It is soon to be March and soon enough spring should arrive. Springtime is full of, hopefully, more sun than we get in a Pennsylvania winter, new beginnings, as plants start coming back into bloom, and an indicator to me that we’re in the homestretch of our school year. This year it also means my soon-to-be 18 year old will graduate from homeschool and prepare for his future adventures, where ever that leads him. It usually means for me that I have paperwork to finalize; grades to complete, transcripts to update, and making an appointment with our evaluator to close out our year so I can send that paperwork and next year’s affidavit off to the school district. How different it will feel only putting one child’s name down and only shopping for education materials for one child, for the next 2 years, which will be the last 2 years of homeschool. Lord willing nothing prevents it.
Everything to this point has gone pretty well as far as the education materials are concerned. I have had no real issues with curriculum choices, my teens may say otherwise. They really did not enjoy Jensen’s Vocabulary for the 1st half of the year. The reason they didn’t like it is because they were bored, but pretty much any language arts curriculum they are bored. It’s not a reflection on the curriculum itself. I felt it to be valuable to them. They just didn’t agree. It wasn’t the most exciting thing to read/study. It was learning new words and there definitions and there roots. I even learned some new words. To me, it was beneficial. They are working on British literature in the 2nd half of the year and again, they are bored. Probably more my son than my daughter. They have read things like Utopia, Beowulf, Taming of the Shrew and others with plenty more to come. The Science course has given them some decent foundations. They studied math in science, moved on to physics, and completing biology currently and will finish up with chemistry. My 12th grader is not taking a history course this year having met his 3 required credits (and focusing instead on other things) and my 10th grader is using Lifepac, which she prefers this type of reading, comprehension, self evaluation and testing approach. The course is something she needs little help with and can do on her own which is what she likes. Next year she’s requesting all her subjects be Lifepacs, which is something I need to evaluate and make a decision about. Lifepac is solid instruction and it does take a motivated child to complete the work. I personally don’t like all the work contained as worksheets. Finally, for Bible we completed the our journey through the New Testament with curriculum from Christian Liberty press and moved on to a curriculum about Bible Truths: patterns for Christian Living, from Bob Jones Press. I have taken my own approach to the lessons that fit our needs and style. There is a teacher led lesson and a student led lesson with comprehension questions at the end of each and there are unit tests. When there is something I may not entirely agree with, I will explain to my teens this is the publisher’s viewpoint, and than share mine. They can then decide what theirs is.
As for their elective courses, these have not gone exactly how I imagined, but, homeschool allows adapting and changing as needed. My 12th graders programming course is taking much longer than anticipated, putting on hold what I wanted him to work on after. But, it’s okay. My 10th grader breezed through everything I had planned for her interior design course making me look for more things to keep her working on what she learned and continue learning those skills. Lastly, not much to say about math because they use CTCMath which is done online. They both like the way it’s done, they are both doing well, and this is likely the last year I will be using CTCMath as they do not offer a personal (practical) math type of course and that’s an area my rising 11th grader will be working on next. The service has worked out very well for us and worth the expense. My 12th grader is working on life skills (car maintenance, cooking, cleaning) and practical math skills, such as learning how to budget, save money, pay rent and other bills, and so on. So, that’s pretty much it for how our year has been going. There are always things for me to keep up, as far as checking work, grading papers, recording grades, etc, but in general they are independently working on their education which is a very much needed skill. In addition to keeping up with his education goals, my 12th grader holds a part-time job.
As the title of this post states, we are 60 days away from meeting the required 180. If I actually took time to calculate the hours (the 2nd option you have) I’m sure we would meet those but recording days is pretty easy to do. My 12th grader had some health issues this year and so some education days were not their usual 5.5 hours, but still very much counts as a day. I know homeschool families that might spend as little as 2-3 hours a day on “school”. Home education doesn’t mean, sit at a desk all day and do worksheets and read text books. Learning happens anytime of the day in various ways. There is no requirement, even in highschool, to use textbooks, worksheets and tests to equal “school”. We do use texts, worksheets and tests, but we also do hands-on, and a lot of verbal education. We also utilize the internet and other tools. The point is, you do what works for your family. You can sit down with a text book, or some other book for a little while, than do some hands-on, maybe something fun (what? fun in “school”? YES!) and than maybe you return to reading a book or just a conversation about a topic with your child, or digging deeper by some light research. You are really your child’s best educator and you don’t need to be an expert on anything. You probably know more than you think you do.
That leads me to my final thoughts which is that I want to post, again, what the Pennsylvania Law ACTUALLY says because I continue to see in online communities a lot of mis-information. Please read the law and verify any information anyone shares with you, including me. I’m only noting some highlights here, but follow the link to read the law in it’s entirety.
Below is quoted text from the PA home education law:
“Appropriate education” shall mean a program consisting of instruction in the required subjects for the time required in this act and in which the student demonstrates sustained progress in the overall program.”
