Janeway Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I had intended to home school high school. That is not the issue. But I am so not in to it. The only home school group in our town is super religious. Basically, I have not made much for a support group of other home schoolers. I have friends who are home schoolers, but, they are generally so religious that I just keep my mouth shut about a lot around them. The home schoolers I know around here, their kids have their social groups at church or "Awanas" but I am not interested in these things. We did attend a liberal church for a while, but it was definitely not our thing. We have left. Now I feel like I am looking at this huge mountain in front of me called high school. I cannot afford private school. Reality is, sending our oldest back to public school right now could be difficult. He already has done, definitely, 2 high school courses that I would not want him to repeat. He has others that he has credit for, but it would work out ok for him to repeat. Like, he has done world history this year, but it was only the first half, and, freshmen can take the AP version at the public school. Oldest does not want to go. He does not want to go at all. He does not even want to tour. I do not know if this is something I should push. He is very intelligent but has Aspergers (ASD). He is very set that he will not be going and I already tried to talk to the school about a modified schedule to reduce his stress but they said no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Are there need based scholarships at any local private schools or hybrid schools? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Are there need based scholarships at any local private schools or hybrid schools? No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Is a virtual academy an option? Then he'd be doing the work at home, but you wouldn't have to choose curriculum, and his schedule would be set up for outside accountability with deadlines, etc. Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Is a virtual academy an option? Then he'd be doing the work at home, but you wouldn't have to choose curriculum, and his schedule would be set up for outside accountability with deadlines, etc. Erica in OR I do not know any that are not religious but are affordable. I already looked at Keystone and had issues. I had a close family member have big issues with them so I do not want to get involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I do not know any that are not religious but are affordable. I already looked at Keystone and had issues. I had a close family member have big issues with them so I do not want to get involved. No, I mean ones that are offered through the public school district. Ours has two flavors here, one that is Connections Academy and one that is a separate virtual academy, but both are funded by public school $ and don't have a separate cost to student families. Erica in OR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 (edited) No, I mean ones that are offered through the public school district. Ours has two flavors here, one that is Connections Academy and one that is a separate virtual academy, but both are funded by public school $ and don't have a separate cost to student families. Erica in OR They only allow that with previous public school enrollment in Texas. http://www.connectionsacademy.com/texas-virtual-school/enrollment/eligibility Edited March 5, 2016 by Janeway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Out here for the public schools you mostly have a placement discussion with the school counselor upon enrollment, and they take your word for where your kid is academically. The private schools generally administer a placement test and offer classes accordingly. You might find that you don't have as much trouble avoiding those repeats as you might think. However, getting actual high school credit, as opposed to placement, for the previous classes is a different matter and very hard to arrange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Isn't it that you don't want to do the teaching? Have you looked at things like elearningk12.com? Or if you don't like that, maybe just pick things like Teaching Textbooks or Mathusee for math and find some other online or dvd courses for the other subjects? I was going to mention some other options, but I just realized they were religious. If you give us a little info about what specifically you're not wanting to do, we might be able to give more specific advice. ((Hugs)) High school can be daunting, but these boards are a great resource. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I've never had much time for the support groups, so I understand why you don't want that. It's definitely not necessary for homeschool. :-) Do you think your son would be able to be fairly independent in his studies? Could you give him a curriculum and trust him to get the work done? I have actually found homeschooling high school to be way less labor intensive than homeschooling the earlier grades. I'm not teaching at all. That said, if you think it's likely that it won't work out, it's definitely better to get him to the high school for 9th grade. While it's easy enough to homeschool a kid who went to public high school for a year, there can be issues in transferring homeschool high school credits to the public school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 They only allow that with previous public school enrollment in Texas. http://www.connectionsacademy.com/texas-virtual-school/enrollment/eligibility That requirement is just plain discrimination against "outsiders" - nothing like that in AZ. If you are resident you're in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Study.com and Plato Education are online and self-paced. IU high school online allows individual class or full diploma track enrollment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Isn't it that you don't want to do the teaching? Have you looked at things like elearningk12.com? Or if you don't like that, maybe just pick things like Teaching Textbooks or Mathusee for math and find some other online or dvd courses for the other subjects? I was going to mention some other options, but I just realized they were religious. If you give us a little info about what specifically you're not wanting to do, we might be able to give more specific advice. ((Hugs)) High school can be daunting, but these boards are a great resource. I just don't want to be responsible for the entire thing. It feels like I spend all this money, do all this driving. I actually send my younger kids to preschool, paying for it, so I have time to do school with the older kids. I really worry that in a couple years, he will change his mind. It kind of seems lonely and I worry he will change his mind in a couple years. He is 14 now, but how will he feel at 16 and 17, still home? