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HOMESCHOOLING
101
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July 31, 2019
at the
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Cheryl Trzasko
Former classroom teacher
Public, Private, Dept. of Defense Dependents Schools
Taught from 6th to 12th grades
Current FL certification in Math, grades 5-9 and grades 6-12
Previous DoD certified to teach
Science—general middle & high school, biology, chemistry, physics
Math—middle & high school
Computer science
Recruited to teach at FAU
Homeschooled own children from start to college
Was homeschooled herself for some elementary years
PBC Homeschoolers support group leader since 2009
Homeschool evaluator since 2003
Homeschool consultant
Helped homeschoolers get into colleges including Stanford
University of Chicago college admissions committee alumnae interviewer 7.5 years
SAT prep instructor
Previously for Sylvan and Club Z!
privately
HOMESCHOOLING STATISTICS
Palm Beach County: Over 5,000 home education students
Include umbrella school students: Estimates of 10,000
homeschooled students in PBC
Current estimates 2.5 million homeschoolers in USA
Lots of homeschoolers in our area.
Lots of opportunities to socialize, learn from others,
get information, etc.
WHY HOMESCHOOL? Customize education
Control own schedule
Assist children in social settings
Provide consistent values
Spend more time with family
Provide a better education
Safer environment
More time for interests/hobbies
And more
SOCIALIZATION CONCERNS
Fears
Isolated social misfits
Can’t work with others
Can’t follow directions
Miss key social skills
Solutions
Get to know people of all ages
More adult supervision/mentoring
Too many options for classes, clubs, co-ops,
field trips, etc.
Homeschool support groups provide
options
“The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of
Homeschooling” by Rachel Gathercole
GETTING STARTED
1. Withdraw child from school, if already enrolled. Save written record.
2. Must register within 30 days.
a. If at least 6 years old or will be six by Feb. 1st of this school year
i. Younger? Homeschool unofficially.
ii. Our school district will accept registration a year younger but there’s no need to be official early.
b. Choose legal record-keeping option.
a. Home education (aka Letter of Intent or registration with county)
b. private school with homeschool option (aka umbrella school)
REGISTRATION OPTIONSHome Education “Umbrella School”
Register through? School district Private school
School physical required? No Yes
Immunization records required? No Yes or exemption form
Educational records required? Log of educational Attendance & educational activities, titles, samples progress
Number of days/hours to track? No Yes 170 days, hrs. vary by grade
Testing required? Annual evaluation might Depends on school rules
be a test
Legal option for homeschooling? Yes Yes, considered private school
REGISTRATION OPTIONSHome Education “Umbrella School”
Can get services for special needs? Yes Maybe
FSA state testing required? No No
Required subjects? Parent decides School decides (may leave it to parent)
Materials required? Parent decides School decides (may leave it to parent)
Who decides teaching methods? Parent decides School decides (may leave it to parent)
Who decides teaching materials? Parent decides School decides (may leave it to parent)
Can district see records? Yes—with 15 days’ written Yes—If school is defunct and has no
to verify log, titles, samples system or association to collect
are kept them, records go to district
REGISTRATION OPTIONSHome Education “Umbrella School”
Can participate in public school
extracurricular programs? Yes Maybe—if tiny school
Participate in free dual-enrollment
college classes in high school? Yes Maybe—if has an articulation agreement
Can take free FLVS Flex classes? Yes Maybe—if has an affiliation agreement
Best option? Depends on you and your family.
Suggestion: If interested in college, stick with same option for final two years of high school.
HOMESCHOOLING OPTIONS
Home Education
Send “Letter of Intent”
No form required
Child’s full name, DOB,
parent’s name, mailing
address, parent signature,
and say you plan to home
educate
“Umbrella School”
Find a school
Register with the school
Submit physical and immunization
forms
Make plan to submit attendance
regularly
WHAT DO I TEACH?1. Whatever your child needs to learn
2. Deschooling—Taking time to get out of school mindset. Do things that don’t seem school-like: Fun field trips or videos but no textbooks for a while. Let child get bored. Keep some interesting educational materials, kits, videos, etc. to help child learn that there are ways to learn that don’t necessarily require the mentality of “Sit down and don’t do anything until I tell you. Don’t ask questions that aren’t related to the topic of the day. Learning must come from a teacher.”
