Considering a Few Public School Classes

[IfIOnly]

In my area, kids can take classes at the public school, and as few or many as they want. I'm thinking about having my older two (both junior high, it's 6th-8th here) do music and maybe art next year. The school is just a few minutes away. The biggest con for me is I'll have to drop them off and pick them up, since the way is mostly highway, and I don't feel comfortable with them riding their bikes. So, I'll have to work my day around this. But, they'll have an opportunity to learn things that we just don't get to or can afford to do privately. We can pull them out anytime if they don't like it or whatever, so it's something we won't have to finish if we start. What am I missing here about the logistics? Would you consider subbing a few things out to a public school as a homeschooler? Thoughts and helping me think this through appreciated. Thanks.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

My kids took a foreign language class that was open to 8th graders at the local high school. It helped them transition to full-time public high school. I only live a few miles from the high school and they had the class every other day (block schedule) for almost 2 hours. Worked well.

[fairfarmhand]

Uniforms?

 

Also, depending on the time of day your kids are away they may be unable to participate in certain homeschooling activities. For some people it would be no biggie. YMMV.

 

Also, I would also consider the illness factor. I'd hesitate more if I had very small children who seem to take FOREVER to get over colds or one of those who seem to always have an ear infection.

 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

What is the reputation of the school?  The thing that would give me pause if that you are taking kids at a notoriously difficult time socially and are thinking of putting them in just one or two classes which will make them stick out even further.  

[IfIOnly]

My kids took a foreign language class that was open to 8th graders at the local high school. It helped them transition to full-time public high school. I only live a few miles from the high school and they had the class every other day (block schedule) for almost 2 hours. Worked well.

 

I hadn't thought about having the kids do Spanish classes there. That would be great too. I wonder if the school would be willing to put my kids in the same classes even though they're different grades, saving me travel. I mean if they're both taking Spanish 1 say. Hmm. Long shot, but maybe worth asking.

[Ali in OR]

We do this as part of our planned progression to full time public high school. Our girls take band and science 6th-8th grade. Band is something I would never be able to offer in a homeschool fashion in our small town. The science program is very good and it's a subject I have a hard time doing well. The public school classes do all of the labs and things that I don't have time or knowledge to set up on my own. I would definitely consider art if it fit our schedule. The biggest con is no longer being in control of my schedule. There is a chunk of time in the middle of the day that is not available to me, and it's a pretty sizable chunk--in the time that they do 2 classes we would easily do 4 at home. Plus we also lose the ability to take vacations during the school year since they need to attend their public school classes.

 

Pros: my older dd does not do sports. Doing band in middle school gave her a peer group when she went off to high school. It was the same band teacher too, so it was good to already be part of her program. This dd is now a sophomore and was able to go right into the harder science classes. It required 8th grade science teacher permission--not sure they would let her in coming from home school. Or they may have required testing. Pro for my younger--her sister is now full time at the public high school. I think she would go crazy just being home alone, so it's good that she has some classes of her own. She is also in the cross country and track program which she could also do as a home schooler, but it's nice to know some the other kids from class.

[IfIOnly]

Uniforms?

 

Also, depending on the time of day your kids are away they may be unable to participate in certain homeschooling activities. For some people it would be no biggie. YMMV.

 

Also, I would also consider the illness factor. I'd hesitate more if I had very small children who seem to take FOREVER to get over colds or one of those who seem to always have an ear infection.

 

No uniforms. We don't do any other homeschooling things. I'm considering a speech hs class, but it meets in the evening. I'd love to get into our local Friday School co-op, but the wait list is crazy. Probably not going to happen this year.  I just roll with it with illnesses. With this many kids, we are constantly getting something or the other in the winter, anyway. Appreciate your thoughts. 

[AnnE-girl]

DS continued at the public school for art, music, and some PE after we pulled him from first grade. It was a good way to cover classes that are more difficult to cover at home without additional expense and gave him space to really run around during our cold winter. He will be starting orchestra at the school in a couple weeks, although we haven't decided what other specials he and dd will do because of schedules. We have to wait until school starts to see which classes will have space for them, so it's a bit up on the air. So far it's been a pretty good experience, but DS had been in the school and knew the kids and teachers going into it.

