Options for earning a HS diploma . . .

[Daria]

I already asked this in my post in the college forum, but I thought I might ask here too to see if anyone had an idea.

 

I would very much like to not send my son back to PS for senior year.  But I also want him to have a HS diploma that is approved by someone other than me.  If I was confident that he would go to, and graduate from college, then I wouldn't care where his diploma came from, but he's got significant mental health challenges and I just don't know what to expect for him. 

 

I think we're going to limp through to the end of the year with a combination of classes taken at PS, classes taken online, and classes taken through the home instruction program.  If he finishes all his courses, he'll have 14 PS credits, and 5 online credits.  If he were to stay in PS, he'd need 3 more classes: English 12, a math class that comes after Algebra 2 (Stats or Precalc), and any elective.  

 

My first choice would be a program that would let him take just a couple online classes, and spend the rest of his time in a job, internship or DE classes at the local community college.  If they'd accept community college English in lieu of English 12, I'd be even happier.  

 

I know about American School, and am definitely considering that option, but they'd require him to take 4.5 classes through them in order to get a diploma.  I don't think that would leave as much time as we'd like.

 

 

[maize]

Clonlara might be an option?

 

 

http://clonlara.org/portal/

[EKS]

Maybe NARHS?

[maize]

I was just coming back to link to NARHS! That might be your best option.

[Daria]

NARHS looks too good to be true!  

 

How does that work after graduation?  If he has to list a high school on a job application, does he just put "North Atlantic Regional High School"?  

 

 

[Guest]

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Edited June 22, 2016 by Guest

[maize]

NARHS looks too good to be true!  

 

How does that work after graduation?  If he has to list a high school on a job application, does he just put "North Atlantic Regional High School"?  

 

Yes, that is the school he would graduate from.

[Daria]

NARHS would be a less expensive option for you as they would give credit for all the ps work. In fact, he'd probably only have to take one more English credit to graduate. So, he'd have a credit review, then pay for the one year of tuition (plus grad fee) to finish up.

 

I will warn you though, NCAA has not, in the past, accepted a NARHS diploma. We had to apply to NCAA as homeschoolers. It wasn't any big deal, but annoying all the same. 

 

Just having the NARHS diploma will not get you into a selective school--they do not demand enough math, etc. But, it would give him a diploma.

 

Could he do DE through your ps? Take pre-calc, academic writing, and maybe a computer class and graduate at Christmas! Even if you had to pay for the pre-calc (our ps won't pay for DE if the class is offered at the ps) class, it would be cheaper than NARHS. We have a number of kids do this every year. One friend did her senior year of cross-country in the fall, did the last few courses at DE and walked. 

 

Our school's rules are that they won't accept DE for a core graduation requirement, or a class offered in the building.  Also, students need to take at least one class in the building to be eligible for DE.  

 

It's an option, but I want to know what else is out there.  

 

I am also wondering the opposite, if NARHS would let us slow down his trajectory.  If I had a crystal ball, and knew that he'd be able to stay the course, my first choice for him would be to do 2 years of DE, so that he enters college as a freshman, but with all of his GE's and some electives taken care of (keeping in mind that he's looking at BFA's which require far fewer GE's than a BA or BS would).  Then he could take 12 credits a year and graduate in 4 years.

 

But I'm hesitant to push off the diploma, because I worry that mental illness will interrupt his education. 

 

According to NARHS, they require a minimum of 17.5, but some families decide on more  I'm wondering if we could agree on a plan that involves 2 years of part time DE, and maybe an online class or 2, and then if it's clear he can't continue at any point, cut back and issue the diploma.  Would that be allowed?  Ethical?  Accepted by the colleges?

[maize]

I think that plan would be fine. Nothing unethical about planning a more extended course of study but settling for minimum graduation requirements if circumstances change.

 

You'd have to ask NAHRS of course to know for sure their opinion.

 

I have a sibling who took five years to get through high school (public school) because of mental health challenges; didn't cause any trouble with college.

Edited February 28, 2016 by maize

[Lanny]

OP:   What state do you live in? Requirements vary, from state to state

[Daria]

We are in MD.

[Daria]

Margaret, can you tell me about NCAA? I think its a long shot that he'd play DI or DII, but I am all about keeping doors open.

