Amy Oldham is a teacher. For five years, she shared her time and knowledge with 1st and 2nd grade students at Jefferson Elementary School in Mesa, Ariz. Still, as rewarding as she found her work, Oldham was often frustrated when she felt she couldn't respond to all the learning needs of her 28 students.
So, when Oldham became a parent, she made a decision many families have made, and that a growing number continue to make: she would teach her children at home. "I'm a teacher; I love to teach," Oldham says, and being able to educate her own children is just icing on the cake. Having that option is "something I truly appreciate," she states.
Oldham also appreciates the support she receives from the Mesa Public Schools. "I can handle the basics," she explains, but through the district's Eagleridge Enrichment Program—designed specifically for homeschooled students—Oldham's children take classes she would find difficult to teach, such as music, physical education, and foreign languages.
The Eagleridge Enrichment Program is one example of the many ways schools today seek to collaborate with homeschool educators—because all teachers need support, whether their classrooms are down the hall or down the block.
Emphasizing Options
It's not surprising that a program like Eagleridge would originate in the Mesa Public Schools, observes Kathy Tolar, who has directed the program for eight years. "The district has always believed in supporting choice for our parents," she states. In addition to homeschool programs, for instance, there is a public Montessori school, an academy for advanced studies, as well as several special focus schools. Within the schools themselves, choice is emphasized.
Of the more than 500 K–8 grade students who enroll in Eagleridge, for example, some may be gifted, others may not have fared well in traditional school settings, and still others may have health challenges. Homeschooled students represent a "very diverse group," says Tolar. At Eagleridge, therefore, variety is, by necessity, the spice of life. Twenty-five certified, part-time teachers staff the program, which allows the district to offer two options. Students may enroll in a one-day program, which is offered two days a week. They are grouped by grade level and rotate, together, through a series of classes that are difficult for home educators to provide. Or, students may enroll in a block schedule. They pick a block of enrichment classes offered one day a week and move from class to class on their own. Classes range from aerobics to chess to drama.
Eagleridge has "been a great resource for me," says Marie Zwemke, whose four children are enrolled in a one-day program. "There are things that I won't get around to at home, like tons and tons of art work," she explains, adding that the science labs are a family favorite. "My children learn scientific methods by completing experiment after experiment."
Going Virtual
Both Zwemke and Oldham understand that Eagleridge is an enrichment program, and that, as homeschool educators, they must give their children a solid grounding in subjects like math and reading.
For parents who are uncertain about their mastery of such subject matter, however, the Mesa Public Schools offer online alternatives: the K–6 and 7–12 distance-learning programs. The K–6 program "provides a lesson plan for every grade level, every subject—180 lesson plans, one for each day of the school year, for math, social studies, science, reading," says Tolar. In the 7–12 program, students can choose from more than 75 courses—from math and English to career explorations, all of which were designed by Mesa teachers.
The distance-learning program "is growing by leaps and bounds," says Doug Barnard, executive director of the program. Current enrollment stands at close to 4,000 students, with half of those coming from 20 different districts. That represents a 50 percent increase in the online student population, he notes.
"I don't think that the one-size-fits-all standard fits anybody," states Gary Tempel, superintendent of the Scio (Oreg.) School District. "We have to have lots of different puzzle pieces to make the education system work." The Oregon Connections Academy represents one of those pieces, he says.
Students in Tempel's district, and from around the state, can attend the virtual public charter school, which is aligned to the state learning standards. All required textbooks, lesson plans, and other curricular material are supplied by the Connections Academy and shipped to the students' homes. Parents, called adult-learning coaches, assist their children in their learning, but students must also check in regularly with their Connections Academy teachers.
Trade-Offs
Programs like those in Arizona and Oregon receive funding from their states to operate, so families can take advantage of the educational services, free of charge. The only catch: accountability becomes part of the package. Homeschooled students who enroll in these programs may be required to check in with their program teachers, and they must take state standardized tests.
"People in our program may do their schooling at home, but they are part of the public school system," explains Tempel. Parents understand this requirement before they sign up, he says. Even so, interest in the program remains strong. "Originally, we anticipated that there would be 100 students, tops, in the school," says Tempel. Enrollment exceeded that figure the first day; 1,600 students enrolled the second year, and next year, more than 2,000 students are expected to enroll.
Some homeschool educators, however, are unhappy with any link between public school and homeschool. "We actually discourage homeschoolers from participating in public school activities and classes," says Carol Shippy, legislative liaison and board member of Arizona Families for Home Education. "Our standard position is that we understand that public schools are accountable to the taxpayers." To remain private, therefore, one must eschew publicly funded programs. "Whenever somebody asks me about a hybrid program, I ask, ‘Who is footing the bill?’" Homeschoolers, Shippy maintains, should bear their own costs, and "look for ways to meet our needs from within the [homeschooling] community."
And, here again, public schools can help. Most school districts in the United States maintain Web sites listing their schools and resources for students. Many homeschool educators, like Oldham and Zwemke in Maricopa County, can visit those district sites and access Web pages that feature information and resources available to home educators.
Candace Cochran, the county's home and private school liaison who maintains the Web page, says her primary role is to help homeschool educators comply with state law. "We keep the latest state regulations on file and send out a newsletter twice a year that explains the requirements," says Cochran. The Web site also houses a directory of resources for homeschoolers, with information about homeschooling groups and events. "I feel like I'm bridging a gap," she says. "It's important to offer all the resources you can so the homeschooled student has an optimal learning experience."
Homeschooling Fast Facts
An estimated 1,096,000 children were being homeschooled in the United States in the spring of 2003. That represents a 29 percent increase from the estimated 850,000 students who were homeschooled in the spring of 1999.
Most parents (31 percent of homeschooled children) listed issues such as safety, drugs, or negative peer pressure in schools as the most important reason for homeschooling.
Many parents (30 percent) said they homeschooled their children to provide religious or moral instruction.
Fewer parents (16 percent) said they homeschooled because they were dissatisfied with the academic instruction available at other schools.
Forty-one percent of students who were being homeschooled in 2003 had engaged in some sort of distance learning.
Source: Adapted from "Homeschooling in the United States: 2003," by the National Center for Educational Statistics. Retrieved August 29, 2007, fromhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool