Did I need an accredited program? Considering TTUISD also

[Janeway]

Good chance we will move next year in the late spring. Do we need an accredited program for high school?

 

We do not know where we will go, and I am worried we will get there and none of oldest son's work so far will be recognized and he will be forced to go back and repeat 9th grade or not get in to colleges or be considered a high school drop out. There is a good chance the move will be to Indiana, but we do not know yet. Plus, I would like him to be eligible for dual enrollment with the public school, whether we do it or not.

 

I am considering TTUISD so would love to hear reviews on that program and suggestions of others.

 

We also might not move and there are a few other states being considered.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Janeway

[8filltheheart]

You are asking questions with unrelated answers. Many homeschoolers do face problems entering into a ps system after 8th grade bc the schools want accredited classes. College acceptances, otoh, don't usually require an accredited diploma.

[HomeAgain]

You don't need an accredited school if there are no plans to go to public school.  We liked to keep that option open, so we did TTUISD.  As a full time student they're expected to take STAAR EOCs, just like at the Texas public schools.  The actual classes are low-key - lists of assignments, turn them in, get grade.  Some teachers are more hands on than others (English 1 had some decent teaching powerpoints and the Spanish 1 teacher was very encouraging and made the time to get to know her students), but because it's a self-paced system, much is expected of the student in the process.  They did set him back in 8th for a few subjects when he started - content he didn't cover the same as they did and so scored low on the exam.  I think he had to re-do history and geography.  Transferring him to a public school in 10th was no problem.  And they let him keep taking TTUISD classes on the side along with dual enrollment classes.

 

However, when we looked at moving this year and transferring to a different state, it was a whole new can of worms.  To transfer successfully, he would have had to take all of the new state's EOCs, plus go on their credit system, which is different than TEA-accredited schools.  It would have taken a dual-enrolled senior and sent him back to 11th grade.  Continuing through TTUISD as a full time student was an option we looked at and considered heavily, but the p.e. requirements got messy and expensive when the school district we looked at moving to wouldn't allow part time enrollment and outside options were pretty expensive.  So we pushed off moving for another year.  It honestly has worked out okay, and probably better for him.

[Lanny]

My first thought, based on a number of threads I've read on WTM, is that when a student has been enrolled in a Public High School in one state, and then moves to another state, there is, frequently it seems, a problem transferring some or all credits. The new school in the new state might require that the student repeat one or more subjects or grades  or pass examinations..  So, I suggest that you either do one of 2 things:

 

(1) Home School all the way through High School (grades 9 thru 12)

 

or

 

(2) Do not move to another state until after your DC has graduated from High School.

 

 

 

Regarding TTUISD, we are very happy with it. We are overseas and when DD needed to begin 6th grade, I thank God that I found a link, on a home schooling web site, that  said TTUISD had Middle School Distance Learning courses.   DD is now beginning 10th grade courses. She is Enrolled as a Full Time student, so yes, she is required to take the same 5 EOC exams that students in a Public High School in the State of Texas are required to take. Previously, there were 15 EOC exams, but the Texas Legislature reduced that, 2 or 3 years ago, to 5.  If you are not in the State of Texas (we are in South America) the regulations for the EOC exams are somewhat complex, but not impossible. DD took her first EOC exam (Biology) last month and she will take 2 more (Algebra and English 1) in December.  3 of the 5 EOC exams are for 9th grade courses.  We enrolled DD in Chemistry, a few minutes ago. Chemistry requires a Kit we bought from the school book store. That was our first purchase from the school book store. The courses, up to now, have required traditional textbooks, but I understand they are developing new courses that will use eBooks. So far, we haven't run into that. I usually buy the textbooks from Amazon Sellers, but bought 2 textbooks from people on eBay, and the 10th grade English textbook that was picked up at their local post office, by our Receiver Forwarder in Miami, this morning, I bought from an Alibris Seller (I had a 15% discount coupon on Alibris).  We will enroll  DD in Geometry in 2 or 3 days. TTUISD courses require that the Final Examinations be given under the supervision of an "Approved Proctor" (ours teaches Chemistry) and that the Final Examinations *must* be passed.  

 

GL with whatever you decide to go with!

[AliR]

We need an accredited program (due to our circumstances overseas) and use Calvert.  It runs at about $1,000 per credit per year, but that looks in line with other offerings such as K12, Connections, Keystone,Oak Meadow, the university high schools etc. If you are interested, I could let you know how it is going.

 

You could take a look at NARHS or Clonlara, if you want flexibility on the materials you use but still want accreditation.

 

If you are going to enter an accredited program, you are going to need to make sure that the previous credits will be accepted if you are not starting with 9th grade.  Not so bad if previous credits are with another accredited program or school, but not many organisations are going to accept homeschool work without a portfolio review so you will want to make sure that you are able to comply with this,

 

Hope you work something out.

[Lanny]

We need an accredited program (due to our circumstances overseas) and use Calvert.  It runs at about $1,000 per credit per year, but that looks in line with other offerings such as K12, Connections, Keystone,Oak Meadow, the university high schools etc. If you are interested, I could let you know how it is going.<snip>

 

We are currently paying TTUISD $185 per 1/2 Credit.  I assume that will go up slightly (5 or 10 dollars) on or about 01 September 2016.  ($185 x 2 = $370 per Credit)

 

ETA: That does not include textbooks or for example, the Kit for the Chemistry course DD enrolled in this afternoon.  Things like the Chemistry Kit are highly unusual. 

Edited August 10, 2016 by Lanny

[AliR]

That is good value Lanny.  Is that for enrolling in a full course load?