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I have similar feelings about high school... But to be honest, I just don't know what I would actually gain by sending my son. ...my husband keeps reminding me that we can almost completely skip the entire high school drama/game.... So, we are going to homeschool 9th and 10th, and then graduate our son early using our state test and let him go to Community College for 3 years (ours take 3 years to complete because of overcrowding). My son feels very excited about this plan because he is going to take a mix of online courses and MFW for next year. He is out and about in the community in several areas (swimming, Robotics club, occasional youth group stuff, and visits work with dad now and then) ...He is also hoping to get a summer job if we can find one for him (low paying jobs here are usually staffed by adults)... Have you considered that idea? ((hugs)) it's hard. I'm tired too. I feel like it's "all on me" but the reality is that it isn't all on you because your son will need to grow up more and more and as he does it'll be more and more "on him" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I just don't want to be responsible for the entire thing. It feels like I spend all this money, do all this driving. I actually send my younger kids to preschool, paying for it, so I have time to do school with the older kids. I really worry that in a couple years, he will change his mind. It kind of seems lonely and I worry he will change his mind in a couple years. He is 14 now, but how will he feel at 16 and 17, still home? I didn't see your last post but this was my exact converstaion with my hubby...the only difference is my son actually would like to try school, as one of his best buds goes to our local, very well regarded high school. So, I would just say, that remember he can graduate early and go to CC also, or take DUal Enrollment. He can also look for part time jobs to get out of the house when he's not studying. :o) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 I have similar feelings about high school... But to be honest, I just don't know what I would actually gain by sending my son. ...my husband keeps reminding me that we can almost completely skip the entire high school drama/game.... So, we are going to homeschool 9th and 10th, and then graduate our son early using our state test and let him go to Community College for 3 years (ours take 3 years to complete because of overcrowding). My son feels very excited about this plan because he is going to take a mix of online courses and MFW for next year. He is out and about in the community in several areas (swimming, Robotics club, occasional youth group stuff, and visits work with dad now and then) ...He is also hoping to get a summer job if we can find one for him (low paying jobs here are usually staffed by adults)... Have you considered that idea? ((hugs)) it's hard. I'm tired too. I feel like it's "all on me" but the reality is that it isn't all on you because your son will need to grow up more and more and as he does it'll be more and more "on him" That is the thing..it feels like we do not have anything in this small town. We can drive to other towns, but right now, we drive to other towns for so much. And we pay a lot. I wanted to try outsourcing science again. But, the place we knew of was 45+ minute drive each way. I feel like we have younger children that get lost in the shuffle all the time. Right now, we drive 30+ minutes each way for 11 yr old to do something 3 times a week. We have to stay there and wait. Now the owner does not want small children in the studio (its a dance studio) because he walked in to a child recently. He told us our toddler has to be in our arms when in the studio, and our 4 yr old too. So, we simply cannot take them anymore. The gym the kids went to is moving. They think all the business will go with them, but it will take 45 minutes to get to their new location from where we live now. We drive 10 minutes now. We MIGHT move next year. There is not much interesting in our town. I am thinking maybe there are not a lot of home schoolers because everything seems to revolve around the public schools. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 I see. ...that does affect the situation for sure. But, won't your ds be old enough to drive when he's 16? o Could that be a boon to the situation for him (assuming there is actually a CC to drive to?) I grew up in a small town rural area, and I have to say, the school and church were the center of our social lives and a huge blessing to us. I understand your predicament... Have you shadowed or done an open house at the public school to see what it's like? Maybe that would give you insight you don't currently have... moving is not such a bad idea...I personally feel it makes homeschooling much easier when we have access to so many things. But moving is also a big stress and a financial loss no matter how you do it. So obviously you would really want to be fixing something major to take that route. Is the Russian Ballet near a Community College and other in-town things that your oldest could access? