“Homeschooling alive and well in Alpine County (The Record-Courier)” plus 4 more |
- Homeschooling alive and well in Alpine County (The Record-Courier)
- Homeschool Buyers Co-op Offers Internet Reward Program to All Homeschooling Parents (PRWeb via Yahoo! News)
- Missouri's Virtual Classrooms Face Uncertain Future (KOLR - KSFX Ozarks)
- Montessori school eyes third floor at Washington (Brainerd Dispatch)
- Cyber charter schools costing local school districts thousands of dollars (Morning Times)
| Homeschooling alive and well in Alpine County (The Record-Courier) Posted: 22 Jan 2010 05:15 AM PST
Why do some parents choose to homeschool their children? Three of the Alpine County homeschooling families I spoke with recently (the Rickford, Tinseth and Galvez families) gave the following reasons: They wish to encourage their children to be free thinkers, using their own discernment rather than conforming; they appreciate the benefits of a flexible schedule; they prefer to take educational trips out of the tourist season; they value the freedom to design the curricula which best suit their children; the children were having difficulties at school; they want to take advantage of living in this beautiful county by spending as much time outdoors as possible; religious convictions; they feel it is vital for the children to have the leisure to discover their passions and pursue them. One reason shared by all the families is simply that they enjoy being with their children. Is it legal to homeschool in California? Yes. The families file an affidavit as a private school with the state. In 2008, homeschooling was declared illegal in California as the result of a lawsuit. For a month, homeschooling families became outlaws until the new law was reversed. These three Alpine families pay $100 per year to belong to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. What about socialization? All three families participate to varying degrees in the Faith Homeschool Cooperative (faithhomeschoolers.com) headquartered in Carson Valley. Two classes are offered every Thursday. These classes vary each semester and include instruction in dance, musical theatre and phonics. Women's Health, a class for girls, and biology are taught by Lenny Sue Tinseth, mother of five, a homeschooler for 17 years and Alpine County midwife (the three families are also home birthers). The Faith Homeschool group also has field trips. Derek Rickford, father of five and homeschooler for 10 years, takes families on ski trips to Kirkwood. Kim Galvez, mother of six and homeschooler for 10 years, is the field trip coordinator. In the warmer weather she leads hikes. Recently I met Kim at the Carson Valley Swim Center where about 30 children and their mothers were spending the morning. The field trip began with a tour of the facility given by a staff member and after the swim session there was a picnic lunch upstairs. Anyone concerned about the lack of socialization among homeschooling children needs only to attend one of these gatherings. What do homeschoolers do when they reach high-school age? As Lenny-Sue's children have reached ninth grade she has enrolled them in the Moore Academy, an accredited private school. The assigned teacher communicates closely with the child by e-mail and phone. Lenny-Sue says that in her homeschooling endeavors she has appreciated the wisdom of teachers. Raymond Moore, founder of the academy, was a public school principal for 30 years. The Moore Academy works with each child's learning style. The school recommends a balance of school work, work, and service. Lenny-Sue's daughter, Abby, 20, worked with a local food cooperative; she also volunteered as a camp counselor for 4-H and worked at the pound with dog rescue. Lenny Sue's son, Eli, helps a neighbor with chores such as snow removal. The local community colleges invite everyone 151⁄2 years old and up to take classes. The colleges offer a dual program which includes English and Math and enables students to gain college as well as high school credit. Abby took advantage of this offer and her brother, Eli intends to follow suit. The Rickford and Galvez families are also considering the community college classes for their children when they reach this age. What are the Alpine homeschoolers' interests? The families favor project based education. Collin Rickford, 14, has insulated the addition to their log home. He is learning auto shop, knows how to weld, builds computers and plays the guitar. His sister, Holly, 12, has a passion for horses and takes care of her own pony, Jack. Owen, 9, is a great reader and talker and Dane, 6 is the athlete of the family. Their mother, Anna Rickford, keeps a close eye on the children's academic skills and assigns the children daily chores so that their home is a calm, orderly environment. Eli Tinseth, 14, has spent four summers building props and writing the script for a short film which he is creating with other homeschoolers. He plays the guitar and piano. He is also a competitive skate skier. Elyssa Galvez,13, volunteers in the local library where she learns a wide variety of skills, She is a skier and has a great interest in ballet, frequently taking part in performances. These homeschooled children have a relaxed demeanor, are comfortable around adults and are highly creative. This educational approach takes its place with public and private schools as a valid choice for families.
