Do you plan on homeschooling your children through High School? Will they go to PS or a private school at some point? If so, when? Under what conditions? Will they earn a state accredited diploma? Does your state recognize HS for all 12 grades? Does the college they wish to attend accept such? Do you participate in any state testing of the children? By choice or by requirement? Lots of questions but very important when I am needing to discuss these types of things with DH about the actual 'plan of action' for DS.......and need feedback from those with experience, YOU ...........you ladies are a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate every bit of it! Thank you in advance.
We ARE hsing through highschool with our oldest now, and plan to with the others, unless things change. I think homeschool diplomas are accepted more and more readily by many colleges, since homeschoolers tend to do so well academically that colleges appreciate having them! You'd have to check with the particular college or colleges that you and your child may be interested in attending to see what their policies are. We are looking into possibilities for college now, not sure which route we'll go with that. The highschool years seem to me to be an important time to homeschool! Teenagers are very prone to peer pressure, drugs and other things are very prevalent, and they are still forming and cementing their values and belief systems! Keeping them at home helps them establish stronger values and beliefs, and when they do go out as young adults, they will be able to do better on their own, because they had the chance to form better values and become more mature before being "hit with the hard stuff". That is my opinion, but it HAS been verified by others who have already gone that route. The only way my kids would go to a private school (I don't ever want to send them to public school!), is if our lives dramatically changed and there was no way we could get along without sending them to school. I pray that never happens, I just LOVE being with my kids!!! Washington state asks homeschoolers to take a yearly test, such as ITBS, to make sure progress is being made. We do that at a local Christian school and it is a very simple process. My kids actually enjoy the change and have fun with the tests---there is no anxiety at all, because it doesn't matter what the results are. I DO use it as a guideline some. If they do poorly in something, I'll work on that area. Washington does recognize homeschooling for all 12 grades. Best wishes to you in this matter!!!
The trend seems to be towards welcoming homeschoolers, at least with elite universities. I have yet to find a college that is one of my top choices - which include prestigious liberal arts colleges such as Amherst, Wellesley, and Williams - which require a high school diploma. An accredited diploma is more necessary for people going straight into the workforce, or maybe some state univesities. I'm in California, and state testing is not required for those who "fully" homeschool, but since I am in a public program (though that might change) I participated in testing last year. You can opt out of it, by simply writing a letter, though. I currently homeschool for high school, and it works well. I do a LOT more than my friends in the regular highschools in the area, infinitely more than ones in the one local private high school (That's because it's a not academically challenging at all parochial school), and at least as much as friends I have who are attending elite prep schools across the country. There are many, many options when homeschooling in high school - I do a mix of independant study, tutoring, distance learning, working with my parents, and a university internship, which I am recieving credit for.
As of right now, we plan on homeschooling all the way through. Universities vary, but most have learned that MOST homeschoolers are independent thinkers and learners. Some universities actually recruit HS'ers! Since I am HS'ing legally, I can issue my children a diploma. This IS a recognized diploma!!! My children are not REQUIRED to be tested (this varies from state to state!) but I will probably test them at some point. They WILL take the ACT/SAT tests eventually. We have also started keeping track of classes, so I can issue transcripts.
Originally we planned on homeschooling for Kindergarden, then decided we could do this! so we planned,to go through grade school... then as we went along, My hubby decided we will never send them to Public/government schools. I have a stubborn student, who learns but fights it all the way because he does not WANT to do the work... okay, that one wanted to go out, and I was tired of the fight, so I prayed and asked God for a impossible price for a private CHRISTIAN school, God provided for him so he goes out for Highschool, Now my other two wanted to homeschool all the way through college up untill older one came home talking friends and fun, so now they want to go out. ONly thing can happen is God changing us, or things for us to send them out. Our church is starting a only middle school age thing so My ds9 will get to do that in another two years, that will be his taste out, by then ds15 will have graduated anyway and dd will be in his spot , so that would satisfy them I guess . I want to give them the best education and I knwo there are private schools who can offer more than I can give, BUT I would be right there! If I was not already hoemteaching the two here I would be volenteering at sons school, already am getting involved iN PTA stuff, Lots of fuN! Jackie, I have kept written account to now < and now thanks to Home school tracker and SOS I have more professional looking transcripts as well... I am hoping these will helpwith college entrance stuff? Ds has a college and carreers class ... so he is learning about that stuff there, I plan to take Miresa over to our local cc and have her talk with a college advisor in our second semester. She is excited about going to college.
