Jeannie in NJ Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 my dd will be in 9th grade next year and has never been in any school other than home school. The admissions test for the technical high school are on Dec. 6 and they are very strict regarding the tests and the admissions deadline. This is from what I have been told by numerous people (including homeschoolers) an excellent school and fairly hard to get into. the pros: 1. dd is very interested in being a pastry chef and this tech high school has a 4 year pastry program which then eases into the local community college which has an exellent culinary school. 2. all academics are given at this school along with the v0-tech classes. 3. small student enrollment, about 600 with about 10 students per class 4. I have not heard anything negative at all about this school 5. I have also heard that the admissions person is interested in having homechoolers apply now for the cons: 1. dd is quite shy, however since she joined the youth group at our new church she is becoming lots more outgoing and making friends 2. school is about 15 miles away so could be a long bus ride 3. dd does like to sleep until 8:00 or 9:00 so getting up at 6 would be an adjustment, tho she does get up that early on Sundays 4. dd is very thin and eats small amounts of food thruout the day, she would have to get used to eating more at breakfast and when she is scheduled for lunch 5. she absolutely hates any form of P.E. and the school requires it every day for all 4 years 6. she has never known any kids that do not go to church. She is worried what non-church kids or should I say kids outside of her comfort zone will be like 7. she will only know one other kid at the school (from church, all of the other kids from church go to the regular public school which is only 5 miles from our house but dd does not want to go there, the only reason that she is interested in the tech school is for the pastry studies. 8. the homework !!! one big con for me is that as of now, the local school district does not even know that dd exists . in NJ we are not required to notify the local district, however many homeschoolers do. What if I put her in and she hates it and I bring her back out to homeschool. I have no idea if I will then have to deal with the local district. as of now, dd is leaning towards trying the school with the assurance from me that she can come back home to homeschool if she really hates it. Like I said at the beginning of my post, we have to apply now if we are going to as the school is very strict with their deadlines and testing. Oh, that reminded me of another thing, dd has never taken any standarized tests and the school not only requires their admissions tests but also the results from a standarized test and report cards from the last 3 years. I called them and they said that usually they want the results from standardized tests from the last 3 years but since I do not have that, they will accept the results if I test her now . any thoughts from anyone? or any experiences, especially if your child started school at 9 th grade with no prior experience with the public school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted November 13, 2008 Author Share Posted November 13, 2008 the culinary school at the community college has a min. age of 18 to attend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Yes, you're getting a late start. Can you go to B&N and get some test prep books and start tomorrow? We went through this but started the process in 7th grade for ds to enter 9th grade. He did a Spectrum test prep book then ITBS from BJU at the end of grade 7 (suggestion of the high school he take a timed test). Then he took the high school placement exam at the beginning of 8th grade (3.5 hr test) and did well. We submitted a homeschool transcript. My friend did this with her homeschool son for 9th grade entrance to a competitive tech school in our area. He is now in his sophmore year and is doing well. It could be a valuable learning experience regardless of the outcome. Give it a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeljenn Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 I bet she'll do fine. Yes, she will have to make some adjustments, but it sounds like it may be worth it. My children started school this year, and I had one that hates to get up in the morning. She STILL hates to get up in the morning, but that is just life. We must get up and get our day going! LOL.. Anyway, it won't hurt anything to give it a shot. I am not sure what to say about school interference if it does not work out. I live in TX and so I am not required to do or show anything. Oh... and my kiddo's were scared and anxious to start schoo, but love it!! There were and still are bumps in the road, but the benefits of school outway homeschooling right now. I know it is such a hard choice, but you really won't know until you try. Also, can she take "pe" in another form like in a tennis class or dance class?? These count as PE classes at our school. Good luck with your decision, Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riutwpoj Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 The kids will love to go to school after a few months, they will like to meet there friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christi/NC Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 It is the first time that either one had had any instruction outside of our homeschool. My daughter is in 9th; my son is in 11th. They are having a very good year! I thought I'd address your cons--some of them were the same ones on my list. Most have not been at all what I thought they would be. Our situation and dd's sound very similar. 1. My dd is pretty shy too and my son is reserved. Both have a good circle of friends--many of whom were homeschooled at some point. My shy dd loves her new circle of friends. We've been very pleased with the girls she hangs around with at school. 2. The charter school is 13 mi from us and doesn't have a bus option. The carpool/pick up/drop off is the one thing that is still a con. It would be lovely if it were closer but it's not. 3. My dd loves to sleep until 10 or 11 and when homeschooling would regularly stay up late to work ahead on her school work so she could sleep a bit late. She still sleeps really late on Saturday mornings. She has not had any trouble adjusting to her new schedule. She has said that sleeping is the only thing she misses about homeschooling. :-) 4. My dd is also very thin and is not a good eater. She has learned to eat some breakfast (she did not before) and takes a lunch to school daily. She snacks when she gets home. This was a big concern of mine (her weird eating habits/needs) but it has worked out very well. 5. My dd hates PE and has to take it this year. She still doesn't like it but has learned the rules to volleyball, kickball, football and soccer. She's also working through some physical fitness routines. She has friends in this class and that makes it better. I figure that we all have to do things we'd rather not (like PE). 6. My dd had no friends outside of church. She now has school friends that she can invite to church and she does! As I said before, she has found other girls with similar values to befriend. There are bad kids at the school too but she doesn't interact with that crowd. 7. My dd also knew only one other kid at this school but has a large group of friends there now. 8. The homework load is not anywhere close to the amount I expected. It's far less. My kids find time to work on homework at school (or the teacher's give them time in class) and they work on it when they get home from school. Every once in a while they will have a bigger load but it is infrequent. I've been so pleased with this school. It has been a very good transition for our previously homeschooled kids. They are taking classes I could not teach or outsource ($$ & time) like psychology, geography and art. Both are doing well academically. There was a bit of a learning curve trying to figure out what each teacher wanted, where the homework for each class was turned in, class rules, school rules, etc--things that the other schooled kids already knew how to do. I hope that helps! Christi Mom to: 19yo homeschool graduate, 16yo 11th grader in charter school, 14 yo 9th grader in charter school, 12 yo 7th grader homeschooling and 10 yo 5th grader homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted November 20, 2008 Author Share Posted November 20, 2008 thanks for all the replies and Christi, are you sure that your dd in not my dd? They sound exactly the same. I will have dd read your responses and you are very encouraging. I don't have to worry about tranportation as our local school is responsible for both paying tuition to the technical high school and providing the bus for dd to get there. Last week, our local school called me (my son is there so they know me) and invited myself and dd to come for an assembly at their school featuring the enrollment coordinator from the vo-tech school. Dd and I stayed afterwards and talked to the corrdinator and it went very well. She invited us to an open house there in a couple of weeks and also told dd about some of the activities that the pastry students do there. Last year, the students did all the deserts and the wedding cake for an actual wedding. Dd liked hearing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christi/NC Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Our dd's do sound very similar! I hope it works out for you. Christi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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