[IfIOnly]

What is the reputation of the school?  The thing that would give me pause if that you are taking kids at a notoriously difficult time socially and are thinking of putting them in just one or two classes which will make them stick out even further.  

 

Good point. Hadn't thought to look up reviews.

 

Great school rates it a 10 out of 10 for test scores, I think, but the community rating is 3 out of 5. The complaints were it's all about teaching to the test, the work is too easy, unmotivated, uncaring teachers. A few said there were discipline problems and bullying. No creativity. Only 15 reviesw though, so??

 

School Digger gives it a 5 out of 5 starts and ranks it 8th for middle schools in OR, again for testing.

"In 2014, - - - ranked better than 97.9% of middle schools in Oregon. It also ranked first among 6 ranked middle schools in the - Administrative School District 1! "  

 

 

 However, the one review says the teachers don't teach and the kids don't learn anything. :/  It sounds like they teach to the test and have great test scores and that's their main goal. Their test scores went up dramatically last year though.

 

I knew schools around here weren't great. I graduated high school here with practically zero grammar knowledge or writing skills. Homeschooling my own kids has taught almost everything I know in that regard. Ha!

 

We'd just being do some electives and not academics though. 

 

 

[IfIOnly]

Jean, I would be very proactive in asking my kids if others are giving them a hard time and bullying them for being homeschooled. That has. def. crossed my mind.

[IfIOnly]

THanks for the responses so far.  I wish the multi-quote feature was working.  I have to get going out of the home and will reply to responses later this evening. Keep 'em coming, please.

[LucyStoner]

It's pretty common here for HS kids to take 1-2 classes at the middle school or high school level. All of the kids I know who have done it have enjoyed it. Or at least that is what they tell me and I have no reason to disbelieve them. I am considering having my older son run track at the junior high here, which is another option we have available to us.

[LLMom]

That is nice you have that option!  My state does not allow it.  Since you can pull out at any time, I would give it a try.  There are bound to be other homeschoolers there not taking a full load so they might now stick out so bad.

[Loowit]

My DD took a drama class at the local high school last year.  She did very well, they even moved her up to advanced class mid-year, but she decided not to do it again this year.  For me the hardest part was the transportation.  I just couldn't take out time each day to drive her to school and go pick her up because I had my two boys at home and it would have been too disruptive to them and me.  So the decision was that she had to find a ride there and back.  Since her good friend was also taking the same class her friend's mom was happy to drive both of them every day.  It worked pretty well, but it did make a disruption to routine and it took out a lot more time of the day than I had expected. It was a 42 minute class but ended up costing us at least 2 hours with transportation and transition time.

 

The other thing that was a bit irritating was the constant change in schedule.  The local high school has 6 different bell schedules depending on the day.  They have a normal day schedule, a early release day schedule, a morning assembly schedule,...  It was hard to keep track of when the class was going to be and they didn't always let DD know when there was a change for the day, so a few times they showed up for class and found out that it was earlier that day.

 

I think though for all the frustrations that DD is happy she took the class.  She learned a lot and it gave her a chance to see what public school is like.  She didn't really make any friends from it, but no one made fun of her or anything like that.  She even found that she knew a few people in the class from other places like youth group and dance.

 

I do know of several homeschooling families that have had good experiences with doing a few classes here and there through the public schools.  Usually they are taking things like swimming, band, choir, or other classes that are harder to duplicate at home.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I would love that! The only cons have already been listed, scheduling being the main one but if I could send the kids for Math? I'd do it.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I wish we could do stuff like that here.  I'd do it in a heartbeat.  Worst case you don't end up liking it so you stop doing it.

 

 

[KatieJ]

Both of my oldest kiddoes did public school half days and homeschool half days at the high school level. That allowed them to be in band, debate team, foreign language, higher math classes etc. Many of my their classmates ( if they weren't close friends) had no idea they weren't in school all day.

[K&Rs Mom]

  Worst case you don't end up liking it so you stop doing it.

 

This.  Signing up doesn't mean you have to stay until they graduate, or even until next summer.