I am taking it one year at a time. We enjoy it so much I doubt that we will stop. Each state is different with regards to accepting a homeschool diploma. Many presegious schools do recruit hs kids. I know of 2 homeschoolers that have had no problems with college and 1 that did. They live in different states.
I plan on homeschooling through high school. Unless something happens that will force me to send my daughter to a public or private school. I was told by our group director that in order to receive a state accredited diploma the students have to complete a full senior year at a public or accredited private school. I can issue her a diploma and it is recognized by the state but this does not mean it is recognized by all universties. Some are opening their doors more and more. In California state testing is not required but depending on what option you are using to homeschool will depend on whether you test or not. The group I am in requires state testing for accountability purposes. So it will depend on state law as well as your option for homeschooling. So I guess for me, Ems is tested by choice because I choose to be in this group that requires the testing. I can establish my home as a private school and she does not have to be state tested at all. Patty
I've been asking some of my hs friends the same question about diplomas. We aren't there yet, but I want to be prepared ahead of time. I was told that if you were not covered by some type of umbrella school, your child would likely have to take the GED to get into college. I am under an umbrella school, so they will award my children a diploma if I continue with them through high school. At this point, I plan to continue indefinitely. I'm not sure how umbrella schools everywhere work, but mine was created by hs parents who wanted an umbrella that still gave parents complete freedom over their children's education. We choose our own curriculum, etc. We do have to send in grades (scales are set by the parents) twice a year. I guess for record purposes, in case anyone ever asked. In TN you have to have a college degree to teach your children in high school, so umbrellas give parents without degrees the option of continuing to hs. So, can you award your child a diploma (that will be recognized by others) if you are hs'ing independently?
Yes Pam, you can! Plus, most colleges are NOT requiring GED's, especially if you're doing the state testing each year. That's just what I've read lately, hopefully it's true!
We don't have to test yearly. I had kids tested this year for my benefit, but it wasn't required. I hadn't planned to test every year (maybe every other, as it's expensive). It's definitley something to consider!
Being under an umbrella school is fine, and I am sure it has lots of advantages. But, as stated above, you do NOT have to be under one to issue a diploma! The workshop I took last year at the conference said that you need to document as much as possible as far as grades go. When the kids volunteer, get letters telling their duties and the how well they did from whoever they are responsible to. GED's are for kids that do NOT graduate; our kids DO graduate, and we are NOT required to get a GED.
That's good to know. I wondered when I was told that if the information was right. The person who told me that compared it to a non-accredited Christian school where the kids have to take the GED. I know this happens because it happened to my BIL's brother. Thanks for clarifying that, Jackie. Although I'm under an umbrella now, I may not remain that way. For where we are now, it's great, but we will most likely not remain in TN. I'll have to see what will work for us wherever we go. That's one of the reasons I want to gather this information now.
I homeschooled all of my 3 older kids through highschool. A good private school would have been nice if it were affordable and trustworthy. I went to a private Christian school one year in high school and it was a joke. None of the parents believed us, but I'd never send my kid to a place like that. My oldest, the rebellious one, refused to learn past the 8th grade much. He didn't want to go to PS, actually all he wanted to do was play video games. He was literally a child that you would have to physically force to do anything. We finally forced him to get a GED and a job, after he refused to do anything. He then joined the military and scored high college level on his entrance exam, of which the examiner was utterly flabbergasted he had a GED. Proving the even the worst HSing experience teaches your kids far better than public school. lol My next two finished high school, and have entered college no problem. One in Pre-engineering, one in nursing. They both scored impressively and are enjoying their college experiences. With my second son, we discovered that the accredited correspondance school he got his diploma from was, for some reason, not acceptable to get a state job, so he got a GED on the side to eliminate that problem. I have found no problems teaching my kids through high school that would not have occured anyway, simply because of the child's character. My oldest, by the way, has since figured out his stupidity, and is slowly growing up in that area. I guess life has shown him he didn't have it so bad as he thought.
I" can establish my home as a private school and she does not have to be state ..." This is what we do Patty. We are a private home school, and it seems this year we don't even have to have any set number of hours just keep attendence records. I have planned to test for years for my own sake to know I have taught them what they will need, and my older one took SATs did okay he has a couple areas that are middle level but mostly above. That was encouraging as he was the hardest learner. I trust the other two will do fine when I finaly get them tested as well. Also, my dd is in 9th grade so I guess I am teaching highschool and didn't think about it lol!
Our oldest is in first grade, so that is along time off. We intend to send them to private HS, but that could change.
From what I can tell, a diploma, accredited or not, often doesn't make much of a difference in college acceptance. I know people who did nontraditional things for the second semester of their senior year, didn't get a diploma, and then went on to an elite university.