 

I think he'll finish this year having met all the requirements for the first 6 semesters through approved classes. Will that be enough to qualify him if the CC and NARHS aren't approved?

[Corraleno]

For Div I schools, you can only count core classes taken in the first 4 years of high school, even if it takes the student 5 years to graduate:

 

From the time you enter the ninth grade, you have four (4) years or eight (8) semesters to complete your core-course requirement. If you fail to complete high school "on time" in eight semesters, core courses taken after the eighth semester will not be counted toward your NCAA academic-eligibility requirements.

 

This does not apply to Div 2 schools.

 

ETA: You mentioned in the other thread that your DS has done online courses. NCAA can be very very picky about online courses. They recently "unapproved" a bunch of online charter schools, and kids who were taking classes through those schools will have to scramble to come up with other ways of meeting core course requirements. So I would look through your son's credits and see how many would definitely meet NCAA requirements (approved courses taken in person at PS) and how many might be iffy, and then assess whether it's even worth jumping through a lot of hoops to keep the Div 1 door open, or if that's not very realistic at this point.

Edited February 28, 2016 by Corraleno

[Corraleno]

One option you might consider would be doing DE for 12th grade, making sure to cover the bases with NCAA (e.g. if there's a question about them accepting his online 10th grade English class, be sure he takes 2 DE English classes) and submitting your paperwork to NCAA as a homeschooler. Your son can apply to colleges as a homeschooler, and then, if he ends up either dropping out or not needing NCAA approval, you can apply to NARHS retroactively for a HS diploma. That would avoid the problem of getting a diploma from NARHS up front, which NCAA won't accept.

 

NARHS even offers the option of granting a HS diploma once a student has completed the equivalent of "1 year of college credits" — all you have to do is submit the college transcripts and a description of what constitutes "one year of full-time coursework" at the college, pay the fee, and collect the diploma.

 

 

Edited February 28, 2016 by Corraleno

[Lanny]

We are in MD.

 

I wonder if you can make an appointment with a Guidance Counselor in the HS where he was a student and see which school(s) they would accept credits from and then issue a diploma to him.  I'm not sure you can work that out with them, but if you haven't explored this with them, graduating from there would probably be the fastest route, IF you can work  out something mutually acceptable with them.  Does the University of Maryland offer High School  (Distance Learning) courses that local HS would accept?

[Daria]

I wonder if you can make an appointment with a Guidance Counselor in the HS where he was a student and see which school(s) they would accept credits from and then issue a diploma to him. I'm not sure you can work that out with them, but if you haven't explored this with them, graduating from there would probably be the fastest route, IF you can work out something mutually acceptable with them. Does the University of Maryland offer High School (Distance Learning) courses that local HS would accept?

I have spent many many hours in meetings with the school. The school is really clear that courses taken elsewhere can't count towards graduation.

[Daria]

One option you might consider would be doing DE for 12th grade, making sure to cover the bases with NCAA (e.g. if there's a question about them accepting his online 10th grade English class, be sure he takes 2 DE English classes) and submitting your paperwork to NCAA as a homeschooler. Your son can apply to colleges as a homeschooler, and then, if he ends up either dropping out or not needing NCAA approval, you can apply to NARHS retroactively for a HS diploma. That would avoid the problem of getting a diploma from NARHS up front, which NCAA won't accept.

 

NARHS even offers the option of granting a HS diploma once a student has completed the equivalent of "1 year of college credits" — all you have to do is submit the college transcripts and a description of what constitutes "one year of full-time coursework" at the college, pay the fee, and collect the diploma.

That's a good idea. I think the chances that he will play in college are slight but it is good to know it's possible.

[MarkT]

I wonder if you can make an appointment with a Guidance Counselor in the HS where he was a student and see which school(s) they would accept credits from and then issue a diploma to him.  I'm not sure you can work that out with them, but if you haven't explored this with them, graduating from there would probably be the fastest route, IF you can work  out something mutually acceptable with them.  Does the University of Maryland offer High School  (Distance Learning) courses that local HS would accept?

saw this from a 2011 document:

"Maryland charter school law effectively prohibits online charter schools"

[Prairie~Phlox]

Have you considered just doing a High School Equivalency Test? and then have him attend a community college & transfer.