moving from public to homeschool late in year

[Rebecca2009]

My keyboard is messed up so forgive my lack of punctuations, etc.....thanks.

My 6th grade daughter has been in public school since 2nd grade.  Emotionally she is having a very tough time right now and school seems to make her even more stressed.  She is feeling bad about herself since she is not doing well.  We had her go to public school when it became evident that she had a learning problem with reading.  She had some adaptations and IEP for the 2nd through 5th grade, and the reading teachers really helped her so much.  Middle school though has been very hard for her to keep up.

I live in MA.  I am wondering if anyone here has dealt with transferring out of public school so late in the year.  I don't know if it is even possible but I am concerned about waiting through the rest of the year, which for us ends in the 2nd half of June.

Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

[Rebecca2009]

I should say that most of my kids all homeschooled at one time or another,  my firstborn hs'd all the way through her graduation.  So we have some experience.   Ok!  I'm done now.

[zonapellucida]

I just took my 4th grade DD out of public school.   She was having serious stomach problems due to stressing  at school.  She never de-schooled like my other two did but we should finish out the year with no problem and a decent portfolio..   Have fun! 

ETA I am in FL whcih has very lenient hs laws.  I would google MA for its requirements.  

[Rebecca2009]

Thanks very much for your response. That is encouraging to me.

Love your signature!

[Rebecca2009]

Originally Posted by zonapellucida 

I just took my 4th grade DD out of public school.   She was having serious stomach problems due to stressing  at school.  She never de-schooled like my other two did but we should finish out the year with no problem and a decent portfolio..   Have fun! 

ETA I am in FL whcih has very lenient hs laws.  I would google MA for its requirements.  

One question, are you using the school's curriculum for the remainder of this year  (again, excuse my lack of questions marks 

[KnitScrapSew]

I have not been homeschooling for very long, but here are a couple thoughts that might help.

The first thing I would do is review the legal requirements for homeschooling in your state. If it's been anytime at all since you last homeschooled, they might have changed. You can go to the Homeschool Legal Defense website and see the laws for every state here: http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

Click on your particular state to get more information. Here is a quick link to the laws for MA: http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/Massachusetts.pdf

There are two important things that may (or may not!) come up in your situation:

1. "The Court agreed with HSLDA and ruled the child did not have to be in public school while waiting for the school district to approve the home school." So you do not have to wait for approval from the district/school before you remove your daughter from public education.

2. "Home visits are unconstitutional if imposed against the parent’s objection. ...the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that “the school committee . . . cannot, in the absence of consent, require home visits, as a condition to the approval of home education plans.” Brunelle v. Lynn Public Schools, 428 Mass. 512, 702 N.E.2d 1182 (1998)."

On a practical level, you might want to get a copy of the school or district's learning standards for your daughter's particular grade. Our school district has these posted online. It would at least give you a starting point to understand what your daughter has been learning and what is left to be covered over the remainder of the year. You may choose not to follow it, but at least you will know. It sounds like she has been struggling with academics, so you might have to go back and review certain subjects until she understands the information she has missed.

Good luck to you and your daughter.

Sarah

[zonapellucida]

Originally Posted by Rebecca2009 

One question, are you using the school's curriculum for the remainder of this year  (again, excuse my lack of questions marks 

I have incorporated my older (7th grade and 4th grader together for the rest of the year so no I am not using the schools curriculum  I asked if I could borrow the books and they wouldn't let me so I research and print worksheets every week--or I write my own worksheets.  But we aslo have tried perfecting papermaking and are making terariums.  My microscope and the child's one I have are one of my 4th graders favorite thing to do.  so that said she is still getting some structure with lots of "here is what I need you to do, do you need  me to sit with you or do you want to work on your own/"

(coffee in keyboardddddd)

[Rebecca2009]

Thanks very much to both of you!  Very helpful, I appreciate it.

[mattemma04]

I am sure you already know your state laws.No reason not to pull your child out today if that is what would be best for her. You could finish off the remainer of the year using material from your local libraries. I did IOWA testing each spring with my kids.Ordered the tests through Piedmont in NC. In some states a legal teacher can review a portfolio of your childs work,and say whether or not the child is working at grade level.

Best wishes!

[mattemma04]

When I homeschooled my kids I pulled them out and took the notification to the homeschool officer for our district instead of mailing it. You are supposed to wait for the approval and keep sending them to school,but as the office told me truancy starts at 14 days and the notifications get approved faster than that.

[Rebecca2009]

Thanks mattemma!