Record-Keeping Accredited High Schools

[DonHomeschool]

I am looking for a flexible record-keeping high school that is accredited by one of the regional accreditors (e.g., Middle States Association , New England Association, North Central Association, Northwest Accreditation, Southern Association, or Western Association) or AdvancED.  The only two schools that I found that are accredited by these agencies and can give me flexibility with record-keeping high school grades/transcripts are Clonlara and Bridgeway Academy. 

 

Is there any other schools that can give me the flexibility with record-keeping, but at the same time be accredited by one of the agencies mentioned above?  Your feedback and guidance would be appreciated.

[Negin]

American School is quite flexible and accredited. 

[Ellie]

Clonlara.

 

You've already found it, but I wanted to put in a plug for it. :-) Clonlara is one of the oldest distance-learning schools established specifically for homeschooled children, and especially designed to be infinitely flexible for homeschoolers.

[Lori D.]

I see this is your first post. Welcome to the WTM Boards!

 

Post #1 of this pinned thread, Transcripts, Credits... Accreditation... past threads linked here!, at the top of the high school Board has a whole section of linked past threads on accreditation, with recommendations and pros/cons of specific accredited options. Do be aware that not all accrediting agencies meet requirements for things like NCAA sports participation, overseas college, etc. -- in case you have some special needs for accreditation. :)

 

Here are a few from that pinned thread to get you started. Happy reading! ;) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

If you *had* to choose an accredited program…
Accredited high school home school programs
Which correspondence schools are accredited?
Are there accredited high school programs that allow you to choose curriculums?
Looking for schools that award a homeschool diploma, but allow flexibility
Accredited homeschool programs that let you advance at your own pace?
Accredited schools where you can go at your own pace?

[DonHomeschool]

Thanks for the welcome and links provided.  However, after reading all of the provided links by Lori D and contacting American School (recommended by Negin), it still seems that Clonlara and Bridgeway Academy are the only two schools that are regionally accredited (that will give me the flexibility with record-keeping).  Ellie gave a strong recommendation for Clonlara; however, I am trying to avoid them as best as I can (had a bad experience with an advisor four years ago).  There seems to be a lot of changes at the school; therefore, I may give them another chance (at this pont, I may not have a choice but to go with them).

[Jenniferjca]

Hi Don. Just like you, I am at the crossroad between Clonlara and Bridgeway Academy. Just wondering why inspite of your experiences with Clonlara in the past you would still go back to them and not try out Bridgeway? I have no experience with either one and have been browsing the net looking for pros and con of the two. Thank you.

[DonHomeschool]

Jenniferjca,

There are a few reasons why I would choose Clonlara over Bridgeway Academy. 

 

1) Clonlara is approved by the NCAA.  In my opinion, even though my child is not planning to play college sports, it gives Clonlara more credibility than Bridgeway Academy.  Moreover, if my daughter decides to play college sports, she will be enrolled under the umbrella school that is accredited by the NCAA.

 

2) Clonlara has a brick-and-mortar school in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Again, this is just my personal opinion, but this gives Clonlara credibility when comparing it to Bridgeway Academy.

 

3) I received a profile from Bridgeway’s enrollment department from their Class of 2012.  It shows that the average GPA from that graduating class is 3.94 (out of 4).  I had to look at that figure a few times because it is a very high average (i.e., inflated GPA).  I continued reading the profile that showed the average SAT score was 1478 (out of 2400), and a composite ACT score of 19.5.  Maybe I’m being too “picky,†but a high school graduating class with a 3.94 GPA does not correlate with a SAT score of 1478 and an ACT composite score of 19.5.

 

4) After taking everything into account, the 4-year record-keeping program at Clonlara will cost approximately $4,200; compared to Bridgeway’s $4,005 cost.  For a difference of only $195, Clonlara brings “more to the table.â€

 

Jenniferjca, even after the points listed above, I still have not enrolled my child for Clonlara’s record-keeping services.  The reason for not enrolling is because of my prior experience with them (it was very bad).  For instance, the advisor claimed to not have received my emails.  When speaking to them, they seem a bit “lost.† Unfortunately, the enrollment specialist that I recently contacted was a bit “lost†or “confused†himself.  Therefore, I didn’t want to start throwing my money away again and enroll my daughter for their services.

