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homeschooling through charter school?  

post #1 of 45
5/14/08 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 
i am thinking about homeschooling and there are a couple of charter schools in the area that look really good. does anyone know how i can find information on how good these programs are to help me make a decision?
post #2 of 45
5/14/08 at 9:49pm
I would go and visit them, ask questions and see if there are any parents around to talk with.
I will be going through a Charter next year, I have a few to choose from as well. I am trying to get info from the homeschooling community at large. i go to a Fellowship where there are many whom homeschool so I am using that resourse as well as a AP playgroup I attended regularly years ago.
Good Luck!
Kathleen in San Diego
post #3 of 45
5/14/08 at 10:16pm
What are your reasons for homeschooling? A charter may not be what you are looking for, or it could be exactly what you are looking for.
post #4 of 45
5/14/08 at 10:26pm
http://www.homeedmag.com/HEM/192/match.html

http://home.kc.rr.com/milhmschlhq/ge...ng_at_home.htm

http://www.americanhomeschoolassocia...me/?page_id=85

Some of these may be biased. I have no issues with virtual schooling, but I do worry that many get into it without fully understanding that most districts do not give the parents any control over what their child does or even at what pace they can work at.
post #5 of 45
5/14/08 at 10:36pm
if your area has a local homeschool list on yahoo groups you can probably get opinions of current and former charter users there. I know it comes up every year about this time on our local list.
post #6 of 45
5/14/08 at 11:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tayndrewsmama View Post

Some of these may be biased. I have no issues with virtual schooling, but I do worry that many get into it without fully understanding that most districts do not give the parents any control over what their child does or even at what pace they can work at.
ITA. We are with a charter school right now, but we have our issues, and this is one of them. They say that one reason to homeschool with them is so that the child can work "at his own pace," but in my experience, this really means, "at his own pace, as long as that is at or ahead of the state's pace." For the things that my son is ahead on, they are too happy to provide extra materials, praise, and support, but when students get behind in something, the pressure is suddenly on to bring them up to "grade level", and there is a lot of pressure to finish the leveled book by the end of the schoolyear. whether you cover everything or not, and whether the child really masters the material or not.

Plus, for our charter, the standardized testing is a requirement. I'm finding that with that, and with having to let my ds be assessed routinely by someone else, it is a little restrictive.

Honestly, they're not horrible, but if I had it to do over again, I would have avoided the charter school.
post #7 of 45
5/14/08 at 11:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by blsilva View Post
They say that one reason to homeschool with them is so that the child can work "at his own pace," but in my experience, this really means, "at his own pace, as long as that is at or ahead of the state's pace."
I think this has everything to do with the No Child Left Behind Act.
post #8 of 45
5/14/08 at 11:34pm
I'm still new, but I don't think charter and homeschooling are anywhere near the same thing.
post #9 of 45
5/15/08 at 12:00am
I'm under the impression that the charters are not homeschooling so much as public school done at home.
post #10 of 45
5/15/08 at 12:05am
Thread Starter 
well the reasons i have for homeschooling are to be involved in my childrens education, to give them one on one learning, to help them learn at their own pace, to spend more time with them, to get them away from some of the negative influences at school. i wouldnt have a clue about what to teach my kids and the idea of having guidance is very appealing. i wouldnt know what to do if i just jumped in on my own. i want to make sure my kids learn everything they need to learn.
post #11 of 45
5/15/08 at 12:17am
It sounds like this might be a good way for you to get started then.
post #12 of 45
5/15/08 at 12:49am
where do you live?

Because the charter that we use is totally rad. Basically, we get funds to buy: anything. Anything. Our vendor list is huge! It pays for classes, books, paint, glue, train rides, anything that we want within our budget!

We meet with a teacher every 20 days, she takes a few works samples and talks with us. My son will take a standardized test every year--but to me this is no big deal at all... if he does well, great! If he doesn't we can address that.

