Homeschooling

Archive for January, 2007

Question: A question about Online Homeschooling....?

I am currently in 9th grade at a Highschool in Michigan, and I hate it! I want to go into Homeschooling but I don't know of a certified teacher for me. Is the K12 program available online for Michigan homeschoolers? If not, what are some free/very cheap virtual highschools that are permitted in Michigan.
Thank you for the information given, it's all very helpful, but I asked for links. I've learned that K12 is not free for michigan students, so please answer with links to legit online schools please!

Answer: According to "Exemption (f)" linked at the Michigan Department of Education website, your parents would have no need to apply to any agency:
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-- The home school family is not a nonpublic school.
-- The Michigan Dept. of Education plays no role with this home school family.
-- The home school family does not report to the Department of Education.
-- Intermediate and local school districts are responsible for interpreting and enforcing the Compulsory School Attendance Law.
-- There are no minimum qualifications for teachers except that they must be the parents or legal guardians of the children.
-- The home school family must provide "an organized educational program in the subject areas of reading, spelling, mathematics, science, history, civics, literature, writing and English grammar."
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For yourself, you can also read The Teenage Liberation Handbook for ideas about working on your education yourself. Kendall Hailey's book, _The Day I Became An Autodidact_ might also interest you.

As for a "program," homeschooling families don't need to use someone else's framework -- just like with regular school, the standardized plan will probably have some parts that work well for you, but others may not and that can be frustrating. The ability to customize a course of instruction is one of the beauties of homeschooling.

The World Book site has a listing of Typical Courses of Study that is useful as a guideline. For specific materials to use in your "typical course of study," you can talk to the resource librarian at your local library, or use links from websites such as Hoagies Gifted.

You can keep track of your courses so that you can produce a transcript by keeping a time chart of your activities. Just use a gridded sheet of paper with the subjects listed on the left, and fill in the 28-31 days of 'school' to the right as you go. Each month, put your totals on a separate sheet for each subject, so that you have a running total of hours for that subject. A credit hour can be 180 hours of work in a subject (180 school days x 1 hour per day is called a Carnegie Credit).

You or your parents (or you and your parents ;> ) can join a Michigan email group so that you can learn from other Michigan homeschoolers how they work within Michigan law.

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Question: Does anyone know if a homeschool who enrolls her child in an online school has to still report it to NC DNPE

I believe i read in the NC statutes that if you use a charter school program you still have to maintain a nc homeschool lisence to do so and as long as you are registered with the state as a home school then you dont have to report this info. I would appreciate any help from nc homeschooled families or persons who would know. My child is in the morning star academy. Also, is a nationally standardised test for the seventh grade required even if the charter school does not require them?

Answer: What you heard is not correct. You do have to report the online school to NC DNPE in order not to be held truant. And yes, a nationally standardized test is required even if the charter school does not require it. It makes sense, you can't have it both ways, not reporting the charter school while at the same time using it as an excuse for your child to escape testing.

This state webpage either answers, or has links which answer, all your questions. Be careful, though. They are really cracking down this year and it will be particularly important to follow all the rules of the state.

http://www.ncdnpe.org/hhh103.htm

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Ashe County, NC Tea Party w/Home School Choir