4KookieKids Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I've never been on the high school board, since my kids are still all 5 and under, so please forgive me if this is answered in a million different places and I just didn't see them. :) I have a young friend who desperately wants to homeschool next year (I suspect some sort of bullying / unpleasantness at school, though she hasn't shared the details, and for the life of me I can't figure out why anyone would bully her, since she's intelligent, caring/kind, and pretty to boot, but... what do I know?). Her hurdles? The parents don't want to spend a lot of money or time on something that they've previously just let the public school do for free, and are likely to say "no" if this is going to require them to make serious life style changes. Even if they were up for the time and financial side of things, I think they'd be pretty intimidated wondering about the official side of things, with college looming in just a few short years. The girl is very motivated to get this rolling, but I'm not sure she has any idea what it's like to be self-taught or to learn on her own, and she has even less of an idea where to start finding a plan for how to homeschool herself. She's 15 and can't drive yet, and she lives a good 30 miles outside of town, so I can't easily hook her up with the homeschool co-op here in town. She's wondering if there's an online or correspondence option that would maybe give her parents some reassurance that someone else is taking care of credits and transcripts and all those other "details", without breaking the bank. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 isn't K12 basically online public school that lots of homeschoolers use? Is it free? I have never looked into it but have heard it recommended often for cases like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I am guessing she is in NE? If so, to start with, check out the free NE public school online -- virtual charter school option. Because it is public school, just done at home, you have access to free materials, weekly teacher input, and administration that does all of your record-keeping and transcripts. My guess is that she would also still be eligible to participate in the public school extracurriculars, such as band/orchestra, sports, and after-school clubs -- but you'd have to check on the specific policies. According to the Virtual Academy Overview, "...In high school, students are assigned a team of teachers, each one trained and experienced in one of the core subject areas. The family also receives boxes of materials, including a wide array of textbooks, CDs, videos, and hands-on materials. These materials complement online learning and the overall schooling experience, while catering to a variety of learning styles to maximize learning objectives... ...High school courses are taught by teachers specifically experienced in their respective subjects. They grade students’ assignments and assessments, respond to student questions via e-mail or phone, conduct online tutorial sessions to reinforce difficult topics, and conduct online “office hours†to allow students to “drop in†with questions... ...Each online lesson provides… direction to specific online and offline materials, online lesson content, and a summary of the major objectives for the lesson. Lessons utilize a combination of... flash animations and online interactivity, coordinated textbooks and hands-on materials, and individualized feedback… Each lesson also contains an online assessment to ensure that students have mastered the material and are ready to proceed to the next lesson, allowing them to work at their own pace. Pronunciation guides for key words and references to suggested additional resources, specific to each lesson and each student’s assessment, are also included... ...In addition to receiving access to online lessons through the Internet, each student receives a shipment of offline materials, including textbooks, art supplies, laboratory supplies (e.g. microscopes and scales), and other reference materials, which are incorporated throughout the online school’s curriculum. ...Online school courses are typically paired with a teacher’s guide. Each guide outlines the course objectives, refers back to all of the course content that is contained in the online and offline course materials, includes answers and explanations to the exercises that the students complete, and contains suggestions for explaining difficult concepts to students." Once she gets a year or two under her belt, she could also look into the possibility of taking a class or two as dual enrollment, if the Virtual School policies allow it. Dual enrollment is taking college classes at the local community college that count for BOTH high school AND college credit. BEST of luck to your young friend! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Yes, I've heard of K12 before, but they told me when I contacted them that there are no tuition free partner schools in my area... though there are 3 "outstanding" private online schools that they're happy to send me information about... I'm not sure why the website is called what it is, because this is what I got told when I clicked the "get more information" link and entered my NE address. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Any chance she is in one of the school districts that gets scholarships to University of NE virtual high school program. The list is here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I wish I could tell you that there is some free and easy way to homeschool without parents investing, either in time or money, and do just as good a job as public school would, but it would be a lie. There are online resources that are free, but someone needs to pull them together. There are online classes that are high quality, but those aren't cheap. There are things like BJU or Abeka that do video based full courses where she could do easily get setup with an entire year, but those aren't free and they are a strong YE Christian that may or may not fit this young lady's family. There are many, many choices for preplanned courses out there. It is just really tough to jump in and pick out a set, decide what needs a teacher, what she could do on her own, pick the classes, and come up with a plan within an unknown budget. Someone is going to have to be willing to do some planning and provide some financial backing. If you can convince her parents to give you a budget, find out where the girl is academically, what