Homeschool Senior Year in the Face of Budget Cuts?

Parents Forum
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<p>We live in what has been a high performing school district in Massachusetts that tragically is in the process of being gutted by budget cuts. The administration, in preparation, and perhaps to make the strongest case for keeping teaching jobs, is starting to make moves that appear to not be in the best interest of our child. My brother in-law, a veteran teacher and union rep in another state, warned me that the administration likely wants to minimize independent studies in the interest of teacher job security. His thinking was that each department head will want to try to fill their classes to avoid their electives being cut for low enrollment and teachers in their department being laid off. They’ve even moved the independent study application deadline to a date before the local nearby college, Harvard Extension, even publishes its class listings. There is no obligation for the district to pay for independent studies and students pay themselves when a college course is involved, so it's not about the district money going outside.</p>

<p>First of all, there is the reasonable likelihood that AP Chemistry will not run due to low enrollment. It's a very hard class. In that contingency, D, currently in AP Biology, and having already taken AP PhysicsB independently (and thus not "counting" in the school's eyes), is being encouraged to consider a weaker science class as a backup to meet a 4-yr science requirement. D has no interest in the other science classes and wants to find a way to take AP Chem. Though I'm not sure what kind of pressure he's under, the science director seems like a reasonable guy and I think this will likely work out in some manner where he approves an independent study for AP Chem. </p>

<p>Then, according to D, the veteran CalcBC teacher herself seemed surprised when she had to tell the class that the math director insists that current juniors take another math elective at the school such as AP Statistics instead of the taking Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra at Harvard Extension as an Independent Study - the traditional track for the most advanced math kids in our school. D has no interest in AP Stats and wants to take MVCalc/LinAlg. I need to contact other parents and try to understand what the math director is trying to do to see if we can get a united front. (maybe the math director herself teaches AP Stats - not really sure - but that would explain a lot, LOL!). This director would ultimately need to approve the independent study - something that she has routinely done in the past. I've dealt with her before with regard to my younger child's potential acceleration in math and her main argument against acceleration is that kids "run out of math". My younger child was unable to accelerate as my older one was and wasted a year in 7th grade. So I'm not encouraged by the mindset of this so-called math specialist who views juniors in CalcBC as a "problem". </p>

<p>D is completing AP LatinLit this year, and rather than do AP Latin Vergil too, wants to continue in a nonstandard spoken language that she studied in a summer immersion program by taking another class at Harvard Extension as an independent study. While we've gotten initial encouragement from the foreign language director that this independent study would be approved, our school only allows two independent studies and this would be a 3rd if AP Chemistry also needs to be one. Despite my asking, I've gotten "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" when they could have just said yes, thus I am not optimistic that a 3rd independent study would be allowed. </p>

<p>There are 3 additional classes offered by the school that are likely to run and that she does want to take. </p>

<p>I will negotiate with the administration as best as possible, but I need to explore our options including the option of "homeschooling" for senior year ($4-$10K), the option of moving to another district by getting an apartment to live in 4 nights a week ($15K), and the option of gaining admission to a private school at this late date ($35K) - not in my budget and probably too late. </p>

<p>D's transcript at the end of junior year will be stellar, and will have included 5 hard AP's, all honors and AP classes with a GPA well above an A. She's worked very hard, and she probably could have applied to go to college after junior year, but is already young for her grade and is not quite ready to leave home. She was looking forward to being a senior and graduating with her friends. Her guidance counselor is great and very supportive of her educational plans, but she’s new and I’m afraid that her job is in jeopardy too - the proposed budget cuts one counselor and she's the newest. Another tragedy in the works. </p>

