If the school system was going to be sending someone around to talk to parents for any reason, I think they should send a letter first. They could explain why someone would be coming by and who it would be and then it would not cause a panic. That doesn't mean you would talk to the person, but at least you would know what was up. I would have been totally caught off guard like you were if someone just showed up and knew things about us. My husband is home most of the time and he is a tough cookie to deal with. Most door to door people avoid him. He knows the law too well to suit most of them. He usually runs they off by just asking to see their permit to go door to door which they seldom have. I hope you do call the school and clear this up for your own peace of mind. I saw a man taking pictures on our street once and he turned out to be an insurance guy trying to update his files for a neighbor. It still startled me to see him pull up and start pointing a camera out of his car window.
Beth, I'm a much tougher cookie than my husband, lol! I get this tone in my voice, and it ain't polite! There have been a time or two when a person I perceive as a solicitor has called with a legit purpose. He laughs, because I change immediately from totally frozen to very friendly and helpful. We've had book salesmen come by. Sometimes they've been to the neighbors and have been told that we homeschool. That doesn't bother me, but they've always been upfront about who they are, and don't try to act as if they're smething else. With this guy, I'm more concerned about WHY he was out there. He didn't appear to be selling anything, and I agree with Beth that the school district wouldn't have sent someone around like that without informing you first.
If it were me, I'd have called the school's central office, and based on their answer, the police. If the central office says they don't know what the guy is doing, then you have a predator of some kind to deal with. It bothered me how insistent he was, even as you were closing the door. I wouldn't play with this, I'd report him.
Yep. Scary. I'd be checking my peephole before answering the door for an unexpected visitor (man) during the middle of the day when hubby wasn't home. If it was the school district, what were they thinking sending a man out unannounced to visit homeschool moms?!? I'll be interested to read the update.
Some people we met last year that we helped fix their car that had broken down came to visit Saturday. They forgot where our house was so asked someone at the local store to get directions. They had to laugh because the person not only gave them directions to our home but gave them a blow by blow play of our life, where my kids worked, that they had just graduated, etc. Anyway, this couple already knew the latest as we have all kept in contact for this past year, but they were amazed at how much info someone was willing to give out about us when they asked how to get to our house. So, you never know how this guy became privy to information about your family.
It doesn't matter if there is a list or not. That list is not public property. They have no right at all coming to your home with out prior notice. Even for a school district this is very odd behavior. I would definitely call the school board today and explain to them, that if anyone from them is going to come to your home you want notification first.
I think it is best to tell everyone you know about your experience. I would call the school. I would call the police. I would tell my neighbors and family and friends. I would also go over the "Don't Talk to Strangers" lesson with the kids. They don't need to know anything odd happened if you don't want but just a little reminder of your safety rules. I wouldn't panic but I think I personally would be more attentive to my surroundings for a while. It makes me angry when stupid people do things like this....it puts others on edge for a while which isn't fair. I know....nobody said life was fair but it still makes me mad for you. You might make notes about your conversation, his description, the date and time of his visit, etc. You'll probably never need it, but in case he bugs you again, you can have a log of your previous encounter to give to the police. It is sad that stupid people like this make it hard to trust anyone anymore. We recently had kids going around at night ringing doorbells and running off. So, at 3:30 a.m. I was waking up wondering what was going on. What good could possibly be going on at 3:30 in the morning? So, for a couple of weeks, I was freaked out and paranoid that someone was wandering around our property at night. I finally found out it was kids....whom I know! :roll: They were just being dork kids (I remember doing the same thing a time or two as a kid). So my anxieties went away but it still made me mad.
While we do file a PSA here in California with the State Dept. of Education in order to operate our own private schools, there is an interesting twist. Only schools with six or more students are listed on the private school directory and the directory is what is shared with school districts. So, unless you were enrolled in your school district at one time or have six or more students listed on your PSA, there should not be any record of your child. If this is the case and your child has not be in the system with your local school district, I would find it very hard to believe this person was with the district. Of course, that does not mean that this information is not available from the CDE, but it would take more than a quick online search to find it. Yes, the CDE has sent letters to private homeschoolers in the past, but the information is housed with them and easily obtained. Having a dh that works in gov't, I know that sharing information is not one of their strong suits or a priority. Even if the district requested the information there is no guarantee they would get it. It is interesting to note that the latest data online is for the 06-07 school year. Definantly call the district. You do not have to give your name, address, or anything in order to determine if he was from the district. If he was not from the district, call the police.
