Pennsylvania home-school info or resources?

Question

I have a client who has epilepsy, in 12th grade in Upper Darby HS and has missed over 20 days of school already this year. She was just hospitalized again and the school recommended she be home-schooled for the rest of the year. The school stated that she will graduate; they will issue her a diploma. FYI: This girl is also in "kinship care" being cared for by older sister but in child welfare system which is why I am involved. With regards to the home-schooling, what is the next step?

Answer 1

I would adise you to tread VERY carefully here. Pennsylvania has some of the toughest homeschool laws in the country (HSLDA has it on their watch list). If the school is saying they will issue her diploma, make sure you get that IN WRITING. In most states, homeschools act as private schools and are responsible for issuing diplomas (and in the vast majority of cases, public schools will NOT issue them for homeschoolers).

I have to wonder: if the school WILL issue her a diploma, why WON'T they issue her one now?

Start by checking the requirements in PA on the HSLDA website. If there aren't too many hoops to jump through, you'll need to determine WHAT to teach her, then HOW. To determine this, you need to know her interests and plans, as well as what type of learner she is (auditory, visual, kinesthetic).

There are plenty of homeschool curriculum to choose from - everything from curriculum-in-a-box programs (like Switched-On Schoolhouse from Alpha Omega) to computer-based courses (such as k12.com and Penn Foster). You can also design your own curriculum from sources like Rainbow Resource, Children's Books, Homeschool Supercenter, or Timberdoodles. Or you could go the unschool route and not use any real curriculum.

I would suggest hooking up with a local homeschool organization. They'll be up-to-date on what's available and what the state/local laws require. They are also an invaluable resource for materials, co-ops, support, teams, and everything else homeschool.

Best wishes.

Answer 2

HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) is a GREAT place to start. Being a member here is worth their membership fee... I PROMISE!! Also, there is lots of information that you can get from their site as you are deciding whether or not you will give homeschooling a try, including links to your state's laws. It is good to start reading already... don't wait until the week before "1st grade" starts!!! You will want to educate yourself first!! Read about the various ways to go about educating your child. There are many different philosophies and if you wait and start reading later, you may find that you will feel very overwhelmed and not know what to do at all!! So, go ahead and start reading now! Get a game plan - which basically means to just know what you want! Then there is so much information out there to find on any of the various philosophies just hunt a bit. You will be able to find anything you would like. Then, just jump in! You can try something and if it doesn't feel right, try something else! I am homeschooling my 6 yr old, 4 yr old and the 2 yr old picks stuff up, too! Really, it is fun and there are many different ways to go - there isn't a right way - only the way that works for your family!

Answer 3

This is a tough one to answer. Homeschooling has so many curricula, methods, styles, resources and so on, usually when people ask, "All right, where do I start?" I point them to 2 sites. First is this:
http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/newtohomeschooling/ which is designed especially for people new to homeschooling.

Then there's this:
http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp?State=PA
The HSLDA gives good overviews of state-by-state homeschool laws.

The thing is, you're not really looking to dive into homeschooling, but rather to help someone finish out one year of school. My suggestion would be to first find out just how much help your charge's school & teachers would be willing to give her. Would they allow her to keep her texbooks and simply do the work at home (sending it in to be graded?) Otherwise, you're looking at needing to find a curriculum that approximates her current schedule or finding her something that she can do only half of, but still receive the credit of finishing her year.

Honestly, if the school won't allow her to just follow along with her current classes from home, I'd consider just getting one of the "Curriculum in a Box" things like the LifePacs from Alpha Omega - (which is a Christian curriculum, btw) and letting her do half a year of it. I can't believe they'd expect her to complete a full year's homeschool curriculum in just 6 months or so.

Answer 4

Try Penn Foster high school and career school
they are well accredited and i am using them, they issue out they diploma and i believe they are based in pennsylvania

Answer 5

Have you thought of a cyber school to finish up the year?? i.e. pacyberschools