Part-time PS?

[nature girl]

NJ is very lax with hs'ing, which has been wonderful the past two years, but I think it also means they don't give hs'ers much support either. Now DD is in PS for the first time (should be in 2nd, but because her b-day is right before the cutoff they agreed she could be kept back in 1st.) DH and I have been talking about options, we're not thrilled with having her in school 8 hours a day. She was in an ESY program this summer, 4 hours a day, 4 days a week, and it was perfect for her, she got needed socialization, learned to listen to adults who were not her parents, and I got a refreshing break from a high-intensity child. And we were able to do schooling at home, she completed a whole year of Singapore, read countless books and had field trips, it was glorious.

 

But full-day school has been a hard transition...I'm seeing things from her I never saw in afternoons after the ESY program. I realize this is all brand new for her, and of course I'll give it some time, but with her ADHD I know school will always be a challenge for her, they're squishing her into a round hole that she just doesn't fit inside, so I'm trying to figure out whether we might have any other options if it just turns out to be too much.

 

So I know it's a long-shot, but...does anyone here know whether NJ ever allows part-time schooling? Their regs seem to suggest it's possible, but I'm not sure how often a school board actually permits it. (I don't want to raise the possibility with the school till I know more, since we're so new there, and they've made some great accommodations for DD already...I don't want to ruffle any feathers.) The NJ DOE says:

 

• Curricular and Extracurricular - A board of education may, but is not required by law to, allow a child educated elsewhere than at school to participate in curricular and extracurricular activities or sports activities.  Before deciding to do so, however, a board of education may wish to consult with its attorney to consider the full implications of such participation.

HSLDA says: "In practice, public schools rarely allow homeschoolers to participate." That doesn't sound promising, but they don't dismiss it outright. I just would love to get a better idea of what our chances are before hanging onto the hope of this as a solution. Can anyone provide any insight?

[Wheres Toto]

I've only heard of one school district in NJ allowing homeschoolers to take things like chorus, band, phys ed, etc. and that was Denville, in Morris County.   I don't know if they still do it but you can probably give them a call and ask them about it.

 

We've mainly done things like 4-H, martial arts, Sunday School, choir, art classes, YMCA classes - to give the kids socialization, other teachers (although I run 4-H and teach one of them in Sunday School sometimes), and a small break.  I also make them spend at least an hour in their rooms screen free every day. 

[nature girl]

I'm not in NJ, but in CO, the ps gets half funding for a child who is there for 2 hours a day. I wonder if your NJ school would go for this. Another option (in CO at least) is to leave the child enrolled through October count. The ps gets full funding and then, frankly, they don't much care what you do. Our ps is willing to do the half day thing at that point as they've already gotten their $$$ and the ps teacher is already getting paid. 

 

That's interesting, thanks. We'd planned to keep her in at least till the end of Oct. anyway (unless things get really bad while she's in school and she's miserable), so this is good to know.

 

 

I've only heard of one school district in NJ allowing homeschoolers to take things like chorus, band, phys ed, etc. and that was Denville, in Morris County.   I don't know if they still do it but you can probably give them a call and ask them about it.

 

We've mainly done things like 4-H, martial arts, Sunday School, choir, art classes, YMCA classes - to give the kids socialization, other teachers (although I run 4-H and teach one of them in Sunday School sometimes), and a small break.  I also make them spend at least an hour in their rooms screen free every day. 

 

Thanks for the info...We were part of a co-op (met once weekly in the morning), sometimes did a hs park day, and I tried her in some outside activities but she wasn't able to stay with them, her ADHD was a real issue there. The thing I like about school is that they're with the same kids every day, so there's a chance to develop friendships. She'd play with kids on park days, but it was a rotating crowd so there was no one she really bonded with, and she did have pseudo-friends in the co-op, but there were no girls her age.

 

I'm most interested in having her participate in specials and maybe in their science and social studies, or even LA if they'd let her since she's behind in writing. They have specials, science/social studies and recess in the afternoon, so my pipe dream was to be able to school her in the morning at home, then drop her off at around 12:30 for recess, and pick her up at 3:35...It would be just the right amount for her, not too overwhelming, and she could join in the parts of school I know she'd really enjoy. I realize that's probably too much to ask of them but yeah, that's my dream.

[Momofeat]

I don't guess this really helps your situation, but I know of a district in NC that has been experimenting with shared public/homeschooling. They're currently only doing it at the high school level, but it has gone so well that they are thinking about expanding it to the middle school level. I love to see public and homeschools acting more like partners and less like enemies.

 

I hope it works out for you.

[Wheres Toto]

We were never too successful with making friendships through park days mainly because it wasn't the same kids all the time.   Right now my kids closest friends are from 4-H - we meet twice a month but they are all similar, quirky, active kids - and choir - which meets weekly and has some of the same kids as Sunday School, which also meets weekly.

 

My son was really rough when he was younger - very active, uncontrolled, loud, disruptive - and it did take us a while to find the right activities for him.

 

I'm not sure your plan would work (I've never heard of academics being allowed) but it never hurts to ask. 

[alisoncooks]

 

I don't guess this really helps your situation, but I know of a district in NC that has been experimenting with shared public/homeschooling. They're currently only doing it at the high school level, but it has gone so well that they are thinking about expanding it to the middle school level. I love to see public and homeschools acting more like partners and less like enemies.

 

I hope it works out for you.

 

 

As a NCian, this caught my eye.  Would you mind sharing which district? (You can PM me if you're not comfortable sharing publicly.)

[Insertcreativenamehere]

This is pretty common practice in MN. It's called shared time here, and we've done it for music, art and PE at the elementary level. We're no longer participating due to scheduling issues. Some do it in high school for higher maths and lab sciences. Many use it for band or orchestra.