classes she is ready for, you could take on planning and we would help. But I'm afraid there isn't going to be an easy answer for this unless there is a public charter of some sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 If the free options of K12, Virtual Academy, or NE Virtual Scholars Program end up not working, then she would likely have to go with a paid option, which can be pricey, but can be very do-able. Accredited programs that do the transcripts / award the diplomas. Books/supplies are extra: - American School of Correspondence ($2100 for all 4 years) - Keystone National High School ($350/class = correspondence class; $419-800/class = online class) - Laurel Springs School ($1000-1500 per year, depending on option chosen) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Oak Meadow has an accredited option. Here is their high school price list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Oak Meadow has an accredited option. Here is their high school price list. Good heavens! They want $1200 per CLASS!!! :ohmy: :svengo: For that price, I'd be enrolling in a local private school! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 isn't K12 basically online public school that lots of homeschoolers use? Is it free? I have never looked into it but have heard it recommended often for cases like this You can buy K12, the same way you would buy a box of books from ABeka or BJUP. Many states have charter schools which are Internet based (as opposed to charter schools which are campus-based) and which provide/require K12. Students are actually enrolled in the charter school, not in K12; it is the charter school which provides transcripts and grades and whatnot, not K12. Students are legally public school students, not homeschooled students, and the charter schools require testing and logging hours and stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephinsocal Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 BYU has an accredited high school program: www.is.byu.edu. It's not free, but it's more reasonable than many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 You can buy K12, the same way you would buy a box of books from ABeka or BJUP. Many states have charter schools which are Internet based (as opposed to charter schools which are campus-based) and which provide/require K12. Students are actually enrolled in the charter school, not in K12; it is the charter school which provides transcripts and grades and whatnot, not K12. Students are legally public school students, not homeschooled students, and the charter schools require testing and logging hours and stuff like that. This is not true for the high school level. If you want to use K12's high school courses, you have to enroll in their private school or in a virtual academy that uses them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 If her parents are not on board, she would have to do a public virtual school option, which would mean that she would be a public school student working at home. As for whether that would be a good choice for her, it depends on why she wants to homeschool in the first place. If it is so she can pursue academic passions and have a customized education, then the virtual school option would not be appropriate. But if she wants an in-the-box education without having to actually go to a physical school, then it might work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Yes, I've heard of K12 before, but they told me when I contacted them that there are no tuition free partner schools in my area... though there are 3 "outstanding" private online schools that they're happy to send me information about... I'm not sure why the website is called what it is, because this is what I got told when I clicked the "get more information" link and entered my NE address. :p K12 is not the only provider, but I do see "K12" on the Nebraska Virtual Academy site . . . weird. Anyway, you can contact the education department directly to ask, or ask at the local homeschool group; it's likely someone is using it. What are her plans after school? Work, community college, university? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 K12 is not the only provider, but I do see "K12" on the Nebraska Virtual Academy site . . . weird. Anyway, you can contact the education department directly to ask, or ask at the local homeschool group; it's likely someone is using it. What are her plans after school? Work, community college, university? Yeah, I think I may have to dig a little deeper on this virtual academy thing to figure out why I got the email I did from K12 and what options we have through them. I want to help her, but also don't feel like I can do all the research I'd like to right now, since I still have all my own kids and all of their plans to manage (and something about a new baby coming in May, too...). :) So I really appreciate everyone's help! She wants to go to college and get a joint degree in interior design and youth ministry, I believe. Strange combo to me, but oh well. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I think you need to tread carefully. As a parent of a homeschooled child, I wouldn't be too pleased if someone researched brick and mortar schools for my child, and tried to pressure me into choosing one, and I don't see this as particularly different. I think providing a few leads for the kid to explore on her own, might be reasonable, but I wouldn't go much beyond that. I also think that researching options, and putting together a convincing argument, takes the same kind of skills that managing your own homeschooling, even though an organization like K12, requires. Having said that, we're currently using Florida Virtual's Global School option (not K12), and are pretty pleased. It's accredited and uses the Common Core State Standards, both of which are important if DS goes back to public and we want the credits to transfer, and we're finding it well organized and relatively rigorous. It's not cheap, about $800 a credit, but that's still about 1/2 of the price of the least expensive private schools in our area, which generally have very strong religious agendas, about 1/4 of the price of Catholic options, and 1/6 of the price of secular options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHASRADA Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I've never used it, but Easy Peasy Homeschool has a high school program that's free: http://allinonehighschool.com/ Of course, it's not accredited, and she might need