I love our charter--and many families homeschool though charter schools in our area. Here where the cost of living is so high, and it is really impossible to get by on one income, it really makes a difference to have the funds.

pm me for more details, but Charters are not all created equal, and well, ours is nothing like doing school at home. Nothing like it at all.
post #13 of 45
5/15/08 at 1:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by carmel23 View Post
where do you live?

Because the charter that we use is totally rad. Basically, we get funds to buy: anything. Anything. Our vendor list is huge! It pays for classes, books, paint, glue, train rides, anything that we want within our budget!

We meet with a teacher every 20 days, she takes a few works samples and talks with us. My son will take a standardized test every year--but to me this is no big deal at all... if he does well, great! If he doesn't we can address that.

I love our charter--and many families homeschool though charter schools in our area. Here where the cost of living is so high, and it is really impossible to get by on one income, it really makes a difference to have the funds.

pm me for more details, but Charters are not all created equal, and well, ours is nothing like doing school at home. Nothing like it at all.
sounds interesting! im pm'ing you!
post #14 of 45
5/15/08 at 1:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by carmel23 View Post
where do you live?

Because the charter that we use is totally rad. Basically, we get funds to buy: anything. Anything. Our vendor list is huge! It pays for classes, books, paint, glue, train rides, anything that we want within our budget!

We meet with a teacher every 20 days, she takes a few works samples and talks with us. My son will take a standardized test every year--but to me this is no big deal at all... if he does well, great! If he doesn't we can address that.

I love our charter--and many families homeschool though charter schools in our area. Here where the cost of living is so high, and it is really impossible to get by on one income, it really makes a difference to have the funds.

pm me for more details, but Charters are not all created equal, and well, ours is nothing like doing school at home. Nothing like it at all.
:

We are in a sister charter school to the one above and it is great. The benefits outweigh the negative.
post #15 of 45
5/15/08 at 1:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by phathui5 View Post
I'm under the impression that the charters are not homeschooling so much as public school done at home.
Depends on the charter school. I can "do my own thing" and still be okay. I do have to submit records to the school, but its not hard to be creative.
post #16 of 45
5/15/08 at 2:49am
Thread Starter 
wow, im really curious now.
post #17 of 45
5/15/08 at 3:18am
what state are you in?
post #18 of 45
5/15/08 at 10:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by faiths13 View Post
well the reasons i have for homeschooling are to be involved in my childrens education, to give them one on one learning, to help them learn at their own pace, to spend more time with them, to get them away from some of the negative influences at school. i wouldnt have a clue about what to teach my kids and the idea of having guidance is very appealing. i wouldnt know what to do if i just jumped in on my own. i want to make sure my kids learn everything they need to learn.
FWIW, usually the materials used by charter schools are available for purchase as a home school curriculum. Our state's charter schools use Calvert and K12. If money is a main reason to go that route then it is certainly a valid one, as they are not cheap. The learning at their own pace part might present a problem depending on what you mean by that. The schools here have deadlines for assignments being turned in. That would be an issue for our family because we tend to go in spurts. Sometimes we slow way down and other times we go blasting through stuff. That is not the steady, scheduled pace that the districts are looking for here.

Some people are able to fly by the seat of their pants and do well with home schooling. Many are not. There are a lot of curriculums out there that are pre-packaged and cover all of the subjects and give you plenty of options for add-ons that your family would also be interested in.

I think the reason people are asking what state you are in is because it's easier to discuss what you are looking at if people know what the state is using for the charter school curriculum. As mentioned before, they are all different.
post #19 of 45
5/15/08 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 
i am in cali. yeah i guess i didnt even think about the financial factor. we dont really have money to buy much.
post #20 of 45
5/15/08 at 1:52pm
Do you know what all the curriculums are that they use? I know that at least one is Calvert. Calvert, depending on the grade, typically runs about $850-$1,000, with 4K and 5K being less than that. Many times there are second language add ons as well.

A google search appears to show that CA also uses K12 as well.
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