History (at least 1x), NYS History( 1x), Science, Arithmetic, PE, Visual Arts, Music, Spelling, Reading, Writing, Geography, Health, US & NYS Constition (1x btw 1-8th)

 

grades 7-8: English, History/Geography, Science, Math, PE, Health, Art, Music, Pratical Arts, Library Skills

 

grades 9-12: 4 units English, 4 Units Social Studies (1 in US History. 1/2 Gov's, 1/2 Economics, 2 electives), 2 Units Mathematics, 2 Units PE, 1/2 Unit Health, 1 Unit Art/Music, 3 Units electives. A unit is equivalent to 108 total hours of instruction (that is so easy to do for high school)

[Thia]

As someone already summed up the ed req. for NY, I'll add that Ft. Drum is kind of...out there. Don't think you'll be zipping off to a museum for the day or anything. If you enjoy getting out and going places, I'd look at some other options. While the snow does get tiresome towards the end, for the most part, people know how to deal with it. Roads get cleaned and life goes on. I wouldn't be in that area w/o 4 wheel drive though.

[Mommyfaithe]

NY looks like a pain on paper but in actuality it really is not too bad. Yes there is alot of "paperwork" but it normally does not take to long to fill out. There are some districts that are real pains but most of them are fairly laid back and work well with hs'ers.

 

 

Letter of Intent: you need to submit a letter of intent to the district telling them you plan to hs. They are then supposed to send you back a packet (within 10 days...I sent mine July 2, still waiting) of forms you can use (you can use your own).

 

IHIP: By Aug 15 or 4 weeks from you getting the packet you need to turn in an IHIP which really is just a list of what curriculum you plan to use and the dates you plan to turn in your quarterly reports.

 

Quarterly Report: Everyone usually gets all stressed out about doing the quarerterly reports, it is just a breif overview of what you did during the quarter and your hours, they take about 5-10 minutes to do.

 

Hours: you need to complete: 900 for grades 1-6 , 990 for grades 7-12 (you can include any "educational" experience ( music lessons, Church choir, field trips, reading, living skills...) in these, so it is very easy to meet the hours)

 

Annual Assesment: grades 1-3 written narrative, 4-8, standardized test every other year and a narrative for the other years, 9-12 standardized test yearly

 

Subjects:

grades 1-6: Englis Language, US History (at least 1x), NYS History( 1x), Science, Arithmetic, PE, Visual Arts, Music, Spelling, Reading, Writing, Geography, Health, US & NYS Constition (1x btw 1-8th)

 

grades 7-8: English, History/Geography, Science, Math, PE, Health, Art, Music, Pratical Arts, Library Skills

 

grades 9-12: 4 units English, 4 Units Social Studies (1 in US History. 1/2 Gov's, 1/2 Economics, 2 electives), 2 Units Mathematics, 2 Units PE, 1/2 Unit Health, 1 Unit Art/Music, 3 Units electives. A unit is equivalent to 108 total hours of instruction (that is so easy to do for high school)

 

This sums it up.

[ColoNative]

1. Letter of intent submitted to the school district you live.

 

2. Testing results required at 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th grades.

 

3. Need to teach no less than 172 days, 4 hours a day.

 

These are the basic requirements...

 

Here's a link if you want:

 

http://www.cde.state.co.us/choice/homeschool_faq.asp

 

It's a great place to homeschool. Colorado Springs has so many options for homeschoolers if you're wanting a support group, extra classes, etc.

[Mom in High Heels]

Thanks everyone! We've only hs'd in AZ (for 2 months) and Europe where there are pretty much no requirements so I'm scared of moving to the States!

 

Wouldn't it be better to pick based on other criteria?

 

There aren't a lot of places James Bond can go due to his MOS. These are his favorites of the few there are. He originally wanted to go to the DC area (Meade), but another guy he works with wants to go there as well and JB does not like him or his work ethics and would rather not spend 3 more years working with him if he can avoid it. Since they are dissolving his unit and we are PCSing involuntarily, they are trying to give the service member one of their top choices.

