Has anyone used a hybrid charter?

[Runningmom80]

I'm looking into one right now, and it sounds appealing. It's two days at school, 3 at home. E only problem I can see is that the curricula is not up to me. There are lots of reviews from parents of gifted kids that are positive, it seems they are allowed to go at their own pace.

 

 

Just looking for any BTDT experience. :)

[LMV]

We have done this although the arrangement is a bit more individualized to the individual student. We're about to sit down to dinner (I have a good husband who makes dinner on the days I work---ok and some days I don't work too) but I'll try to pop back in later tonight or something to add more.

[LMV]

Ok I'm back...

 

I'll be honest and state that we kind of fell into homeschooling because of our daughter's health (coupled with her determination to keep up with school). Before this we did a lot of "after schooling" (but never really called it that) and we both believed that her education was much more than what happened at school. We were also fortunate to have access to an outstanding private school which I think did give her a more comprehensive experience than we could have given her (especially while I was a medical student/resident physician and her dad was a busy prosecutor) so I suppose that we were biased towards more organized and formal school.

 

We moved back to where her dad's family was (and where her dad owned a home) when she was sick so she was enrolled in a local school within a school charter for gifted kids at the same high school her big brothers graduated from. When she was twelve her health wasn't such that she could just do regular full school days but she wanted to go to school (partly because her friends were there, partly because she is a good student, and probably partly because going back to school was symbolic of hope and she was clinging desperately to that). Although she was enrolled as an eighth grader we did most of her eighth grade year at home. She took the tests for algebra I on campus (because her math teacher was pretty adamant about that and it was workable), and she attended her spanish III class on campus because class speaking/participation was a big piece of the learning environment (and grading scheme) but we did everything else at home. We had arranged with the school that she would take major exams or do major projects and we would use their books and syllabus but take responsibility for teaching. They went with this.

 

This was a difficult time for our family because of our concerns for her and what her life might hold and all that she was dealing with in the moment. Our family has been very blessed because she battled back and is doing very well now. She is back to playing ODP soccer, looking forward to playing college soccer, riding horses and playing sax and trumpet in our state youth ensemble. Her health is still our priority and she has some chronic medical conditions that do require her to be very responsible with making health maintenance a priority and adequate sleep (which had always been a priority) is absolutely non-negotiable. Our experiences with home education also changed our perspectives some. Working with her at home gave us a different perspective on our own child and deepened our relationship in many ways. She was amazed at how much more efficient we could be at home but admitted that her friends were at school and she liked getting out of the house. Even when she was getting better we saw that adequate sleep was a non negotiable so continuing with an adapted educational plan let her get back into soccer and still have family and sleep time because she wasn't spending 30+ hours a week in class. This led us to a develop a formal individualized educational plan which was a hybrid model of on campus courses and home based instruction.

 

Starting in ninth grade we worked out a model where she would attend partial days on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. She took algebra II & trigonometry (we/she had done Geometry at the end of the year and over the summer after she finished Alegbra I early working ahead of the class and wanted more) AP Biology, and Spanish IV on campus on those days. She was attending a charter school within a school gifted program which used a university block model for course scheduling so she could attend all of the meetings of those courses and still have four day weekends. Of course she did some school work on those "four day weekends" but it also allowed her the flexibility when she needed to travel for a soccer tournament or when they had an extra rehearsal for the state orchestra she plays in. She is a senior this year and is taking most of her courses at a local four year university. She is taking AP Psychology on campus (her brother suggested this to her), has been involved in student government, and was even homecoming queen this fall. Her principal thinks she is a great kid who has accomplished so much and jokes that he just tries not to impede forward progress. In many ways we have the best of both worlds as she has had a high school experience but school has not interfered with her real education. We know some of that has happened on the soccer field, working dressage patterns, on tour with her orchestra, and just working through the challenges of daily life. We will miss her when she goes off to college this fall but we feel she has been well prepared to take the next step and live her life. We love her dearly and are so proud of the young lady she is becoming.