 

I had one in full-time PS 5th grade last year until Christmas - she enjoyed it, but the work wasn't what she needed, so we brought her home again.  She wanted to try PS, and I didn't want to throw her in in the (notorious for social problems) middle school.  It was definitely a scheduling hassle, but we live in walking distance, so she could get herself there/back.

 

My oldest has participated in a homeschool partnership through the next town's school, and really enjoyed it.  Like others have said, it's great for things that are harder to do at home - she took swimming, clay/sculpture, and a few others.  That was all homeschoolers, though, so they were all in the same boat, getting used to the school setting.

 

This year, she's going to start part-time at our local high school.  We have friends who have done this, so I asked their dd what mine most needed to know.  She said the language is just awful (I heard this from a teacher friend also), and that she was totally sick of answering questions about why she wasn't there all day, why she hadn't been there for all the grades (small town).  My dd knows a lot of kids from sports & dance & church, so she's certain to know someone in each of her classes, and that should help.  

 

Jumping through the PS hoops is no fun - gathering records, birth cert, vax paperwork....  But once that's done, it's done.  

[Reefgazer]

I outsource the arts also, because I just don't have it in me (neither interest nor talent) to offer those classes.  I say go for it if you've given it thought and determined it's a good idea for your family.  I have a lot of gripes about the public schools around here, but a class or two in the arts is not one of those gripes.  If public school makes you uncomfortable, can you outsource to a different provider of those things (co-ops, camps, a tutor, etc...)?  I plan to outsource English when DD is older, but to a private school because here in Virginia, we can't access public school classes as homeschoolers (at least not in my district).  Like I said, I am not a fan of public school in general, but as one who's kids spent a fair amount of time there, they are not automatically all evil, either.

[laundrycrisis]

DS12 is going to try orchestra at the middle school this year.  He has never been to school before.  His violin teacher has been encouraging involvement in an orchestra, and we don't want the time commitment to a youth orchestra that has evening or weekend rehearsals that aren't allowed to be missed.  This way he can do it 99% weekdays, except for two evening concerts.  It is going to restrict our freedom somewhat since it commits him for an hour of every afternoon.  But honestly I think we are ready for that structure in our schedule.  

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

Just a little side story. When my oldest was in 8th grade he took French at the ps high school. His class was held every other day. At the end of the school year, I recieved a phone call from a staff member from the midde school where we had to sign up, inviting me to an end-of-the-year awards ceremony. Apparently, he was to receive an award for perfect attendence! ðŸ˜ðŸ˜

[AK_Mom4]

DD14 has done band class at the local jr high the last two years and is signed up for two band classes at the high school starting in August.   She also has music lessons (2) on Wednesday afternoons.  Travel time isn't a factor as we are within 5 minutes of the schools.

 

It has meant that we schedule our days to take advantage of the blocks of time during the day when she isn't in classes.  We have a two hour block in the mornings that should work well for math and she cant use the afternoon time for her other courses.

 

The opportunity to play in a group is worth the hassle of structuring our day around the PS schedule.

[IfIOnly]

I outsource the arts also, because I just don't have it in me (neither interest nor talent) to offer those classes.  I say go for it if you've given it thought and determined it's a good idea for your family.  I have a lot of gripes about the public schools around here, but a class or two in the arts is not one of those gripes.  If public school makes you uncomfortable, can you outsource to a different provider of those things (co-ops, camps, a tutor, etc...)?  I plan to outsource English when DD is older, but to a private school because here in Virginia, we can't access public school classes as homeschoolers (at least not in my district).  Like I said, I am not a fan of public school in general, but as one who's kids spent a fair amount of time there, they are not automatically all evil, either.

 

One of our local Christian schools is willing to accept homeschool students on a class by class basis, as well. We're considering that option, but it won't be free like the public schools.

[IfIOnly]

DD14 has done band class at the local jr high the last two years and is signed up for two band classes at the high school starting in August.   She also has music lessons (2) on Wednesday afternoons.  Travel time isn't a factor as we are within 5 minutes of the schools.

 

It has meant that we schedule our days to take advantage of the blocks of time during the day when she isn't in classes.  We have a two hour block in the mornings that should work well for math and she cant use the afternoon time for her other courses.

 

The opportunity to play in a group is worth the hassle of structuring our day around the PS schedule.