[Lanny]

That is good value Lanny.  Is that for enrolling in a full course load?

 

The price for each course is the same, whether one enrolls for one course or a bunch of courses.  Today, we paid $185 for a 1/2 Credit Chemistry course. I suspect that on or about 01 September 2016, that will increase to $190 or $195.. There is an Enrollment Application fee, that's probably not the correct name, I think it was approximately USD$100 or $125, but we paid that more than one year ago and I do not remember the exact cost.  That's for them to evaluate what you submit for the student requesting Enrollment into the Full Time High School program.. In our case, DD had been in their Middle School for 3 school years, so I suspect it was pretty quick for them to decide to take DD. They knew from her grades in their Middle School what kind of student she is. 

[MamaSprout]

Are you putting your son in public school? You're op is a little unclear. What grade is he in/ going into? As to homeschooling laws, Indiana is very easy. The only scenario where it would matter is if you homeschooled ninth and tried to enroll tenth. Most everyone else would look at CC classes at that point, if possible. If you are just now homeschooling 9th and think you will public school 10th, then you probably do want to consider something accredited.

 

I'm in neighboring Ohio, and live near the state line. I know a family who homeschooled 9th and is enrolling 10th in Indiana. The school is working with them subject by subject (It appears the student will have mostly 9th grade classes, but he isn't a strong student overall b/c of vision issues). A number of districts in Indiana also have part time options where student remains a homeschooler. Some even offer low cost, online classes for homeschools to pick from. So what's your goal?

[Janeway]

I would like him to eventually go to public school, but he does not want to. I am afraid he will change his mind by the end.

[Ellie]

You don't need an accredited school if there are no plans to go to public school.  We liked to keep that option open, so we did TTUISD.  As a full time student they're expected to take STAAR EOCs, just like at the Texas public schools.  The actual classes are low-key - lists of assignments, turn them in, get grade.  Some teachers are more hands on than others (English 1 had some decent teaching powerpoints and the Spanish 1 teacher was very encouraging and made the time to get to know her students), but because it's a self-paced system, much is expected of the student in the process.  They did set him back in 8th for a few subjects when he started - content he didn't cover the same as they did and so scored low on the exam.  I think he had to re-do history and geography.  Transferring him to a public school in 10th was no problem.  And they let him keep taking TTUISD classes on the side along with dual enrollment classes.

 

However, when we looked at moving this year and transferring to a different state, it was a whole new can of worms.  To transfer successfully, he would have had to take all of the new state's EOCs, plus go on their credit system, which is different than TEA-accredited schools.  It would have taken a dual-enrolled senior and sent him back to 11th grade.  Continuing through TTUISD as a full time student was an option we looked at and considered heavily, but the p.e. requirements got messy and expensive when the school district we looked at moving to wouldn't allow part time enrollment and outside options were pretty expensive.  So we pushed off moving for another year.  It honestly has worked out okay, and probably better for him.

 

There is no guarantee that a homeschooled student's credits will be accepted at any public school, regardless of whether or not the student was enrolled in an accredited distance learning school.  It is why it is so strongly recommended that people consider carefully whether they want to homeschool all four years of high school or not.

[8filltheheart]

I would like him to eventually go to public school, but he does not want to. I am afraid he will change his mind by the end.

This is not an enviable position. Homeschooling until 8th grade or homeschooling through 12th are your least complicated options. Once you start discussing enrolling in a ps in the middle of high school, unless you were using a public charter, students may not be placed in the correct grade level. If private school is an option, some private schools are willing to accept homeschool transcripts.

 

Is he going into 9th right now? Does your state have a public virtual school or charter?

Edited August 11, 2016 by 8FillTheHeart

[Lanny]

I would like him to eventually go to public school, but he does not want to. I am afraid he will change his mind by the end.

 

If he is going to attend a public High School, he needs to begin that with 9th grade, and he needs to stay in the same state, until he graduates from High School.

 

If he does not want to do that, your options are to Home school him for those 4 school years or to have him in a "Distance Learning" school (TTUISD is among those) or another school.

 

Assuming he is in a Public High School in the state you currently live in and then you move to another state, that will probably prove very problematic.

 

Going from Home School to a Public High School, after beginning High School at home, will probably also be very problematic.

[rjand6more]

In our situation(in IN), we could have enrolled ds in ps high school at any point and as long as we were sure about his readiness we could place him in the classes we believed to be appropriate. HOWEVER, he would not have received credit for prior homeschooling years.  So, he could go, but would not be allowed to graduate.  We did consider all our options and decided to homeschool high school.  We had absolutely no problem with him getting into college.

HTH.:)

[AngieW in Texas]

Moving from one state to another causes problems for ps kids too and often requires kids to spend an extra year in high school. At the school I worked in two years ago, I had to verify the academic records and progress for all of my Special Education students. As long as they were in-state, everything was fine. The students who moved from one state to another nearly always lost some of their credits. Even moving from one district to another within the same state can cause some problems, but nothing like the issues you run into when you move from one state to another.

 

I know that at my first school and my current school, if a student already has credit for a course that Texas has an end-of-course exam for, we don't make them take that exam. If they took the course and didn't pass it, however, they do have to take the exam.

 

One of my students last semester moved here from another country and was very happy that he would not have to take the biology or algebra exams. He will have to take both of the English exams and US history though. And even though he's a super bright kid with an amazing work ethic, he struggles enough with the language that passing those exams is going to be very difficult. He was in his last year of high school where he came from, but he will need to be in high school for two more years here to get all the credits he needs for a high school diploma.