Calif-private school affidavit & No Child Left Behind funds?

[2sweetboysmom]

I have always worked with a brick and mortar private school and let them hold my papers for me, but am considering filing my own affidavit this fall.
I finally convinced my ex to allow our 8year old son to be tested for learning disabilities. I have suspected dyslexia for many years. Test results--Our son is severely dyslexic, but has a VERY high IQ and tests well above grade level in many areas and above grade level in all but reading which he tests at entry K. I am purchasing Barton to work with him myself since there are no Orton-Gillingham tutors in our area. But that one product alone for the first unit has consumed the majority of our available funds for homeschooling 2 school age kiddos, not to mention the other things suggested to help him to work around/through the dyslexia.

I know that No Child Left Behind funds are available to brick and mortar private schools,...does it apply to really small (2 student) private schools too? If so, do I have to work through the local school district, or can I work with the state or county?

Many thanks

[yarngoddess]

To my knowledge you cannot get NCLB funds for a school that size I am totally subbing to see if there is any way for our Private Schools (PSA or R4) to access those funds.Do you have charter schools in your area? Up here (outside of Sacramento) one could enroll into the charter schools and get $1800 per child per year. The school comes out to your home 1x a month and you have to show a few pieces of work. That's about it. I don't use them, but about 90% of homeschoolers up here use the charter school's.

One thing you DO have access to is the public school's Special Education. They are required By Law to help your homeschooled child with his learning disabilities. They cannot refuse you help with a child that is special ed/learning disabled and you don't have to put him/her into public school to have access to those services. Just FYI.

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by yarngoddess

One thing you DO have access to is the public school's Special Education. They are required By Law to help your homeschooled child with his learning disabilities. They cannot refuse you help with a child that is special ed/learning disabled and you don't have to put him/her into public school to have access to those services. Just FYI.

For details and tips, here's an excellent resource for special needs - put together by the HomeSchool Association of California (HSC): Homeschooling with special challenges.

I'm sure the NCLB funds wouldn't apply to a private school, but I honestly think they could drive you crazy with their lack of breadth and understanding of how education can work. Here's a whole website by a wonderful and tireless teacher in the movement to get a real mess under control.

You might want to also look into an inexpensive book, The Gift of Dyslexia, which gives you a very simple but powerful process your son can refer to when needing to get into focus. It's done wonders for lots of people. I went through their program with my son - here's my article on that. Here's another article by the homeschool mom of now grown kids that might be quite helpfulul - Notes on Dyslexia.

I don't know whether anyone has mentioned to you the possibility of vision skill problems, but here's an article on that too - it turned out that my son's problems were related to that rather than dyslexia. And here's a thread on dyslexic resources that may have some other tips.

When you file your affidavit, don't respond that you do provide help for special needs in your school - that's just a way for the state to keep track of which schools have such services, but what you're doing isn't what they're concerned about, and it could cause unnecessary scrutiny from them to make sure you're actually providing services that you might promote for enrollment.

There are lots and lots of very good free resources that many homeschoolers rely on. I understand your anxiety, but I want to assure you that it won't be as hard as it may now seem to provide wonderful resources for you children. You can find lots of suggestions in this forum if you just post a thread asking for some - you can even post individual threads for different subjects as they come up.
Lillian

[yarngoddess]

Lillian,





Your post totally Rocked! Awesome info! Awesome links! So much help in one thread! Great!!!

I love the site you've linked too, I've learned SO much from there when I started out HSing. I lost the addy when my 'puter crashed- so you've given me the addy again!!!

[yarngoddess]

I wanted to add this article on Dyslexia. Doc's Sunrise Rants I have dyslexia, and attended public school. I still struggle with my dyslexia and Doc's "training" and method's she used with her kiddo are Exactly what worked for me. Repitition Repitition Repitition. Over and Over and Over- practice! I hope you find way's to help your kiddo through this VERY difficult learning process. KUP!

[2sweetboysmom]

Thank you all for your input, ideas and encouragement. So often it feels like I'm the only one in my circles working to teach a child with dyslexia. Thank you especially Lillian, your posts are always so informative and helpful. I lurk and search old threads in this forum frequently. I am currently reading The Gift of Dyslexia. I had it on request at the library for 2 months and it finally came in! I am still working through the links and such,...I'm lesson planning/unit study creating for next year, schooling/mothering 3 boys, and on bedrest currently.