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anyone here hs'ing HS in PA?


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I'm starting to plan my DD's 9th grade year and beyond.  We are in NJ where homeschooling is unregulated, but more and more we are discussing moving to PA.  So I want to keep their requirements in mind if we do move next year or at any point while my kids are in high school.   

I already went through the process back in the fall to get my PA teacher's license.  This was pretty easy with my NJ credentials.  So now I will not have to jump through all the hoops each year if we move to PA with hiring an evaluator, doing a portfolio review, etc.  It is my understanding that I would be able to homeschool under the private tutor law and I would just need to write a letter each year.  

What I am wondering about is high school graduation requirements.  Are there very specific classes required?  For example, I was leaning towards doing a Global Studies course for my DD's freshman year focusing on geography, cultures, and current events, while reviewing major events in world history.  I don't know if this course would be sufficient or if they require more of a standard World History course.  I cannot find these specifics on the PA Dept. of Ed website or anywhere else.  I have tried looking up course offerings at random PA high schools and can't find a clear answer.  I found one school that offers a geography and cultures class but specifically said that it does NOT meet the World History requirement for graduation.  Is that for their particular high school for for state graduation requirements?  

If you are homeschooling high school in PA and can give me specific information, I would greatly appreciate it!  

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Hi, 

We moved from Md to PA right when my son started 8th grade.  He will be a senior this Fall.  KUDOS for your teacher's certificate but it isn't necessary because there are alot of teacher's who homeschool their kids in PA and you can even find a teacher that supports unschooling....Just sayin for others are thinking of moving to PA.

We are doing Parent Issued/ PA Evaluator Diplomas.  I love my PA Evaluator - she is open to anything and your class for Global Studies is no problem :)

I love the website http://www.askpauline.com/ for homeschooling in PA.  

"At the secondary school level, the following courses shall be taught: English, to include language, literature, speech and composition; science; geography; social studies, to include civics, world history, history of the United States and Pennsylvania; mathematics, to include general mathematics, algebra and geometry; art; music; physical education; health; and safety education, including regular and continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires.  Such courses of study may include, at the discretion of the supervisor of the home education program, economics; biology; chemistry; foreign languages; trigonometry; or other age-appropriate courses as contained in Chapter 5 (Curriculum Requirements) of the State Board of Education."

English has to be 4 years-- Each high school year has to have English.  That's it.  Now you decide what kind of English (writing, literature, speech), grammar does not have to be all every year.  You need 3 years of high school math. The key word here is "at the discretion of the supervisor of the home education program."

So, World History can be anything do to with world history--- It's part of Social Sciences.  These are general topics and you get to put together a class that has to do with world history.

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Oh yeah, don't forget fire safety...   All home ed students are required to have "regular and continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires". Most people interpret the law to mean that this needs to be taught every year, though extensive instruction is not necessary.  It’s a good idea to do certain “fire safety” things every year anyway, like change the batteries in your smoke alarms, and review fire procedures with your children.

Homeschooling High School http://www.askpauline.com/hs/homeschoolhighschool.html

The graduation requirements include the following minimum courses in grades nine through twelve:

  • Four years of English
  • Three years of mathematics.
  • Three years of science.
  • Three years of social studies
  • Two years of arts and humanities.

 

In addition, at some point in grades 7 through 12, "...the following courses shall be taught..". Some people interpret the law to mean that these courses are part of the graduation requirements; others do not.

  • English, to include language, literature, speech and composition;
  • mathematics, to include general mathematics, algebra and geometry;
  • science;
  • social studies, to include civics, world history, history of the United States and Pennsylvania; geography;
  • art; music;
  • physical education; health; and safety education, including regular and continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires. 

As with any other parent-issued diploma, you should carefully consider whether you will also create a transcript, portfolio, or other documentation of the student's high school courses, credits, activities, etc., to further document what they have done during the high school years, especially if they are applying to college or the military. 

Edited by Nicholas_mom
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20 hours ago, Nicholas_mom said:

KUDOS for your teacher's certificate but it isn't necessary because there are alot of teacher's who homeschool their kids in PA


Thank you for that info! Over the past few days, I did find a lot of what I needed to know on pahomeschoollaw.com.  Yes I know it’s not necessary to get a PA teaching license but now I will not have to hire an evaluator every year and I can even start evaluating as a side job. Coming from NJ where we don’t answer to anyone, the homeschool regulations in PA have been a big turn off for me. It’s much less intimidating now 😊

The thing I’m still unsure of is how to document credits completed before high school. Should this be listed officially like a transcript with grades? Or just noted at the bottom? We don’t do a lot of grading yet. But my DD has already satisfied some of what is required between 7th-12th grade. 

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My point was that Pa Evaluators are usually homeschoolers with a teacher certificate.  Evaluations are a breeze.  Its not like in Maryland where each county actually have public school teachers be your evaluators and you end with homeschool umbrella group for evaluators and paying over 100's dollars per year and now I am in PA and I pay only $50 bucks!   I should have moved in PA sooner and saved so much money.

I just realized that you are going under the "Private Tutor Law".  I don't know how that differs from Supervisor's (parent)  of the Home as teachers.  I just have my previous records of elementary/middle school of what of my son did while we lived in Maryland.  No one asked for a transcript for elementary/middle school in PA.  I never did a transcript until High School.   For 8th grade (when we moved to PA), I just listed things we did for the PA Evaluator.  I didn't do grades for 8th grade except for online Math and English classes my son took.  She looked at samples (1 from Fall & 1 current sample) for each subject I taught him.  All she needed was that I showed something that proved he improved from the Fall until Spring.

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