I'm not thrilled about NY, because we know many people who have been there (the snow doesn't bother me), but JB knows they have a great system there for whatever it is that he does. <-I know that sounds odd, but due to the nature of his work, I don't actually know what he does!

 

I'm hoping for Lewis, as my BFF since 6th grade lives there. They're not associated with the military, so I don't have to worry about them moving away any time soon. I wouldn't mind Carson though as almost everyone who's been there has loved it.

 

Urgh, I hate the not knowing where we're going to end up! The months leading up to orders are always stressful. Branch is hoping to have everyone settled with orders NLT Nov of Dec, though we won't actually PCS (move) until mid-late summer of next year. Sigh.

[GoodGrief]

Alaska is a great place to homeschool. Huge homeschool community. No requirements in order to homeschool independently, and have access to public schools as desired for sports, etc.

 

There are a number of public homeschool programs that offer allotments for curriculum and extracurric activities. Check out http://www.ideafamilies.org as an example of one such program.

[kalanamak]

There are several WTMers in the Ft. Lewis area. :) You just missed our potluck.

 

For WA, any child 8 or above, file an annual declaration of intent to hs. Test annually but you don't have to show it to anyone. There are 7 subjects (I think) that need to be covered. I'm sure you will.

 

Lots of fun field trips and climates to visit out here. Homeschooling is well accepted.

 

For more details,

http://www.washhomeschool.org

[Starr]

Ft. Drum is only 1 1/2 hours from Syracuse. Museums are doable in a day. ;) You could manage a tour there. NY homeschool rules are not that big of a deal. If you end up here we'll give you the info.

[I talk to the trees]

The NY paperwork has already been noted by a pp. It's a pain, but once you get templates all set up, it doesn't really take that long. But here's the thing I have discovered about NY: There is very little (nothing, actually) in the way of support groups aside from LEAH. And although I have met a couple of lovely families....The majority of members are strongly evangelical Christian. Okay, fine, no problem. But they can be very distant and (in my experience) downright rude to those who they see as being the wrong kind of Christian. (The straw that broke the proverbial camel's back for me was when members of our group started promoting TTUAC.)

 

But hey! If you like snow, Ft. Drum is the place to be! :D

[LucyStoner]

As a pp also stated, WA is very relaxed. 1 form and a commitment to test or have your child assessed by a certificated teacher annually. But you don't turn in the tests or assessments. Also most school districts have a homeschooling support program where you can check curriculum (and not just ps materials) out of their library, sign up for some classes or enrichment groups and sometimes get a small stipend for your own materials (in my district it is $200/semester.)

 

Ft. Lewis is close to Tacoma and Seattle so lots of trips are possible. There are also a lot of secular and religious homeschoolers so you can find your niche.

Edited August 18, 2012 by kijipt

[m0mmaBuck]

WA (near Ft. Lewis) here as well. We actually lived on Ft. Lewis back in the late 90's-early 00's.

 

WA, as PP have stated, is very HS'er friendly and quite lax.

[Zuzu822]

The NY paperwork has already been noted by a pp. It's a pain, but once you get templates all set up, it doesn't really take that long. But here's the thing I have discovered about NY: There is very little (nothing, actually) in the way of support groups aside from LEAH. And although I have met a couple of lovely families....The majority of members are strongly evangelical Christian. Okay, fine, no problem. But they can be very distant and (in my experience) downright rude to those who they see as being the wrong kind of Christian. (The straw that broke the proverbial camel's back for me was when members of our group started promoting TTUAC.)

 

But hey! If you like snow, Ft. Drum is the place to be! :D

 

It really depends on where you are. When we lived up north, this was true (although the Oswego area has something small now). The Syracuse area, however, has several non-LEAH support groups! Three (two are mostly for field trips) are secular and one has a large co-op.

[EJCMom]

Another plug for Washington. :001_smile: I grew up in Tacoma. There is a lot to do in the Puget Sound area. Homeschooling is super-easy and I have yet to have a "pass the bean dip" moment. :lol: