DH and I have decided that even if we allow our two oldest to continue in ps this year, next year they will not be going. Oldest ds will be going into high school next year. We are considering K12 or Connections Academy, but have heard a lot of negative things about K12. I do think it's easier to have something through the state, but I know many of you homeschool on your own for high school. How does that work? Is it easy to get into college? How do you give credit for courses and have a proper transcript? Anything else I should know?
Jackie will be an awesome resource. Her eldest daughter is a smartypants like mine... she's in college in an engineering program, and doing VERY well for herself. She did some kinda homeschool hybrid program in highschool where she was able to take AP classes and graduate with transcript. (and a killer ACT score) Jacks and I strike a lot of sparks, she's sort of my ultra-conservative pit-bull alter-ego. LOL. But the woman can TEACH...and she researches the heck out of how to get her kids where they want to go....and helps get them there. I pity the fool who tries to stand in her kid's way. (and I love and respect that about Jacks) If you really are going to try to homeschool through high school...she's a top pick for getting some excellent advice. But be careful, she's a bit of a wildcat
We put Rachael into a cyber-school for her Senior year so she could take PSEO classes free at the local community college. She got almost a full year of free classes. It worked out VERY well for her! Faythe, on the other hand, will be graduating in December. Really homeschooling high school isn't that big of a deal. We attend a co-op, mostly for lab sciences. They offer quite a bit, actually, but the science labs were the draw for me. The highest math I've had is Geometry; Rachael went through Calculus on her own. We used Teaching Textbooks. Some say it's "too easy". All I know is that she had taken Calc on her own during her Junior year, then took it again at the Community College. She held her own there, and when she attended the university as an honors student in Engineering, she ended up working in the math lab. So it served her very well. Try to keep transcripts as you go along. It will make it much easier. Basically, if the class takes a whole year, it's one credit. If it's only half a year (or a full year, but only doing it one or two days a week), it's a half-credit. There's places on-line that help you with figuring it out! Colleges will vary. Most work with you, but the community college right now is giving Faythe grief. They're saying she needs to get a GED, which is a bunch of BS. I know it, they probably know it, and it's simply NOT going to happen!!! But over all, colleges know that the majority of hs'ed kids are hard workers. When Rachael visited a school we decided against, my husband got talking to the head of the engineering department. He was concerned that the community college's Calc class wouldn't be on level with what she would need at the university. The prof asked Rachael where she attended, and she said she was homeschooled. "OH, then she won't have any problem. Homeschooled kids know what they need to do, and then do it." And this was a guy at a state school.
Wow, that is great! Very encouraging. Do the transcripts from cyber school do more than transcripts from traditional homeschool? How do the students "prove" they earned their diploma?
Cyber-school isn't homeschool. It's an on-line school, such as is being discussed in the other conversation. It's just computer based, and the kids do it at home. It's a great option for some, but isn't for everybody. The student is accountable to the school (as far as assignments, deadlines, time spent on the computer, etc.) In Ohio, it also means having to take the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT), which homeschoolers are exempt from. But it also means that THEY take care of transcripts/diploma. And, since it's not "homeschool", they are readily accepted. Basically for me, the "proving" is done with the ACT/SAT. Or, for Faythe, she will have to take a placement test. Many schools give them. Doing well on those show a student has the knowledge to go on. I personally feel that a diploma is nothing more than a piece of paper and doesn't prove anything. I've seen too many kids graduate without knowing basic skills, because if a district flunks too many, it loses federal money. And so many of them are passed with barely a 2.0. My kids at their worse is better than that!
Faith, it usually works to contact the college(s) the student wants to attend, and find out what they require for homeschoolers to enroll. Most if not all have their catalog online, and you can also call and ask. Most have special requirements for homeschoolers. Then all you have to do is make sure you meet those requirements and make a transcript. Most colleges don't care about diplomas, or accredited/not accredited - they really only care about a good application, a good transcript, and a good ACT/SAT score. And a good bank account, of course!!!
IF you go to community colleges it wont make a difference, and it will also give you some dual credits. Depending on where you live. I am on my third child, he is at a private school half day certain days to keep him in thier system to get a scholarship... at a UNiversity btw, we have only had one assessment test given for each of my kids in high school non had SATs other than the regular high schoool kind. I have one who is waiting for his diploma/Certif (AA, AS) to come in the mail from CC. ( he went out to high school at two different Private schools) One in University (GCU) taking a degree in Fine Arts ( though she tests as a genius on the online IQ tests she has taken on her own not to do with our schooling) gets 4.o in University courses that are not all fluff. And the last one will be in Computer Sciences. He is hoping to get into this same U as sis. Depending on what your kids want to be you can find a way to get them to the U or College and they really do work with Home Schoolers more often than not now days. We are cool now!