 

My spouse has the philosophy that a “mommy/daddy†transcript will be sufficient.  It is very hard to “argue†with her point because of what they previously did and the way they are currently conducting themselves over the phone.  In other words, my wife and I don’t trust them.  I am leaning towards the “mommy/daughter†transcript, but feel like I am setting my child up to “jump over hoops†to get into one of the colleges. As a result, I am still struggling with my decision to use an umbrella school for record-keeping or “go at it ourselves.â€

[Jenniferjca]

Thank you very much for your detailed input DonHomeschool.  Sorry to hear you went through a lot of trouble and heartache with Clonlara.  

 

I did stumbled upon many homechoolers without official transcripts successfully accepted into varied universities across the country.  So the homemade transcript should be able to hold enough water.  

 

Don't know if this would be a good next step to make better decision:  Maybe if we could correspond with a few targeted colleges or universities of our kids choice and await their responses with regard to the issue of homemade transcript.  At least this could perhaps shed some light if we need to choose the better between the two or just stick to homemade brands.  I just sent out some emails and lets see what is their response.

 

 

[TechWife]

I am not sure of the flexibility that you are looking for, but here are some accredited, online high school programs: 

 

George Washington University Online High School 

Indiana University Online High School

University of Missouri Online High School (Mizzou Online)

Stanford University Online High School 

Texas Tech University Independent School District 

UT Austin Online High School

 

[Jenniferjca]

TechWife, truly appreciate your input.  The list you shared is impressive.  I will hop right to it and check them out.  Once again, thank you.

[TLC]

NARHS (North Atlantic Regional High School) is now a candidate for MSA-CESS.

[Juliegmom]

Following :-)

[DonHomeschool]

TLC, that information from NARHS is huge (even though they previously had internal issues themselves).  But I will do my research to see if they "turned-over a new leaf."  Thank you.

 

Jenniferjca, I agree with contacting the schools that our kids are interested in attending.  Actually, I have already contact a few of them.  From what I have read and heard, the “big†universities close by will not give my daughter an issue (I live within an hour of some top schools like Columbia, NYU, Princeton, UPenn, etc).  Moreover, the “solid†schools such as Fordham U, Drew U, Rutgers U, Adelphi U, etc. will not give her any problems.  We are lucky to be living in an area where there are options. 

 

However, I am still worried about the “mommy/daddy†transcript.  I guess my insecurities comes from a conversation I had with an admissions counselor (it was about 5 years ago).  It is a public college that my daughter is not planning to attend, but in our conversation, the admissions counselor told me to “make sure that you do not send in a transcript done at home (with a smirk on her face).† Well, I know that I should ignore that comment because it is a school that my child is not going to attend and it was five years ago, but I always wondered how many colleges think this way.

 

Finally, one of the things that has helped me lean towards a “mommy/daddy†transcript is that my child is going to take one class per semester (two per semester, in her last year of high school) as a dual enrolled student.  From what I read and learned, the college grades from the community colleges and 4-year universities will give my daughter the independent grades that will “hold weight†when applying to the university of her choice.

 

Kindly keep us posted on responses from the contacted colleges.

[Lori D.]

… one of the things that has helped me lean towards a “mommy/daddy†transcript is that my child is going to take one class per semester (two per semester, in her last year of high school) as a dual enrolled student.\

 

Yes, that is just one of several things can help "validate" the "mommy/daddy" grades of a transcript:

- dual enrollment

- AP test

- SAT Subject test

 

And, at some point you will want to have your student take either an SAT or ACT test, which colleges want for admissions from everyone (sometimes that is the only special "extra" colleges require of homeschoolers) -- but ACT/SAT scores are also used for awarding scholarships.