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Posted: 22 Jan 2010 06:30 AM PST 4 seconds ago 2010-01-22T09:07:46-08:00 Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Missouri's Virtual Classrooms Face Uncertain Future (KOLR - KSFX Ozarks) Posted: 22 Jan 2010 06:04 AM PST (Nixa, MO) -- More students could soon have to pay for online classes the state used to cover. This semester, many kids who take classes through Missouri's Virtual Instruction Program have to foot the bill or ask their local schools for help. MoVIP gives students credit for taking online classes. Kids in grades K-12 enroll because they have trouble in a traditional classroom. Other students take the courses for a homeschool education or to get ahead. Cheyanne Ramey enrolled so she can safely work on her high school diploma from home. Instead of taking a bus or sitting in a desk, Ramey logs into a virtual classroom. She's in her second year of high school. She takes many of the same classes as other high schoolers, but staying at home lets Ramey rest when she needs to and stay closer to her father and grandmother. "[She had] thyroid problems that was causing her to be under weight and everything. Her heart rate was 150 beats per minute," said Peggy Ramey, the girl's grandmother. The family tried homeschooling, but the home teaching didn't give Ramey public school credits. MoVIP offered a solution: online public school classes the state paid for. Now, Ramey has a chance at getting a high school diploma without leaving home. "That would be the best thing ever," said Cheyanne Ramey referring to a public school graduation. However, the program and its users face challenges. In response to declining revenues, Gov. Nixon shaved more than $200 million from the state budget in October. MoVIP essentially lost all of this semester's funding. A spokesperson for the governor's office says Nixon is trying to keep cuts away from the physical classroom and the state formula, amid falling revenues. So, he's recommending more than $3 billion for K-12 classrooms through that formula for the 2011 fiscal year. According to a press release, that includes an increase of about $18 million. However, MoVIP would receive less than $400,000. This semester all students, except for a select few like Ramey, have to pay for their virtual schooling or ask their school district to foot the bill. "I think we need all of the options we can get for students to help them move forward in their education," said Rhonda Mammen, the Coordinator of Counseling for Springfield Public Schools. About 25 students take the classes in the R-12 school district. Many of them are just trying to get ahead. Mammen says the district offers help within the school system. She prefers face-to-face interactions with students, but says some kids find MoVIP helpful. The schools though won't pay the tuition for its MoVIP students. "We have not been ever able to provide funding for them to get additional courses than what they could get in a regular school day," said Ramey. With no help, families have to pay hundreds of dollars for a single MoVIP course. One class can cost as much as $400. And if the program doesn't get money next year, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Jim Morris, says the group won't likely be able to pay the tuition of students like Ramey either. "I'm not sure we could afford it," said Peggy Ramey. According to DESE, 1,600 students took the courses last semester. This semester the group expects 300 or fewer to enroll. Classes can start as late as February 1. The state will now use commercial vendors to supply instructors. That leaves 45 teachers without a spot in the state program after they finish their first semester's workload. A spokesperson for Governor Nixon, Scott Holste, says the governor's budget recommendations include $390,000 for MoVIP. That's less than 10 percent of the original budget for the program this fiscal year. State lawmakers still have to vote on an official budget. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Montessori school eyes third floor at Washington (Brainerd Dispatch) Posted: 22 Jan 2010 06:09 AM PST One floor above the Brainerd School District board room. Organizers of the proposed Montessori-based elementary charter school have requested to lease space on the third floor at Washington Educational Services Building to operate the school there. The kindergarten through sixth-grade school is proposed to serve 76 students next fall, 120 students the second year and 144 students the third year. The school has a sponsor and has received preliminary approval by the state Department of Education to open next fall. The Brainerd School Board Facilities Committee Thursday discussed the request for a three-year lease from Discovery Woods organizers. No decisions were made and no action was taken. Steve Lund, director of business services, said he and Discovery Woods board chair Courtney Neifert spent time going over the costs to bring that space up to code and for how much the district would lease the space to the school. Charter schools are not allowed to own property and any renovations made at Washington would have to be paid for by the district and charged back to the charter school over the course of the three-year lease, said