Thank you for the replies! Jackie, I think it depends on who you ask! I just read a thread where this was argued (not on this website). I think the consensus was that is it and isn't homeschooling (if that makes sense). I agree with that and lean more toward it being homeschool because it's done at home. Not important, though... just wanted to tell you what I've heard. It's fine if people think it's not homeschooling or that it is... no biggie. All I care about are the results. If it gets the job done and keeps them out of public school (physically), I'm good! I think you are correct about the test scores being the important part. That is good to know. Lindina, thank you for the suggestion. I will talk to ds about which colleges he is interested in and call some of them to see! What if the student is probably going to need financial aid or scholarships? Do they need to be in public school for that? If we homeschool for high school, I definitely want him to do the dual enrollment in CC for high school. That is great! After he gets an associates, he can go to a four year. I think public school is encouraging four-year universities, and I like that too. It just makes more sense to get college credit for high school, IMO. Thanks for the encouragement!
According to the LAW, cyber-school is NOT "homeschooling". For example, in Ohio, homeschoolers are the ONLY ones exempt from taking the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT). Those that attend Cyber-school are considered either public or private school students (depending on the cyber-school) and are still required to take the OGT. That is also why HSLDA won't accept students that are cyber-schooled. And the co-op we attend won't accept them, not because they're "mean" or "exclusive", but by accepting just one cyber-schooled student, it would totally change the "rules" we follow, according to the state. I'm not saying cyber-school is a "bad" choice. For some it is excellent, but for others it isn't. I'm all for school choice, whatever that is. And as far as this site goes, we run the gambit. Both are very welcome here, as are the few parents we have that send their kids to brick-and-mortar schools. But I do think it's important to keep the distinction clear. Homeschooling is a lifestyle choice, not a location. Part of this comes with federal money. There's lots of people who think that homeschoolers get their curriculum, supplies, etc., paid for by federal dollars, and resent that we "take", but then resent government oversight. By keeping it separate, that misconception is cleared up. So really, for me, it's important in the court of public opinion.
Great points. I just understand the POV that it's not quite public school, either. That's all I was saying. I've hear of co-ops not accepting cyber schoolers, and always though it was rude, LOL. This was before I was considered using one. How does it change their rules? I understand why HSLDA does not. Either way, I agree that whatever works, works. There is not one option that works for everyone. I'm just trying to find the best option for each of my children. I could wind up with a public schooler, a cyber-schooler, and two homeschoolers.
Faith3 it really is not as difficult as you might think. I have graduated 1 who went to the University of West Florida (she took some time off to work(money) and will hopefully be going back next semester). I know many kids who have been homeschooled and gone on to college some with full ride scholarships. You do not need any type of accreditation. Every state has their own requirements and every college has their own requirements. If you are not sure what college they might be interested in going to I always suggest the following minimum for classes: 4 units History (at least one US, 1/2 Gov't, 1/2 Economics, 1 World, 1 Elective) 3 units Math 3-4 units Science (Bio, Chem, Physics are normally the classes colleges look for) 4 units English (at least one writing intensive) 2-3 units Language other than English 1/2 unit Health (not all colleges require that but I have seen some that do) 2 units Physical Education 1 unit art or music 4-8 electives As for transcripts you will make your own. There are plenty of programs that will help create a transcript for you. We use Homeschool Tracker Plus. You would have your child take the PSAT in the fall of their junior year. Normally folks contact the school in the spring to find out how they work registering for the PSAT. Taking it in the fall of the jr year opens them up to the National Merit Scholarship program. Kids then take either (or both) the ACT or the SAT in the spring of their jr year. You can check with your school district's college and career center about lists of scholarships. You can also check with the local librarian for possible resources to find scholarships and then just apply, apply, apply. Oh as for what is a unit. NYS states that a unit is a min. of 108 hrs of instruction (self learning counts as instruction), but the standard many colleges look at is a Carnegie Unit which is 120 min. hrs of instruction. So if you aim towards that you are fine. What I did with sd was print out a weekly schedule for her (hst + ) and on it she would record the number of hours spent on each subject. She would then give me a weekly total per subject. I would add on hours for things such as field trips, movies...that she did not really consider school but were part of my school plan. Don't be afraid of going out on your own. There is so much freedom in not being tied to the ps system in any way. The kids get so much more out of it too because you can customize their courses to their interests. Some curriculum that I have really liked for high school has been Progeny Press or Novel Units lit guides, Easy Grammar Plus, Jensen's Vocabulary or Wordly Wise 3000, Saxon Math, Apologia Science (you can get lab kits that have what you need in it), Movies as Literature, IEW or Jensen's Format Writing, BJU History or James Stobaugh's books, and Abeka or Total Health. The community colleges in our area also offer some dual enrollment classes for homeschoolers or some kids just take regular community college classes too.