some help or guidance to implement. I agree that online charter/virtual public school would be best in her situation, if it's available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Her hurdles? The parents don't want to spend a lot of money or time on something that they've previously just let the public school do for free, and are likely to say "no" if this is going to require them to make serious life style changes. Even if they were up for the time and financial side of things, I think they'd be pretty intimidated wondering about the official side of things, with college looming in just a few short years. The girl is very motivated to get this rolling, but I'm not sure she has any idea what it's like to be self-taught or to learn on her own, and she has even less of an idea where to start finding a plan for how to homeschool herself. I would not spend a great amount of time doing the research the parents should be doing. You are not describing parents who are willing to do that. I why you're doing what you're doing, but honestly, either the parents want to teach her at home or they don't; if they wanted to, they would be doing the research, and they would be willing to make the necessary lifestyle changes. They're not. And there are legal things they may need to take care of, so even though the girl is motivated, she wouldn't be able to even withdraw from her current school without her parents being involved. I say let it go unless and until they ask you what to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I think it's wonderful that you're helping her out, some parents are just totally clueless and would appreciate it, others though will resent the interference, you know the situation best. First, does it have to be accredited? There are many cheap/free options that aren't. Corsera has classes as does edX. Another cheapish option is time4learning.com (H.S> is $30 per month) they offer 4 courses per year, it includes curriculum and a tracking system/grades of sorts. She could easily keep track of the overall grades herself and just get her parents to "sign-off" on it. I don't know how those taking classes through Harari are doing, there hasn't been a recent update that I've seen but it has free online instructor led classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I would not spend a great amount of time doing the research the parents should be doing. You are not describing parents who are willing to do that. I why you're doing what you're doing, but honestly, either the parents want to teach her at home or they don't; if they wanted to, they would be doing the research, and they would be willing to make the necessary lifestyle changes. They're not. And there are legal things they may need to take care of, so even though the girl is motivated, she wouldn't be able to even withdraw from her current school without her parents being involved. I say let it go unless and until they ask you what to do. I'm not good at this at all. I would want to help her, but Ellie's right. If you are good enough friends to strike up the conversation, "Your dd tells me she wishes she could homeschool..." and see what happens. If they aren't willing or seeking help, she is out of luck. My dd has been a competitive gymnast for 11 years. Several girls homeschool. Most of those who don't wish they did. I have listened to kids who want to homeschool for years. They all come talk to dd and to me too. Sometimes their parents come to me. Sometimes I'll start the conversation above and the parents will ask questions and I can point them to a convention, resources, or possibilities based on what they are interested in or willing to do. Sometimes I just hear "no way" and know it is time to let it go. The parents have the right to make that decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4KookieKids Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 I don't know her parents at all, honestly. The girl came to me because she comes to my church with her grandparents, and I'm the only person she knows who homeschools. It's my impression that her parents are open to the conversation, but she's gotta do the gruntwork/legwork to figure everything out, so I'm mainly trying to compile a list of options for her and/or program brochures that she can read through, research further, and then take to her parents for conversation. Not knowing the parents at all, I've wondered if maybe she's just wanting something as "easy as possible" for them to go with so that she can "sell it" better, because it's certainly what I would've done as a high-schooler ("see look, I have this great idea, and here's why it's going to be great for me and no extra work for you!"). Maybe I shouldn't have said "her hurdles" so much as "her perceived/anticipated hurdles". :) You guys are right, though, in that I don't need to be digging deeper into the NE virtual academy thing and its relationship to k12 before talking with her. I can just pass all these suggestions/options on to her, and tell her that I don't know the details of any particular one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 You can certainly tell her that her parents are welcome to talk to you about options. Give her your phone number offer to do coffee with them. If they have any interest at all, they may jump at the offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Could you reach out to the parents, maybe via the daughter? That is, could you say, "I'd be happy to help you explore this, but I need your parents' blessing", and then invite them all over to dinner or something? I'll also say that I'm a parent in a similar situation, in that my resources are limited (I'm a single parent, and I work long hours outside the home) and I had, until recently, intended to send my kid through PS until graduation. In my situation, it was very important that whatever program we chose be accredited, and ideally use the same standards as our local PS. Homeschooling, especially homeschooling when you're not there to supervise, is a big leap of faith. It requires me to trust that my kid will hold up his end of the bargain day in and day out. Because teenagers are teenagers, I needed to know that he could return to PS if need be. So making sure that I was choosing courses that would transfer easily to the PS was crucial. I can't speak to NE, but in my state, MD, accreditation and common standards were key to making that a possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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