Just For the Summer
Dateline: 6/12/01
By Ann Zeise
Your son or daughter didn't do too well in school this past
year and you want to help them catch up so that they will pass
along to the next grade in September. You have heard of this
educational alternative called homeschooling and you are
wondering if this community can help. Your school district does
not have a summer school program that would help in your situation.
Usually the question has at least two parts: Can I teach my
own child this subject? And will my school district give him
credit for it?
There is no law that I know of anywhere in the world that
prohibits parents from teaching their kids anything at all. I
welcome all parents and children with the desire to improve themselves
to avail themselves of the resources on this site and linked
from this site.
Do you need to go through all the legal
steps that year-around homeschoolers need to do in your state?
Here is the big "depends" statement. In about 17 states
you can declare your home education program a "private"
or "parochial" school and as such may issue credits.
While this has its advantages, there are no guarantees that your
school district will accept your home-issued credits. They also
may consider that your child has been "unenrolled"
from their school, and the place given to another child. In impacted
school districts, this could mean a long commute to a less impacted
school in the fall. So, in most circumstances, no, do not declare
yourself an "official" homeschool.
What I suggest is to come up with a proposal or several proposals
for "summer schooling" and get an academic counselor
to sign off on one of the plans. In the case of a child going
from an elementary school to a junior high, the counselor at
the elementary school needs to agree to issue the credits, and
the junior high counselor needs to be sign off to accept the
credits, and to be willing to reevaluate what classes your son
or daughter will next take.
Here are some suggestions on what to propose:
- Ask the district to let you sign out the books from the class
your child failed and go over it again in the summer. (Realize
that this could be a struggle: he didn't get it then from this
book, perhaps he'll never get it from this particular text!)
Suggest you do this through their Independent Study Program.
- Tell the school you'd like to try a different
approach, and spell it all out what you propose to do.
- Propose to place your child in a tutoring "club"
or academic
camp. Look in the yellow pages for tutoring
services.
- Propose to enroll her in a distance
learning program for the summer. Specify which one and reassure
your school that this school is accredited. Keystone
has a special program just for those needing to make up units.
- Do what ever it takes this summer, and get a transcript from
a place like Beach
High School or North Atlantic
Regional Schools.
- High school aged teens may usually enroll in college classes
through Community College Dual Enrollment
programs. See if this is available for you. "Concurrent
Enrollment" is educationalese for being enrolled in two
different educational institutions at the same time. Typically,
you get class credit at one and academic credit toward graduation
at the other. Here's a link to such a program in Santa
Rosa.
Ask what the school counselor will accept for proof of completion
and of satisfactory work in order to issue credits. This is something
I cannot divine. I get asked, "Will my school accept what
we do this summer?" I have no idea! This is something you'll
have to negotiate with them.
Summer is a great time to see if you could enjoy the "unschooling"
life style. Try journaling what your children learn each day.
Improve their self-esteem by giving them new responsibilities
over the summer. A good success or two during the summer can
change a kid with a "I can't do anything" attitude
into a winner. Help them to enter an animal or project in the
county fair. Go with them as they climb a high peak or swim all
the way across the river or learn to surf. Help them get materials
for building a fort and figure out how to make it a sturdy one.
While these activities won't earn school credits, they can go
a long way toward making your child feel like a person who can
succeed, and his next year in school you'll see an improvement....
or you may decide, "Hey! This homeschooling stuff works!
Why send her back?"
|