 

Not knowing much about public school band, can a child learn to play an instrument decently with just school instruction, or are additional music lessons usually necessary? 

[IfIOnly]

It's pretty common here for HS kids to take 1-2 classes at the middle school or high school level. All of the kids I know who have done it have enjoyed it. Or at least that is what they tell me and I have no reason to disbelieve them. I am considering having my older son run track at the junior high here, which is another option we have available to us.

 

I'm not sure if sports are available to homeschoolers. I'll have to check that out. My oldest would probably only be interested in soccer, and the school pretty much offers everything but that.

[IfIOnly]

This. Signing up doesn't mean you have to stay until they graduate, or even until next summer.

 

I had one in full-time PS 5th grade last year until Christmas - she enjoyed it, but the work wasn't what she needed, so we brought her home again. She wanted to try PS, and I didn't want to throw her in in the (notorious for social problems) middle school. It was definitely a scheduling hassle, but we live in walking distance, so she could get herself there/back.

 

My oldest has participated in a homeschool partnership through the next town's school, and really enjoyed it. Like others have said, it's great for things that are harder to do at home - she took swimming, clay/sculpture, and a few others. That was all homeschoolers, though, so they were all in the same boat, getting used to the school setting.

 

This year, she's going to start part-time at our local high school. We have friends who have done this, so I asked their dd what mine most needed to know. She said the language is just awful (I heard this from a teacher friend also), and that she was totally sick of answering questions about why she wasn't there all day, why she hadn't been there for all the grades (small town). My dd knows a lot of kids from sports & dance & church, so she's certain to know someone in each of her classes, and that should help.

 

Jumping through the PS hoops is no fun - gathering records, birth cert, vax paperwork.... But once that's done, it's done.

We're def. not in a small town (at least six middle schools here), so others may not even be aware they homeschool unless a teacher says something or my kids tell others. I'm concerned about exposure to certain things, but, honestly, language isn't one of them, although I'm not thrilled about how some kids talk at the parks and other places. I'm guessing though that since they'll probably avoid class changes, lunch, etc. there won't be much unsupervised socialization anyways.

 

We are not planning, at this time, to send them to public highshcool but are def. planning on DE at our local city college.

[Guest vaotienipoi]

 I have to get going out of the home and will reply to responses later this evening. 

[IfIOnly]

This.  Signing up doesn't mean you have to stay until they graduate, or even until next summer.

 

I had one in full-time PS 5th grade last year until Christmas - she enjoyed it, but the work wasn't what she needed, so we brought her home again.  She wanted to try PS, and I didn't want to throw her in in the (notorious for social problems) middle school.  It was definitely a scheduling hassle, but we live in walking distance, so she could get herself there/back.

 

My oldest has participated in a homeschool partnership through the next town's school, and really enjoyed it.  Like others have said, it's great for things that are harder to do at home - she took swimming, clay/sculpture, and a few others.  That was all homeschoolers, though, so they were all in the same boat, getting used to the school setting.

 

This year, she's going to start part-time at our local high school.  We have friends who have done this, so I asked their dd what mine most needed to know.  She said the language is just awful (I heard this from a teacher friend also), and that she was totally sick of answering questions about why she wasn't there all day, why she hadn't been there for all the grades (small town).  My dd knows a lot of kids from sports & dance & church, so she's certain to know someone in each of her classes, and that should help.  

 

Jumping through the PS hoops is no fun - gathering records, birth cert, vax paperwork....  But once that's done, it's done.  

 

Ugh. Does not sound fun. I wonder if they'd need homeschool portfolios or grades even though they aren't required by law in our state (just testing in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10).

[K&Rs Mom]

Ugh. Does not sound fun. I wonder if they'd need homeschool portfolios or grades even though they aren't required by law in our state (just testing in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10).

 

They can't require anything the law doesn't require (plenty of people wouldn't even have portfolios or grades).  But if they're giving you trouble about placement, it may be helpful to have an example of some recent work in that subject. 

[AK_Mom4]

Not knowing much about public school band, can a child learn to play an instrument decently with just school instruction, or are additional music lessons usually necessary?

My older two learned their instruments just with public school instruction twice a week for an hour. So it is certainly possible.