<p>DS will be applying this year to boarding schools for 9th grade. He is homeschooling this year and I'm curious about the recommendation letters. It appears most schools require and English/math and sometimes an "other" teacher recommendation. I'm not sure how this would work. We do not teach DS English or math. He will do online math with a teacher who has never met him. I cannot imagine a recommendation from that source would be helpful. How have others approached this? Do I just write letters myself and summarize his history in that subject? Can I use letter from teachers in previous years when he went to school? And for schools that ask for a graded essay -- do I just assign him one and grade it myself? He will have plenty of outside validation as he has prior grades and scores and outside classes, but no real English or math teacher.</p>
<p>My previously homeschooled daughter applied to and, happily, was accepted at three boarding schools last season. All three wanted current year or prior year teacher evaluations (as opposed to recommendations) in specific subjects: math, English, and science. – plus a graded essay. </p>
<p>If the subjects are (or were) taught by outside teachers, you should definitely ask them to write an evaluation, even if the teachers have had extremely limited exposure to your son, because external validation adds credibility to the application. You can ask to submit another personal recommendation (or two) if you have someone who can speak to the personal qualities of your son and/or the quality of his education. In my opinion the less that comes from the parent the better.</p>
<p>The graded essay should be easy if someone else is teaching (or taught) English; otherwise you could use an essay written for another subject. The quality of the work done in 7th or 8th grade isn’t going to be stellar – and they know that, so don’t stress – but there are other things they learn by reading the assignment, child’s independent response, and the teacher’s evaluation.</p>
<p>Thank you Ispy. It seems like outside validation counts the most and to try to find that whenever possible. </p>