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 He is very intelligent but has Aspergers (ASD). He is very set that he will not be going and I already tried to talk to the school about a modified schedule to reduce his stress but they said no. If he has a diagnosis, you have the right to insist on the full IEP process before they say no to accommodating his needs. (That being said, some school systems are better at providing special needs services than others.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 They only allow that with previous public school enrollment in Texas. http://www.connectionsacademy.com/texas-virtual-school/enrollment/eligibility So.... if he tries the public school for a year (or will a semester do?) and hates it, you have an escape plan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 They only allow that with previous public school enrollment in Texas. http://www.connectionsacademy.com/texas-virtual-school/enrollment/eligibility Could you put him in pub sch. for the last month or so of this year so that he'd be eligible for Connections for next year? And do you have K12 in your area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 I discussed it with my husband and we agreed we will stick it out with the 14 yr old. I need to stop thinking of those two as a pair. I have a very good feeling that the older one will want to return to public school, or something, by high school. The child cannot stop speaking. LOL. He needs to interact the entire day long. I never ever in my life thought I would meet someone who talks more than me..but I have met my match! I am certain that at some point in my life, someone heard me speaking and said "dear Lord, please give her a child who is just like her so she goes crazy listening to someone talk as much as her." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Wow. Your story is so amazing I actually thought for a second you were joking. But you have a good point. Kids can get involved in the world and make their mark in a million different ways that are much better than sitting inside a public high school classroom. :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 ...I already tried to talk to the school about a modified schedule to reduce his stress but they said no. If he has a diagnosis, you have the right to insist on the full IEP process before they say no to accommodating his needs. (That being said, some school systems are better at providing special needs services than others.) If he is going to public school, you would be wise to make sure he has an IEP in place before setting foot in the school, if at all possible. That IEP gives you the power to work with the school to meet his needs due to his disability. A modified schedule is exactly the kind of accommodation that would be appropriate, and would be fairly easy for the school to implement. If they are reluctant to make such a simple modification, then I would be concerned that the school is not the right placement for your son. However, if you did not approach your request through an IEP lens, or if the person who said no was not the right person to ask (e.g., they are not generally "in the loop" for IEP accommodations), then things may go better once you are talking to the right people in an IEP context. LEARN THE LAW IN YOUR STATE - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. This is key if your child will be attending a public school. When confronted with an empowered parent who knows their rights, schools can become accommodating rather rapidly. That requirement is just plain discrimination against "outsiders" - nothing like that in AZ. If you are resident you're in. I agree - it's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Each student in the state is entitled to a Free, Appropriate, Public Education. These online charter schools are public schools. OP, I know you're probably not wanting to deal with a lawsuit just to enroll in a public cyber school, but it may be worth making some inquiries and pushing some buttons to see what it would take to change this requirement. I would start by calling a state congressman, and/or the state department of education, and/or a disability support group, and/or an education lawyer. This requirement is not likely to hold up to legal challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 I agree - it's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Each student in the state is entitled to a Free, Appropriate, Public Education. These online charter schools are public schools. Yeah, that's ridiculous. I've never heard of that anywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) That is the thing..it feels like we do not have anything in this small town. We can drive to other towns, but right now, we drive to other towns for so much. And we pay a lot. I wanted to try outsourcing science again. But, the place we knew of was 45+ minute drive each way. I feel like we have younger children that get lost in the shuffle all the time. Right now, we drive 30+ minutes each way for 11 yr old to do something 3 times a week. We have to stay there and wait. Now the owner does not want small children in the studio (its a dance studio) because he walked in to a child recently. He told us our toddler has to be in our arms when in the studio, and our 4 yr old too. So, we simply cannot take them anymore. The gym the kids went to is moving. They think all the business will go with them, but it will take 45 minutes to get to their new location from where we live now. We drive 10 minutes now. We MIGHT move next year. There is not much interesting in our town. I am thinking maybe there are not a lot of home schoolers because everything seems to revolve around the public schools. Its sounds like moving may be your best option given all the driving you do combined with the lack of local educational support. With 5 little ones to consider that has to be a high priority. Of course, moving is a lot of work and not everyone can do it. But if you can, look very carefully into the educational opportunities before making the switch. Edited March 8, 2016 by dereksurfs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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