 

Many universities are really getting on-board with homeschoolers, and are starting to include info on the admissions page of the website about the process for applying for homeschoolers. Many don't bat an eye at just a homeschool transcript

 

A really helpful resource on transcripts are the FREE articles and video tutorials by Lee Binz at her website The Home Scholar. She also sells a helpful book, Setting the Record Straight, and also offers a personal service for a fee to walk you through your own specific needs in creating transcripts, writing course descriptions, and the college application and scholarship process.

 

There was a thread -- seems like between 2-8 months back -- where someone had some GREAT info on what colleges want to see on a transcript. That's really what it's about -- making it easy for the admissions office to see what the student has accomplished, and how. It's actually become quite rare that a school wants homeschoolers to jump extra hoops.

 

Anyways, if you decide to "do it yourself" as far as record keeping and transcripts, there is a ton of helpful advice and experience in past threads from BTDT parents on this Board, linked in the pinned threads permanently at the top of the high school board:

 

"Transcripts, Credits, GPA/Grading, Accreditation, College Prep/Applications, Scholarships/Financial Aid -- links to past threads here!"

post #1 = planning, transcripts, credits, grading & GPA, course descriptions, record keeping, diplomas, accreditation

post # 5 = college planning, NCAA, choosing a school, admissions/Common App, financial aid, FAFSA, scholarships, alternatives to 4-year college, career exploration

 

"Outsourcing, Online Classes, Tutors, Dual Enrollment, AP, SAT Subject, ACT/SAT, CLEP, GED -- links to past threads here!"

post #1 = getting started, outsourcing, tutors, online classes, dual enrollment

post #2 = test options, pros & cons, comparisons: PSAT, SAT, ACT, SAT Subject (aka SATII), AP, CLEP, GED, GED vs. Accredited Diploma

 

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[regentrude]

 

However, I am still worried about the “mommy/daddy†transcript.  I guess my insecurities comes from a conversation I had with an admissions counselor (it was about 5 years ago).  It is a public college that my daughter is not planning to attend, but in our conversation, the admissions counselor told me to “make sure that you do not send in a transcript done at home (with a smirk on her face).† Well, I know that I should ignore that comment because it is a school that my child is not going to attend and it was five years ago, but I always wondered how many colleges think this way.

...

 

Finally, one of the things that has helped me lean towards a “mommy/daddy†transcript is that my child is going to take one class per semester (two per semester, in her last year of high school) as a dual enrolled student.  From what I read and learned, the college grades from the community colleges and 4-year universities will give my daughter the independent grades that will “hold weight†when applying to the university of her choice.

 

Most board members' students have been accepted with mommy transcripts to a wide variety of colleges and universities of all different calibers. You may want to check out the college admissions thread on the college board.

My DD has been accepted to several public and private institutions with a homeschool transcript with the added outside validation of several dual enrollment courses and standardized test scores. This experience seems to be common among posters on this board.

 

 

[Lori D.]

Totally agreeing with Regentrude. (Here's the thread she referred to: "Class of 2014…Acceptances by School and Board Names" ) That's 37 students accepted to just under 140 universities -- many big names and prestigious schools on that list! And I think just about all of those families made their own transcripts, validating through ACT/SAT scores. Some also did online classes. Or dual enrollment. Or AP tests or SAT Subject tests, for additional validation.

 

 

 I guess my insecurities comes from a conversation I had with an admissions counselor (it was about 5 years ago).  It is a public college that my daughter is not planning to attend, but in our conversation, the admissions counselor told me to “make sure that you do not send in a transcript done at home (with a smirk on her face).† Well, I know that I should ignore that comment because it is a school that my child is not going to attend and it was five years ago, but I always wondered how many colleges think this way.

 

That was 5 years ago. Colleges have seen the high level of performance of homeschoolers now for a good long while, and  in the last 5-8 years, have not only been removing barriers to admissions for homeschoolers, but are starting to actively recruit homeschoolers. ;)

 

It's absolutely amazing how MUCH things have changed in that time frame and how very widely-accepted and common-place homeschoolers and college admissions has become! :)

[Nan in Mass]

Hopefully, the will reassure you rather than scare you. I'm posting this because I know that in order to be reassured about a plan myself, I need to see the cases where a similar plan failed, so I know that my circumstances are different.

