A recent U.S. Department of Education report shows the continued growth of homeschooling in the United States. The report, from the National Center for Educational Statistics estimated a 74% increase in homeschooling over the 8 years ending in 2007. In addition to lack of confidence and dissatisfaction with traditional public schools parents cite their desire to be more actively involved in their children’s education.
Recent developments in educational technology have certainly increased opportunities for homeschool families, but the same technologies have blurred the lines between “homeschooling” and “school-at-home” programs.
Homeschool:
A homeschool family is one that, for a variety of reasons, has pulled out of the traditional education system in order to have direct and complete control of the education of their students. The parents make all decisions regarding the curriculum their children will use, if any; how they will assess their children, and when they consider their children to have completed their education. A review of the research on homeschooling indicates that homeschool students do as well as, if not better than traditionally educated students in most academic measures, including success in college.
There are many curriculum providers that help ease the transition from traditional education into homeschooling. One of the challenges for early homeschoolers was ensuring their students learned the subject materials they needed for successful transition into college. While traditional schools use standardized curriculum, early homechoolers did not have access to that benefit.
One of the first decisions homeschool families need to make is what curriculum they will use for their children’s education. Two types are generally available. Traditional books, delivered via mail or library, and online courses. One of the most popular online curriculums, offered by Global Student Network (GSN) is currently being used by homeschoolers in all 50 states and 28 countries.
Global Student Network is an online curriculum provider that seems to understand the difference between homeschooling and school-at-home. When a family enrolls in GSN’s homeschool option, the parent is placed in the “teacher” module so that they can assess their children, provide feedback, and have complete control over their education. GSN assists parents with course selection when requested, and provides detailed information and forms for maintaining a “homeschool portfolio,” the equivalent of a public school transcript. They also provide a certificate of completion for each course for the parent to sign and issue to their students. An outstanding feature of GSN’s online curriculum is that it was developed by a public school district, is a standards-based curriculum that meets the standards in all 50 states and has been well received by a wide variety of homeschool families
It is important for new homeschoolers to understand that homeschool curricula are never accredited. Curricula in and of itself does not meet any criteria for any accrediting organizations. In order for an institution to have accreditation, it must be a school of some form. Whether the school is set up as an independent study program, or traditional education institution, accreditation is granted based on self-review, other review, and the administrative processes a school uses to conduct its business. Rarely is a school accredited on the basis of its curriculum, its teaching method, or its teaching effectiveness.
At one time, getting into college required attending an accredited high school. Over the past several years, an increasing number of colleges recognize what homeschoolers have known for some time, that homeschool students do equally well or better in college than traditionally educated students. Colleges are now actively recruiting and accepting homeschool students on an equal basis as traditionally educated youth. The most important criteria that colleges use are the transcripts (or portfolio) of the students educational career, and their score on the SAT/ACT test. An excellent resource for colleges that actively recruit and accept homeschoolers can be found at HomeschoolFacts.com
School-at-Home:
With the rising dissatisfaction with public education, school-at-home programs have popped up all across the nation. Using a variety of independent study methods, these programs are established as private or public schools. The most significant aspect of school-at-home programs is that they have some element of control and authority of the learning process of your child. The level of control ranges from minimal to in-depth. Some of the terminology you may hear is: Umbrella School, Independent Study Program, Accredited High School Diploma from your home. There are also many public and charter schools that are beginning to offer school-at-home programs.
School-at-home programs serve as excellent resources for parents that want more control over their children’s education, but feel that they might struggle with the “teaching” of some or all subjects to their children. Most school-at-home programs provide some level of teaching support for the families they serve.
School-at-home programs operating under public charter school regulations in many states are not permitted to charge for tuition, and there appears to be a rising trend throughout the nation for this form of cyber-school. The downside of public charter cyber-schools is that they must comply with the regulations of the No Child Left Behind law. To the family and student, this typically means annual assessment test to measure Annual Yearly Progress. Public charter cyber-schools have mixed reviews when compared to their brick-and-mortar counterparts. There is a model of Independent Study Programs in California that has become established as the model for change in traditional education. These “ISP” schools allow parents to fully collaborate with the school to choose curriculum, design a learning plan, provide as much instruction as the parents feel capable of providing, and still provide the safety net of academically prepared faculty to support the student and families needs.
One of the most popular types of school-at-home programs are private schools that bring the best of online learning technology and provide highly individualized learning opportunities for students in their home environment. One of the most popular private school programs that falls in this category is International Virtual Learning Academy (IVLA). This school provides a standards based online curriculum that is very popular throughout the U.S. and internationally.
IVLA is a private, accredited, California school that serves students world-wide. This unique school has open enrollment, meaning that students can start at any time of the year. IVLA provides a highly qualified teacher for every course, and awards an accredited high school diploma to eligible students. IVLA also serves adult learners who want to return to school to complete their high school diploma rather than obtaining a GED. IVLA provides a complete academic assessment of every student prior to enrolling in their first course, which includes a road-map to graduation that his individualized to that student’s needs.
In addition to the innovative schools like IVLA mentioned above, there are some very large educational conglomerates that see dollar signs in education and have very aggressive marketing campaigns to draw students away from traditional schools. Some of the big conglomerates that have entered the school-at-home market in the last few years include: K-12 Inc., a public traded company, Connections Academy, Insight Schools (owned by the same company that owns University of Phoenix) and several others. While the definitive research is not out yet, early research reports indicate that their students fair no better than, and in some cases worse then students in traditional brick-and-mortar schools. There are some questions about their advertising as well. When a school says they are an “accredited homeschool program” red-flags should go off in homeschoolers minds.
As in all new technology and service delivery, families should fully investigate their options. Company’s like Global Student Network and International Virtual Learning Academy have earned a sound reputation in the homeschool and school-at-home communities for their customer service, responsiveness, and low-cost educational alternatives.