Lund. Lund said some of those rooms are being leased now and those tenants would have to be relocated elsewhere in the building. Lund said the charter school would be interested in leasing five classrooms and an office space the first year, increasing to seven classrooms by the third year. The bathrooms on that floor would need to be made handicapped accessible and pavement would have to be added on the east side for a bus stop. The school would like to lease shared spaces, including the cafeteria, the gymnasium and the playground. A part-time custodian, which would increase from .4 full-time-equivalent to .75 FTE by the third year, would need to be hired by the district to maintain that space. Lund said the total lease payments, including amortized payments for renovations and for leasing the gym and cafeteria, would be $83,870 the first year, $125,217 the second year and $141,234 the third year. Total operating costs, including utility costs, additional custodian and operating costs for gym and cafeteria use, would equal $46,826 the first year, $56,590 the second year and $66,895 the third year. The total estimated costs to the charter school that would by paid to the district would be $130,696 next year, $181,807 the second year and $208,129 the third year. Neifert, along with Chuck Marohn, a Montessori organizer, told board members Thursday that those costs fit into the school's budget. Board member Jim Hunt said he had a philosophical concern with the district leasing space to a charter school. "We're kind of in competition," said Hunt. "We're basically allowing 100-plus kids to move from our system to a charter system and we're losing those kids. I have a concern about that as we go through with this." Superintendent Steve Razidlo told the board that he's heard of other districts, notably the St. Paul School District, that host a charter school within its own school system, thus retaining those student aid dollars.
"It may be worth your while, as a school board, to at least extend a directive to us that we look into charter-like schools, whether Montessori or other approaches, within our public school system," said Razidlo. "It's a possibility that is intriguing. ... state revenue would not leave the district." Marohn told the board that Discovery Woods and its supporters view this venture as collaborative in nature with the school district. "Every student we take in will ultimately become a Brainerd Warrior," said Marohn. "I hope you don't see this as competitive," added Neifert. "I think it benefits the educational system in the area overall. Students will come from private, public, homeschooling - it can only benefit the community." Lund said if all the students who attend the Montessori school would be Brainerd students the potential funding loss to the district would be $392,934 the first year it is open, $669,626 the second year and $773,899 the third year. Lund said the maximum potential net revenue for the district from the lease proposal for Discovery Woods would be $64,611 the first year, $77,407 the second year and $91,868 the third year. Board member Tom Haglin noted that there could be additional risk to the district if the renovations were made and the charter school wasn't successful. Neifert, contacted after the meeting, said it is her understanding that a school district could not start its own charter school and she has never had a discussion with the school district about a partnership or the district taking the lead on the Montessori school. She said she and the other charter school supporters are waiting for the state to approve its sponsor, the Audubon Center of the North Woods in Sandstone. It could take until March or May to receive this approval but Neifert said the organization already sponsors 23 other charter schools so she doesn't see why approval won't be granted. Neifert said she began researching whether Washington would be a good site for Discovery Woods in December after the school board determined it wouldn't be a good option for them to help alleviate projected elementary enrollment growth. She said the school does have other options but this is the preferred option. She said Discovery Woods would find another location after its lease is up in three years but in the meantime it would provide the district with additional revenue and pay for building upgrades that could be utilized by the district if more students were relocated there in the future. "It seems like the best space for the community," said Neifert. "It's already built to be a school. It's under-utilized space and would require very few renovations." Board members asked administrators to bring back to the board information on the district's own needs and Razidlo was asked to find out more on whether the district could operate a charter school. JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Cyber charter schools costing local school districts thousands of dollars (Morning Times) Posted: 22 Jan 2010 05:25 AM PST [fivefilters.org: unable to retrieve full-text content] For seven years, school districts in Pennsylvania have had to fund cyber charter school students. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Yahoo! News Search Results for Homeschooling To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment