Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Homeschooling: So What Are My Options?

Holy smoly!  This is a great time to homeschool and for a parent to take their child's education by the reins!  And there is no better place than Utah.  I have decided to put together a list of the options available that I am aware of to meet the needs of your student. Click on the links for more details.
Choice in Education provides a list of some of the possibilities.
HSLDA has a comprehensive list of curriculum. 

Beside the text book curriculum (reviews) available nationwide in Utah county you have:

For example in Utah county:
Homeschool ING  yahoo group- Provo
SUCH-Spanish Fork, Payson
UThsers- South Utah County
George Mueller facebook group


• Free curriculum and book lists

• Brick and mortar public schools
        Open enrollment "All public schools are open to any Utah student so long as they have capacity as defined by each school district’s average class size.  HB 348 also requires school districts to publish school capacity online and to grant requests without discrimination."

• Brick and mortar private schools
• Brick and mortar charter schools
• Dual enrollment
                  Section 53A-11-102.5 Allows for homeschooling child to enroll in a brick and mortar or online school while being homeschooled. This is called dual enrollment

• Online or Virtual options- 3 classes plus 1 credit seminary= 4 total credits
You can see a comparison here.

Elementary school
Utah Online (Washington Online)
Harmony
Utah Virtual Academy K12
Provo eschool
Alpine Online
Canyon Grove
Connections Academy
MyTechHigh

Middle School
Mountain Heights
MyTechHigh
Utah Online
Harmony
Utah Virtual Adademy
Provo eschool
Alpine Online
Canyon Grove Distance Learning
Electronic High School ( no Credit)
Liahona- Lds Based
Connections Academy
Williamsburg Intermediate

High School-(Most are familiar with the four year high school diploma, but since most Utah high schools are 10-12 grade thus three years, they are able to offer a three year diploma.  It is referred to as the "three year cohort rate" diploma. )

Mountain Heights
Harmony
Utah Virtual Academy
Provo eschool
Utah Online
East Shore Online
Utah Students Connect
MyTechHigh
Liahona- (LDS based)
Connections Academy
Williamsburg Academy
Early College Online


Some of my favorites:
Variety of Online courses for 9-12th grade to mix with any school especially if you have a child pursuing both the Utah accredited diploma and his/her own interests:

Opportunities for those involved in the arts in Utah County: Pioneer High School for the Performing Arts 

Fantastic for blending both brick and mortar school, online and special individual interests in 9-12th grades: StatewideOnline Education program

Computer Programming/Premed training courses:
ALC- Springville


• Brigham Young University
                Independent Study
                Concurrent Enrollment

You can even go beyond high school.  How about an associates degree at the same time you get your high school diploma?  (New Century or Regents scholarship) This can be done through Concurrent Enrollment (CE) courses, Advance Placement exams, and online. To do this you can see my excel spread sheet.  To understand more about these options read through the slides Avoiding the Middle School Blues and Beyond.

To learn the difference between Distance Education, CE Live Interactive and Concurrent Enrollment go here.


• UVU Distance Education-  for a list classes that are taught online at the following locations:
Advanced Learning Center
American Fork High School
American Leadership Academy
Legacy Preparatory Academy
Lehi High School
Liberty Academy
Lonepeak High School
Merit Academy
Mountain View High School
North Summit
Orem High School
Pioneer High School for the Performing Arts
Pleasant Grove High School
Provo High School
Rockwell Charter High School
South Summit High School
Timpanogos High School
Timpview High School
Walden High School
Wasatch High School
West Lake High School

• Concurrent Enrollment/Distance Education locations besides your local high school
Cache Center
DATC

Charter schools offering full time enrollment for associates degree:
(You can enter in the below programs at age 16 usually. Also you can request the three year "cohort" diploma.) 










If taking AP courses, to apply towards your associates degree, you will need to verify with the college to course equivalency.  AP Equivalencies for UVU
To verify a professor is who you want to take a class from you can go to Rate My Professor

Transcripts:

There are two types of transcripts. Accredited and non accredited. Accredited you get through an accredited institution.  Your public high schools have to be accredited.  Not all elementary, middles schools, charter or private schools are accredited.  As a homeschooler you can make a non accredited transcript. All concurrent enrollment and distance ed classes are considered accredited. 

• Keep track of everything high school student does (Home school classes, clubs, volunteering, lessons, reading, interests, sports, music, church activities, personal progress, scouts, mock trial, commonwealth/mom’s school, entrepreneurial projects, travel, home economics: cooking, sewing, nutrition, farm/animal/garden chores)
• Organize required classes by grade level or subject- give it an official class name meeting graduation requirements, and dates completed.
  

If using a non accredited transcript you determine the graduation requirements. For an Accredited Utah Diploma the Graduation Requirements for High School are determined by the USOE.  

• Include all necessary personal information: Child’s name, birthdate, SSN, address, etc.
• Have a cumulative GPA calculated on a 4 point scale.
• Include the graduation date only AFTER the student has graduated. Prior to graduation, an “anticipated graduation date” can be listed.
• Keep in a copy in a safe place available for the life of the student.
• Sign and date the finished transcript as the “School Principal.”
• Mail the college the transcript in a sealed envelope with the principal’s (parent’s) signature over seal.
• Have the home school name and address on the outside of the envelope.

*If you do not choose to assign grades to your child’s home school transcript, some universities and colleges will give you a default GPA. For instance, Weber State University assigns home schoolers with a 3.5 GPA.
It would be good to know what that default GPA is.

View copies below to get formatting ideas: There are many homeschool transcript templates available on-line as well as some very good record-keeping options that prepare transcripts for you for a small fee.
SAMPLE HOME SCHOOL TRANSCRIPTS – BLANK:



So with all these options it can seem paralyzing.  The questions to ask your student is: 
Do you want to graduate with a high school diploma? 
Do you want to graduate early?
Do you want to go to college? What type of college- closed enrollment, open enrollment or tech? (If you don't want to close any doors, you will aim for closed enrollment)
Do you want to an accredited or unaccredited transcript?
How do you plan on financing your education?  Would you like scholarships?
How do you want to learn?  Do you want to learn it through a brick and mortar school,  online with or without a mentor, or with a textbook on your own. 






6 comments:

  1. Can you add an image to this post so I can pin it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes an image would be great so we can pin. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Leadership Education Academy, online classes for 8-16 year olds. No common core. In fact, no multiple choice tests at all! Our mentors are trained in TJEd style learning and are passionate about children's education. Classes are held weekly to minimize time spent online, but are live with interaction between mentors and students. LEA: where students become scholars and freedom flourishes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. On "You can see a comparison here" under Online & Virtual options, you need to have permission to view it, which I don't have.

    ReplyDelete

Please leave your name since I love to get to know everybody!