 

There are two places where I suspect my children would be better off with a transcript from a regionally accredited school - international jobs and universities (I have heard), and UMass Amherst, my state flagship (know this for a fact).  The other Massachusetts public schools will take a homeschooler with a mummy transcript without any problems, provided the homeschooler comes with paperwork saying they were really homeschooling.  This might be a problem for states like Texas, which don't provide any paperwork.  I don't know.  And remember, this is just Mass. public colleges and universities, not necessarily other states' public school, although I can tell you that one public school in Maine wanted that paperwork and we provided it to a Vermont public college without them asking so it might be true of Vermont as well.  UMass Amherst WILL TAKE HOMESCHOOLERS WITH MUMMY TRANSCRIPTS.  They will ACCEPT them with just a mummy transcript.  But before they matriculate, they want them to take the GED.  This is why I say that this is a case where my children might have been better off with a school like Clonlara.

 

My youngest is in college now.  I have sent two to college with mummy transcripts now and between them, they were accepted to four private schools and three public schools.  Their education was ... different.  They applied with an ungraded, undated mummy transcript (made in Word), SAT scores, and their community college transcript.

 

I think private schools probably won't be a problem.  Whether public schools are a problem or not probably depends on the state.  I am in Massachusetts, a state where we need yearly approval from the town's school board to homeschool legally.  When my children matriculated at their colleges (one public, one private), we had to give the colleges a copy of the 9th-12th grade letters.  They were accepted without the letters, but they needed the letters to receive financial aid and (I suspect but I never asked) to matriculate.  I began sending the letters with the application so it is hard for me to tell whether they would have asked.  Youngest's school misplaced the letters and had to ask again, so I know they wanted them, and the older one's school asked for them because we hadn't included them in the application.  Their community college asked for them, also.  I know, because I asked directly, that the community college asks for those letters from all homeschooled students, whether they are from Massachusetts or not.  They said it was difficult to know what to do with students who came with no paperwork whatsoever.  They didn't say whether they accepted them or not.  It is possible to take classes there as an adult with no paperwork.  The problems come when you ask for financial aid or when you want to enter a certificate or degree program.  Usually, they just ask to see your diploma.  Even if you are 60 years old. : )  You physically bring this in and show it to them.  My children had no diplomas, so we showed them those yearly approval letters instead.  We also needed to show them the transcript I had made (incomplete because they were still in high school).

 

I did a fair amount of asking about the UMass Amherst/GED problem, since youngest was accepted there with scholarships, in their honours program.  UMass Lowell would have taken him (I spoke to them) without a GED, just with his Mummy transcript (and the approval letters).  As far as I know, only UMass Amherst has this policy.

 

Most of the colleges my children looked at had information on their websites about how to apply as a homeschooler, just as most have information about how to apply as an international student.  (You might find it reassuring to explore a few admissions sites for colleges near you, to see what sorts of things they ask for.)  Most of the colleges where my children applied had one or two admissions councelors whose job it was to deal with homeschoolers.  They were very knowledgable and helpful.  Some of the applications for admissions had a homeschooling suppliment.  I think I could have done a poor job with the transcript I made (messy and missing information or unclear) and still, all would have been fine because they asked what they really wanted to know on that suppliment and they were used to helping inexperienced homeschooling parent guidance counselors come up with all the various pieces of an application.

 

I think New York state might also be complicated?  You might ask here specifically.

 

If I could do it again, I would seriously consider Clonlara, but not because of any universities here.  (I think my children would be better off with a GED and the highly individualized education we gave them than they would be with something like Keystone or K12.)  My big worry is international universities and jobs.  I have heard that sometimes universities and employers in Europe and Japan want to see high school transcripts or diplomas from US citizens.  Sometimes, not always.  I don't know anyone in real life who has had this problem.  We aren't a very international family, so this isn't something I considered when we began homeschooling, but part of the reason we chose to homeschool high school was so that our children could travel internationally mid-school year.  Oops.  That resulted in children who are far more internationally oriented than we were, growing up.  And now it is something that I wonder about.  I guess that is a good problem to have, if you have to have a problem, but still...  If I were trying to make the decision for something more than four or five years down the road, I also would wonder whether policies might change radically between now and then.