“Home education program” shall mean a program conducted, in compliance with this section, by the parent or guardian or such person having legal custody of the child or children.
“Supervisor” shall mean the parent or guardian or such person having legal custody of the child or children who shall be responsible for the provision of instruction, provided that such person has a high school diploma or its equivalent”
“ A notarized affidavit of the parent or guardian or other person having legal custody of the child or children, filed prior to the commencement of the home education program and annually thereafter on August 1 with the superintendent of the school district of residence and which sets forth: the name of the supervisor of the home education program who shall be responsible for the provision of instruction; the name and age of each child who shall participate in the home education program; the address and telephone number of the home education program site; that such subjects as required by law are offered in the English language, including an outline of proposed education objectives by subject area; evidence that the child has been immunized in accordance with the provisions of section 1303(a) and has received the health and medical services required for students of the child’s age or grade level in Article XIV; and that the home education program shall comply with the provisions of this section and that the notarized affidavit shall be satisfactory evidence thereof. The required outline of proposed education objectives shall not be utilized by the superintendent in determining if the home education program is out of compliance with this section and section 1327. The affidavit shall contain a certification to be signed by the supervisor that the supervisor, all adults living in the home and persons having legal custody of a child or children in a home education program have not been convicted of the criminal offenses enumerated in subsection (e) of section 111 within five years immediately preceding the date of the affidavit.”
‘A child who is enrolled in a home education program and whose education is therefore under the direct supervision of his parent, guardian or other person having legal custody shall be deemed to have met the requirements of section 1327 if that home education program provides a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) days of instruction or nine hundred (900) hours of instruction per year at the elementary level, or nine hundred ninety (990) hours per year at the secondary level’
[PLEASE REFER TO THE LAW ON WHAT SUBJECTS MUST BE TAUGHT AND GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS]
“In order to demonstrate that appropriate education is occurring, the supervisor of the home education program shall provide and maintain on file the following documentation for each student enrolled in the home education program:
(1) A portfolio of records and materials. The portfolio shall consist of a log, made contemporaneously with the instruction, which designates by title the reading materials used, samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or developed by the student and in grades three, five and eight results of nationally normed standardized achievement tests in reading/language arts and mathematics or the results of Statewide tests administered in these grade levels. The department shall establish a list, with a minimum of five tests, of nationally normed standardized tests from which the supervisor of the home education program shall select a test to be administered if the supervisor does not choose the Statewide tests. At the discretion of the supervisor, the portfolio may include the results of nationally normed standardized achievement tests for other subject areas or grade levels. The supervisor shall ensure that the nationally normed standardized tests or the Statewide tests shall not be administered by the child’s parent or guardian.”
[Please note that this is ALL you’re required to have in the portfolio and that you are NOT required to take the PA State standards test known as the PSSA or keep an attendance log or provide one]
“An annual written evaluation of the student’s educational progress as determined by a licensed clinical or school psychologist or a teacher certified by the Commonwealth or by a nonpublic school teacher or administrator…..The evaluation shall also be based on an interview of the child and a review of the portfolio required in clause (1) and shall certify whether or not an appropriate education is occurring….” (refer to the very first quote I listed about appropriate education)
[Please note this does not say they are evaluating HOW your child was educated, as in what method you chose, (books, no books, etc, but you must have something to show in your portfolio even if that is photos and projects)]
Again, please read the law in it’s entirety to know every detail to comply with it and do not over-comply. I hear a lot of people looking for so-called “un-school friendly” evaluators. I think this is nonsense to be honest. I understand these parents are nervous but if any evaluator is requesting or requiring or evaluating more than what I just showed you in the law, they are not following the law but their own standards and bias. They are to be evaluating if progress is being made, not how your child achieved that progress and if they are, move on to someone else. If they are not comfortable evaluating a family that does not use structured curriculum, than of course you should not use them if you do not use that approach. Best thing you can do while looking for a qualified, by letter of the law, evaluator is to interview them before you make that evaluation appointment, and do it early in the year so that you can have one ready for you, that you are comfortable with before “evaluation season” begins. Evaluators are very busy these days and it’s smart not to wait until the last minute. I know of some very good evaluators who are no longer taking on new clients for the sheer volume they have amassed. They have families too and many of them are existing homeschoolers. In the end it’s YOU the parent supervisor who is held accountable for your child’s home education and compliance. It might seem overwhelming to comply, but it’s more annoying than overwhelming. One last word of caution, please make sure you are following only what the law requires. Overcompliance shows legislators we are okay with more regulations. I for one think we need less regulation and the government not involved in my home education of my kids. This includes this idea being tossed around about education credits, as in, money from the government for your home education program. Make no mistake, the government does not have money, it’s your money. To give it back to you they will no doubt attach strings, those strings will not favor freedom. Keep that in mind.
This is about the home education law in the state of Pennsylvania, USA and contains facts as well as my opinions. This post is for information purposes only and not meant to be legal advice.