Homeschool charter school opportunity, thoughts?

[kroe1]

My big SUV gas guzzling monster would cost me $800 just getting to all the teacher meetings and testing sites.

 

It sounds like for your family it is just boiling down to homeschooling constraints and loss of some freedoms in exchange for $800 plus accountability.

 

During the elementary years, homeschooling allowed me to teach my attention lacking daughter with 15 minute subjects, frequent road trips, PE and science on the beach, daily science labs, and all reading while she was rolling around the house on skates. Consequently, she is now 2 years ahead because she was allowed to learn the way she could learn best. She might be in one grade for some subjects and other grades for others. And she has yet to ever finish all subjects at the same time each year. A public education in any form would not have allowed this rapid progression in such an unorthodox (not for homeschoolers) way.

 

So the only other thing I think you need to consider is if you have a child that needs to learn at his own pace, in his own way, or in any fashion not conducive to the public school system. At least find out if your child can be in multiple grades for different subjects.

 

Eight hundred dollars and accountability has a different value to each of us. But, being able to meet my daughter's unique learning needs is priceless.

 

Good luck with your decision. Keep us informed of the additional information you discover about the charter.

[LifeLovePassion]

I finally got some sample worksheets to look at. At first glance, there is not much to them. I am going to look at them more today, but if I am correct, I figure we  can cover their topics quickly then do what we want the rest of the time.

 

The options day is free, it doesn't get paid for out of any of the other funds provided. They are looking at Karate and Lego Robotics for 2 of the classes. Plus 2 more classes (art, music and drama were top picks). Those are weekly classes, and parent drop off is allowed. I could have 4 hours each week to run errands and grocery shop in peace!

 

For example, the 4th grade language arts worksheet is reading a passage and answering a multiple choice question for the theme of the passage and then write 2-3 sentences to summarize the story. There are 3 passages on a worksheet. And they allow 2 weeks to complete it. 

 

 

[Ellie]

"Homeschooling" is mentioned nowhere in the state ed code. A court ruling doesn't change that fact.

 

The fact that a court case mentions homeschooling trumps the fact that it is not in the education code.

[Maela]

I haven't read all of the replies.  We use a homeschool charter and love it.  However, it sounds less restrictive than the one you're considering.

 

We have to meet with our Educational Coordinator every two months.  We turn in a couple of samples from each subject: math, ELA, science, history, art.  So far they've been super relaxed about what we turn in.  I've even gone a couple of times without really turning much in for science and history.  We mostly just read good books and have great discussions for those subjects.  So unless I find a fun little project for us to do, I just turn in a reading list.  That's been accepted so far.  I also turn in some Math Mammoth worksheets and a piece of writing plus some copywork.  

 

They have curriculum for us to use, but I chose to find our own.  They're fine with that.  

 

ETA:  We have to do testing (actually I think we can opt out, but it's a huge deal), but I have no problem with that.  We also have to turn in attendance sheets, but they told us any day we do anything educational counts.  So my kids have perfect attendance.

 

What does the homeschool charter do for us?  We have the option of taking some fun science/STEM/art classes.  We usually do those.  We also have the option to take math and ELA with them, but I said no.  Also, my kindergartner gets to take a fun weekly kindergarten class.  They give us $200 a year to use for extracurriculars (gymnastics, karate, art classes, etc.).

 

 

I sometimes get the feeling that my E.C. lets us get away with more than he should?  But I'm not sure.  My kids are somewhat advanced and seem to be doing well.  Our family just loves to learn new things and have a lot of discussions about those things, and I think that's apparent to the E.C.

 

 

Anyway, we love our homeschool charter!  Because I have so much freedom, I don't feel like it's public school at home at all (although I know that technically we are; I don't care about that).  But if we had less freedom, I'm not sure if I'd go for it.

[SweetandSimple]

 

 

The options day is free, it doesn't get paid for out of any of the other funds provided. They are looking at Karate and Lego Robotics for 2 of the classes. Plus 2 more classes (art, music and drama were top picks). Those are weekly classes, and parent drop off is allowed. I could have 4 hours each week to run errands and grocery shop in peace!

 

This would make it worth it for me. Maybe it is just my area, but those kinds of extra classes are very expensive here!

[Crimson Wife]

The fact that a court case mentions homeschooling trumps the fact that it is not in the education code.

 

The state legislature would have to pass legislation to change the ed code in order for "homeschooling" to be considered something different from private or public schooling. I don't think ANYONE wants that to happen except critics of homeschooling freedom like that Coalition for Responsible Home Education. The CA legislature is in the pocket of the teachers' union and any change to the status quo would bring a lot of red tape and loss of HSing freedoms.

[Ellie]

The state legislature would have to pass legislation to change the ed code in order for "homeschooling" to be considered something different from private or public schooling. I don't think ANYONE wants that to happen except critics of homeschooling freedom like that Coalition for Responsible Home Education. The CA legislature is in the pocket of the teachers' union and any change to the status quo would bring a lot of red tape and loss of HSing freedoms.

 

And that's why the court case was so good for CA homeschoolers: no need for legislation. The court decision said, "California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education."