 

Anyway, I hope you find all that comforting.  It was meant to be comforting.  If you aren't worried that your children will go to college out of the US and aren't worried about UMass Amherst or a (very) few other schools, I think you are probably safe skipping the cover school and just going with a mummy transcript.  You will need SATs or ACTs (even if a uni says it is test-optional this doesn't apply to homeschoolers), paperwork to show that you are legally homeschooling (if your state requires that), and possibly some other sort of outside verification of your child's academic abilities (SAT2s, outsourced classes, community college classes, university classes, AP tests, ...).

 

Things have changed an astonishing amount in the last five years.  When I was making this decision, I spoke with several admissions counselors about applying as a homeschooler.  They provided me with valuable information about how to plan high school, nice general stuff that they thought would apply to most colleges.  Perhaps you should contact a few yourself and ask what they think?  Things change.  The information could become as outdated as the smirking lady's information.  But I think you would find that it helped you to decide what to do.

 

As far as the smirking lady's comment goes - I think probably she had seen a few badly formatted homeschooling transcripts with all A's from "mummy" with no other proof.  If BY senior year (so grades or scores will show if your child applies early decision in the fall or early winter) you have SAT scores and some community college classes that demonstrate classroom academic ability in English, math, science, history, and foreign language, I doubt she or he will be at a disadvantage compared to students with similar grades.

 

Good luck!

Nan

 

Edited to add:  Yikes!  I wrote a book!  Sorry.  Hopefully some of it was helpful.  Also forgot to say that I think many European colleges don't care about US diplomas or transcripts - they want to see AP test scores.  If a European college is a possibility, I think a plan that includes AP tests is probably pretty safe.

[Jenniferjca]

Thank you for sharing everyone.  

[dirty ethel rackham]

If you want to see an even wider pool of homeschoolers accepted to colleges/universities with mommy/daddy transcripts, check out the yahoo group "hs2coll."  There is a huge list of kids accepted to excellent colleges and universities without accredited transcripts.  The reality is that there are only a handful of situations where an accredited transcript would be helpful.  They are the exception, not the norm.  Many people take the tack that if a school is that unwelcoming to homeschoolers, then they are not going to get a dime of my $$.  Not everyone has that view, though. 

[Lori D.]

Nan, THANKS for the "book" (LOL) -- very helpful to know that there are a few very specific situations or schools in which an accredited diploma is helpful or needed. :)

[DonHomeschool]

I would like to thank everyone for their input.  Nan in Mass, you are absolutely correct; reassurance is what parents like me need to make these decisions for our children.  We have been a homeschool family since the beginning (our kids have never attended public or private school) and these forums have made a huge difference in our decision-making process.  Believe it or not, we have never personally met another homeschool family to exchange ideas with or learn from.  So I really appreciate the feedback from this forum.

 

I am “sold†on the idea of producing a “mommy/daddy†transcript.  With the dual enrolled credits, SAT/ACT scores, Subject SAT scores, and outsourcing a few classes (live online), my child should be a good shape.  The only thing that I do not have scheduled for my child is taking AP tests (maybe I should have her take at least two before graduating high school).

 

If my daughter ever encounters a problem with an international school/job, we can get my state to issue a high school diploma (based on her dual enrolled college credits) or go to an accredited cover school to evaluate the work that has been completed in the four years of high school (but I don’t think this will be necessary). 

 

Finally, I agree with dirty ethel rackham and the other experienced members that we should not be wasting our time with universities that are unwelcoming to homeschoolers.   Moreover, I do expect more acceptance once it is time for my oldest to apply in a few years.

[Lanny]

@DonHomeschool Unless you are wealthy, USD$4K is a lot of money, for something that you are not positive that you need. And, if you do need it, you are not positive that it will help. IMHO, if you live in a state where there are a lot of home school students (like Texas, for one example) your DD will not have any problems with a "Mommy" or "Daddy" diploma. However, I believe that I read you are in the Northeast, so home school graduates may be less common where you are and this might be a problem for you. 