 

Our thirteen year old has followed her own path as well. She is a competitive gymnast who is happiest in stalder to handstand and swinging bars. She is a very bright girl who had some very difficult years before she came into our family. We initially embarked on the same hybrid home/on campus model with her in sixth grade (the first full school year she lived with our family) but adapted a lot over that year and ended up converting to only homebound instruction that spring. She spent about three months in an out of state day treatment program for PTSD in the fall of seventh grade and we opted to just let her finish that year at home. This year she started eighth grade and the three day hybrid option is working well for her. She isn't as science interested as our oldest (although she is taking algebra I and non calculus based physics as her on campus cores as an eighth grader so she has the ability to do more math and science if needed) and thinks she may want to be an attorney like her dad. Next year she will be taking the high school level (not AP) biology course and geometry as on campus cores and we're still working out the at home stuff. We do need to get that done because it needs to be approved before the end of the school year (which is mid-June in our state).

 

Our eight year old joined our family full time this past November. She attended her locally zoned public school until Christmas break. We received permission from CP/FS to homeschool prior to that and used that as the logical break. She qualified for a spanish immersion (language, social studies, and culture) gifted and talented program at our local charter school and attends that on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9-11. We do everything else at home and there are at least four or five other kids in her class in similar situation. The other half of the class has this experience as a "pull out" from their regular school day and attend a brick and mortar public school full time.

 

I'm afraid I've given you way too much information. (The reality that I've been interrupted a few times while typing this out should tell me something.) Please let me know if you have questions.

[Runningmom80]

I enjoyed reading your post, thank you so much for taking the time to type it all out! It sounds like it worked really well for your family, thats encouraging. We too are accidental, or reluctant homeschoolers, so I am always looking for ways to get DS into some sort of school situation.

 

 

The only thing I am worried about is loss of freedom when choosing curricula, but if he was in full time school I would give up that right as well, at least this way I can still continue to move at his pace.

 

 

I truly appreciate your post, it sounds like you've set your kids up for success. Your kids are lucky to have such hard working parents, and an understanding school district. :)

[nutella08]

My kids are enrolled in a public charter school. They attend hands-on history & science classes 2 days a week at the learning center then are homeschooled/independent study the remaining 3 days to cover language arts, math, and PE. We are given funds to purchase our choice of non-secular curriculum. The kids enjoy being with the same group of friends regularly but still have sufficient free time. Normally, no additional homework is assigned but there is a science and history project about twice a year. Parents have built a nice sense of community as they plan festivals, field trips and other activities. The academics are not particularly challenging but with history & science, the varying levels of ability between the kids aren't as noticeable. We must turn in some work samples to our assigned a credentialed teacher who oversee our progress. This hasn't been much of a burden and our teacher has been incredibly supportive and serves as a wonderful resource as well. Overall, the balance has worked extremely well for us.

Good luck with your decision!

[Runningmom80]

Nutella, that sounds like a great set up! I wish I could find one that gave me more control over the curriculum. We are still considering it, even with the pre chosen curricula.

[meltf928]

I have used a hybrid school for my crew for the past 4 years. Next year we will not be returning, but will keep it as an option for the future. First you should know that hybrid schools are extremely popular among the homeschool set here, we have no less than 12 options in a 30 mile radius. I say that because I really felt/feel pressured to have my kids in one of these settings.

 

For us, I felt that the 2 day IN CLASS courses were fabulous and my kids greatly benefited from them. However, the school didn't do any book work in class, but they wanted it all completed. My kids essentially had to complete 5 days worth of work in 3 days. In addition to that, there were a lot of projects assigned that the school wanted done independently that we could have been able to dive into more if we did it together as a family. For instance, we are working on a family tree project. That's fantastic, but the school wants 3 project boards, 1 for each kid. Well, my children all have the same lineage, so they are essentially producing the same thing. We could dig much deeper into our heritage if we weren't producing this project in triplicate.

 

Lastly my frustration has been that 2 of my children are accelerated in some, but not all areas. The school has worked with that, but there aren't a lot of options, so my children are both working independently in math b/c the school can't accommodate them. Of course math is in the middle of the day, so my kids both just sit there and work on their own assignments while the others participate in class. Mine are able to participate in some instruction but for the most part, it's remedial to them so therefore boring.

 

Having said that, despite the frustrations, our hybrid school has been a HUGE blessing for us. There is certainly a possibility that my kids will return when they are older and our class options are different (it changes 7th -12th grade)