Thank you so much for your reply! That helps a lot. I do have another question. The ps is now encouraging 8th graders to take Algebra 1 (or maybe requiring it... either way, ds is doing it for high school credit along with Spanish 1). What does that mean for high school? Are they then supposed to take Geometry, Algebra 1, and then Calculus, and something else senior year? Is this changing what is required to graduate high school? I can't imagine them just pushing Algebra 1 down to 8th grade )and freeing up a high school year) without requiring something else. If we homeschool for high school, I definitely want ds to dual enroll at the local community college. I've heard if you play it right, the student can get an associate degree by the time they graduate high school! Is that what most people are aiming for? Thank you for the recommended curricula... definitely need suggestions for high school. I do like A Beka and I plan on using Saxon if we go it alone.
I'm not sure exactly, since I'm not sitting on "the Committee" for the co-op. I think it has to do with state regs, more than federal. My understanding is that if a student is coming to co-op and taking their high school English class, counting it toward graduation, then the teacher of that class MUST BE CERTIFIED TO TEACH HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH. Any class that student takes must have a certified teacher for that area. And a co-op that is run by parents, taught mostly by parents can't guarantee that. I think there's also rules as far as how often it meets, the amount of time spent in class, etc. By allowing a non-homeschooled student, we have to follow rules for public/private schools. Again, I'm not saying I'm against cyber-schools. If one can meet the needs of your kid, GREAT!!! But it IS important for me to keep the distinction.
You can add pre-calc to that list, Faith. That will give you another year. It annoys me to no end. I never took Alg. 2, and I went on to get a college degree. I had applied to grad school, but got married instead. Higher math is WONDERFUL for the kid who wants to go into engineering, science, accounting. But for EVERY SINGLE KID? REALLLY? I'd much rather they know how to balance their checkbook, fill out a tax form, and figure out the tip at a restaurant!
I agree, completely. So, they need Geometry 2, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus for high school? Wow. It really doesn't make sense to have all that for high school. When I graduated, I only took Algebra 1 (as a freshman), Geometry, Algebra 2. DS is now going to need to take a lot more, it seems, since he is taking Algebra 2 in 8th grade.
Actually, where we're at, they need four maths. Faythe has Alg. 1, Geometry, Alg. 2, and I'm counting the "Financial Literacy" class she took at co-op as a math credit.
Most colleges right now look for at least Algebra, Geometry and Trig although if you are looking at a STEM program you would want to have Calculus in there too. Many schools are moving to having Algebra in 7th or 8th grade so the kids can do either pre-calc or Calculus while in high school. That being said if you have a child who is not strong in Math and will not be looking for a STEM career then just making sure they get through Algebra, possibly Geometry and then a consumer Math program is probably your best bet. As for the curriculum I do not recommend Abeka for History and English in high school, we found it very boring and tedious. Sd realized for English if she put God in the answer some place it was probably right and for History it was a dry read and there was an over emphasis on dates. If you do Saxon I would make sure you do the placement test first.
To get just what they need go to the University or College you want them to attend and look up the requirements .. they will have basic and higher education amount of Maths and English. also Science, and History are there. We found out that for instance Foreign Language is required for two years in high school but also that Dramatic Arts counts as a language credit? silly but true! My kids graduate with more than enough credits, but it really is up to us with how much above we want to take them to prep them for life after High school. My son is taking econ PLUS a Financial Freedom University class right now to make sure has finance down early. Not everyone would have their Senior /12th grader pushed that much into knowing where to put what money when he still doesn't have a real job, only part time handy man stuff, but he will be good with money when he does!