 

Suggestion: Google on the web site(s) of the school(s) your DD might be interested in, with "home school" as the search terms. For example, for Texas Tech I used this syntax: "site:ttu.edu home school" (without the quote marks) and came up with this web page, which outlines everything for home schoolers who might want to apply to Tech:

http://www.admissions.ttu.edu/index.php/admission-financial_aid/first-time-freshmen/home-school/

 

GL

[Joan in GE]

Here's the US Dept Ed list...and when you go to those accrediting agencies where it says 'inactive'...it explains more...I don't see how these are considered as valid accreditation agencies....

http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Agencies.aspx

 

And if you search SACS CASI....well, SACS has another branch SACS COC which is recognized but not the CASI branch....

 

But maybe someone knows more about accrediting than I do and I'm quite interested in hearing....

Joan

[Matryoshka]

In Belgium Advanced -accreditations are  one out of a few who are recognized.

In the Netherlands they accept only SAT+ACT+3-4 AP's.

In both countries accreditation & diploma's are essential, no home-made transcripts allowed...

 

How would they view someplace like that new Harari College (based in Belgium, btw)?  They do offer a diploma and have you take  5-7 APs to get it, but they are not accredited, and have a huge paragraph on their website why this 'isn't a problem' (although they are working on getting it).  They claim to have had all sorts of acceptances worldwide - most of their students are not from the US (of course they trot out the Ivies as impressive examples, but which we all know are actually on the very accepting side of things like mommy transcripts and alternate paths up the mountain...).  Along with their diploma, they offer the College Board's AP International Diploma, which would actually be available to anyone (including homeschoolers) who fulfill the criteria, but it also says this: "Universities worldwide utilize the APID in admissions. The APID is not a substitute for a high school diploma, but rather provides additional certification of outstanding academic excellence."

 

One of the big reasons my dd ended up in a B&M high school is that she didn't want to rule out attending school internationally, and on top of that our fallback safety would be our state flagship, which of course is UMass Amherst - exactly the two places where not having an accredited diploma is a problem. :glare:  

[DonHomeschool]

Joan in GE,

 

From my research, AdvancED was founded by a few regionally accredited agencies to accredit K-12 schools.  However, just like the regionally accreditations that accredits colleges, AdvancED also accredits schools that makes you “scratch your head.† In other words, it’s all about the money.

 

But to answer your question, AdvancED is “legit.â€

[goldberry]

We did Clonlara for 2 years because of how nervous I was about mommy transcripts.  After having seen kid after kid get accepted to great schools with a mommy transcript, I finally decided that cash would be FAR better spent on actual cirrriculum, online classes, etc.  No more Clonlara for us.

[Joan in GE]

 is “legit.â€

 

Hi Don, I saw similar things to what you are mentioning but perhaps they aren't the same as when I looked on Wikipedia for accrediting institutions, they are not listed. Could you please substantiate your claim with more facts? Thanks, Joan

 

PS In addition, if you search that institution on Wikipedia, it says that the Western branch got in trouble for accrediting a school that gave diplomas in NY....etc. Of course that article is saying they're legit - but who wrote that article? anyone can post on wikipedia....

[DonHomeschool]

Joan in GE,

 

I do not know your background with not-for-profit taxation, but here is the link that shows their filed 2011 990 Forms:

 

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2012/208/613/2012-208613765-090b73c4-9.pdf

 

Legitimacy of the agency will be shown on pgs. 35-37 (you will see the association with other regionally accredited agencies).  Matter-of-fact, their 990s have the same mailing address as the Northwest Accreditation Commission (one of the regional accrdited agencies) 990s.

 

I hope this answers your question.

[Joan in GE]

Hi Don, I do see SACS COC on there which is listed in the US DE document, so that is helpful. I don't see the Northwest Accreditation Commision listed on the US DE link though and searching that one is not easy, at least on Wikipedia.....Thank you, Joan