Deschooling: Not necessarily the same as unschooling.
1. Use time to assess how child learns best and research best educational options
WHAT DO I TEACH?
Lots of options to consider.
Religious vs. secular materials
Workbooks or typical textbooks vs. hands-on activities
Family-style or individual grade-level lessons
Academic rigor vs. gentle learning and mental/emotional health
Set schedule of topics vs. interest-driven
Literature rich vs. just the basics
Grade level vs. interesting
and more
WHAT DO I TEACH?
Eclectic—mix and match
Your choice!
DIY—do it yourself
Hire a tutor
Find some families and work together in a co-op
Use a hybrid school that mixes school classes and homeschooling the rest of the week
Use online programs, books, board or video games, puzzles, etc.
Mix and match any of these and more
How Do I Teach?
Our websites list many options in our area
Estimated 10,000 homeschooled
students in Palm Beach County =
Lots of options
How Do I Teach?
Using interests?
How Do I Teach?
Record keeping, aka Portfolios
Log of Educational Activities
Titles of Reading Materials
Samples of Work
Record keeping, aka Portfolios
Log of Educational Activities—pick ONE
Lesson plan book
Calendar with notes
Publisher’s lesson plans with dates, or check marks, etc.
Blog
List or anything else you can think of
Record keeping, aka Portfolios
Titles of Reading Materials
What are reading materials?
Textbooks? Workbooks? Websites? Library books?
Magazines? Story books? Books read for fun? Books read
to the child? Books read by the child? Books assigned?
Record keeping, aka Portfolios
Samples of Work
Samples of the students’ work
Samples of materials used
Pages from books. Photos of projects. Notes. Graded
work. Ungraded work.
Record keeping, aka Portfolios
Samples of Work
Ideal—Save some from the beginning of the year and
some from the end.
Record keeping, aka Portfolios
Umbrella schools and portfolios
Might not require portfolios.
If they aren’t keeping records of educational progress, you
should.
Evaluations
FSA testing at a public school
Nationally normed testing by a FL certified teacher
Testing with a psychologist
Portfolio review
Other that parent and district agree on
Evaluations
FSA testing at a public school—free, no do overs
Nationally normed testing by a FL certified teacher
Testing with a psychologist
Portfolio review
Other that parent and district agree on
Evaluations
Nationally normed testing by a FL certified teacher—expensive when done privately, some support groups do testing sessions
Testing with a psychologist
Portfolio review
Other that parent and district agree on
Evaluations
Testing with a psychologist—great option if seeing a
psychologist anyway
Portfolio review
Other that parent and district agree on
Evaluations
Portfolio review—any teacher with current,
professional-level FL certification in any grade from k-12
can do review, should look over records of the year, not
a test, ask to be sure teacher knows the law
Other that parent and district agree on
Evaluations
Other that parent and district agree on—for example,
many in PBC submit grade reports from FLVS classes as
the evaluation
Evaluations
Other that parent and district agree on—for example,
many in PBC submit grade reports from FLVS classes as
the evaluation
What if Child Goes to School?
Florida’s Pupil Progression Plan
Places by age (if successful evaluations)
unless student not successful by end of 1st
marking period
College?
Yes!Dual enrollment
Bright Futures
AP
CLEP etc.
Research
Shows homeschooled students typically outscore schooled studentsOne-on-one learning
Focus on learning not grades
Go over missed answers
Use interests
Customized—student’s level(s) and knowledge
Not sure?
Lots: Regret not starting
soonerNot permanent decision
Never heard any regret trying it
Not sure?
Jump in!
The water’s great!
Homeschool Support Group
Palm Beach County
Homeschoolers, Inc.
pbchomeschoolers.com
Homeschool Support Group
Parents helping each other figure out this
homeschooling journey
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Homeschool Support Group
Providing low cost social and educational opportunities
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Homeschool Support Group
Field Trips
Clubs
Classes
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Homeschool Support Group
Dances
Talent Show
Science Fair
Geography/History Fair
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Homeschool Support Group
Sharing resources
Knowledge
Opportunities
And more
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Q & A
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