Which should be a reminder to all of US to keep our mouths shut! I'm sure everyone of us has probably let slip more info than we should have; I know I have!
I was in the store and a man approached me looking for another person in town. I replied, "How do I know you are not a hit man"? He replied, "You don't". I said, "Well, you have your answer, I'm not tellin". I don't tell strangers anything about anyone when asked, you never know who you are giving that info to!
I bet he came from the school district. Once we had a woman show up unannounced from the school. It was another time we had issues with the school. We have had a lot of problems out of that school over the years. She was trying to smooth things over, I wasnt having it. Anyway I did learn something about this though. By law he has to identify himself to you or I am pretty sure they can get into trouble, or that they are breaking the law. I would call the district and also send a registered letter to the school stating that from now on, only contact you in writing with any questions they have. Thats exactly what I plan on putting on my withdraw letter from my disabled son this year. If anyone shows up here, school or otherwise, they are going to hear, get off my land, and that I am calling the cops on them for trespassing. I think I also would put in a call to the HSLDA and tell them that this has happened.
Girl~you better call the school board!!!! Find out asap if this guy was legit and if not, call the sheriff immediately!!!! If the guy was legit, tell the school board if ANY of them put one foot on your property again that you will call the police for trasspassing. We all know that hsing is legal and you should not have to be harrassed at your home! ................(although if he had come to my home he would have been dodging shotgun pellets...well actuall I woulda used birdshot, and that wouldnt done no real harm other than him pickin beebees outa his hide for a while!!! LOL!) Either way, either senario, you need to make sure you protect yourself!!! Let us know what happens!
I am interested if Patty called and what their response was. I have never had anyone come to check on us or ask questions like that. I just hate door to door sales people! I never ever open the door. My large dog usually runs to the door when he hears the doorbell. First I check the peep hole and if it is not a child for one of my girls then I start quietly telling the dog "speak". He barks and barks and barks and there is no way anyone would ring the bell again! I need to make a sign to put on my front door. Something like "Solicitors will be shot"
The only thing we've had is the school calling for my ds' dob's and ssn's. Both of which, they are not legally entitled to. The school worker attempted to get heavy handed with me and I just stuck to my guns and told her they are not legally entitled to that information and I refuse to supply it to them. They wanted it so they could count my kids so they would get income even though my kids were hs'd. Only after the school worker got rude with me I said, "Do you have a paper and pen handy, I would like to give you my attorney's name and phone number so you can further discuss it with him". Silence on the other end, then a click! OWNED! :lol: We belonged to hslda at the time!
I agree with the people who said call and ask, then call the cops and tell them that someone is walking around the neighborhood asking about your kids! I have not had anyone come but did recieve a letter years ago that said they were going to be doing spot checks on "private schools' all it did was make me be sure I was on the ball with my teaching and set up... no worries just know we are doing it right ya know?
We had the same sort of thing, because I hadn't put a grade level on. Never mind I've been filling out these forms for 10 years, and haven't given them a grade YET. I politely told her it "wasn't required by law", which she didn't want to hear. She finally told me that she couldn't process my forms without it. I explained that *I* was responsible to send my paperwork in, which I did. Whether the DISTRICT chose to follow the law and process it or not really didn't matter to me. If this is legit and the guy was from the district, I don't think we should be upset with them for trying to find out how they can get our kids back. We all know that this ISN'T going to happen, but I would love to sit down and explain some very specific ways they can improve things. But it needs to be handled better.
the guy could have been a pedifile. I would have called the police and the school district so they could keep a look out for him in the neighborhood incase he was just going to random houses.
we had someone call once, asking abotu the age of people in my house, I hung up on them it scared me!
I would think if this guy was from the school he would have some type of badge or identification showing. I am sure most school districts give out ID cards. However, even if he didn't, I would still call the school district. If they didn't send him then I would call the police.