<p>As a taxpayer, are there any legal grounds to require the school to allow D to take the 3 other classes and use the guidance resources of the school for college applications as a "homeschooled" student so that I don’t have to pay for these classes. D may be willing to forgo meeting the school's graduation requirements if she's otherwise forced to take AP Stats and a weak science against her will. I'm sure she can pass the GED test if some college requires that she get a diploma. She'd still be in school half-time with her friends. The yearbook, graduation and alumni stuff would be very hard to deal with if she were not allowed to participate. Clubs are on the budget chopping block anyway and are likely go out the window with the budget. D will make the ultimate choice. We just need options and a negotiating position. </p>

<p>While it seems easier just to go along with the bad situation, and we are very sympathetic to the teacher's plight, our philosophy, which D shares, is to focus on getting the education and not just on getting into college. I can't imagine a college will hold this against her given the tragic budget circumstances, but we’re not sure how to deal with applications and recommendations if she's no longer in the school. </p>

<p>Sorry so long. Any insight would be useful. Thanks</p>

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<p>That's a complicated problem, ClassicRockerDad. I feel for you, since your daughter has worked so hard and is obvoiusly seeking further challenges.</p>

<p>I'm not sure exactly how the finances work in your state, but in ours, a large percentage of the costs for the school are paid for by local taxes (there's a flat state funding figure). Our HS district has been cutting/economizing for years, and last year a group of parents and I worked w/the district to get the local budget (increase) passed. We've become a bit experienced w/public campaigns, and were able to help get the voters approve the budget, thereby foreclosing further cuts (e.g. they had planned to eliminate classes w/fewer than, say 15 kids enrolled -- these would usually be honors).</p>

<p>Perhaps offering to help w/budget passage might assist your school in being more flexible w/academic options? (softening them up psychologically, plus helping them practically)</p>

<p>Personally, I'd be very reluctant to pull a kid out of HS in her senior year, for the reasons you mentioned (friends, social aspects). I would tend to think that a consistency in HS experience would be better on an app than a sudden change, too, no matter the reason (it's far fetched, but maybe they would think the 'academic' reason cited for a change were really a cover for social difficulties or something perhaps negative?) Just throwing out some ideas.</p>

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<p>ClassicRockerDad, I commiserate- MA had a similar drastic budget crisis (prop 2 1/2) before my senior year in HS and I experienced drastic cuts.</p>

<p>From watching budget processes in past years, a lot of the initial proposed cuts are to scare up the community, what is actually cut is then less severe and different than where they started. But this year is different, I think cuts will really be drastic.</p>

<p>Would your daughter really prefer the option to leave school to pursue these subjects? Would she rather take the language IS instead of Vergil so then she could take AP Chem as a second IS? Or not take a lang next year (since she is through one AP she will be fine for college requirements) if that space can be filled with a higher priority math/science option. If the options that she is left with for next year are not as advanced as what she would have had pre-cuts, but are still very rigorous, she will not be penalized because of the cutbacks in her school. </p>

<p>Also, you said you had to pay for the IS classes anyway, so who cares if she takes more than the limit, just that they may not show on her transcript?</p>

<p>She has a lot of choices, and one may be homeschooled, but it sounds like she can get most of what she wants without having to</p>

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<p>If I am following all the issues here, your daughter had planned as a senior next academic year to do three college classes and three high school classes. (The scheduling logistics of this sort of overwhelm me unless some of these college classes are taught after high school hours or she can walk to the college.LOL) You think now independent studies (the college classes) won’t be allowed because they need bodies to fill their regular HS classes. And she wants to be with her friends for senior year activities. Would the following work? She does an abroad program fall of senior year in her modern language. Obviously she can’t take the body-filling courses. Would they have to allow the college courses in the spring to give her something to fill her schedule? Are there fall senior activities she would be distressed to miss or might this work?</p>

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<p>I commiserate with you. I agree with your general thinking that if the school is retrenching, you have to consider ALL options, including the option of doing it yourself. It sounds (from the clarity and detail of your post) like you could do a good job of explaining the rationale for choosing to homeschool the last year of homeschool when filling out a college application as a homeschooling parent writing as your child's "high school counselor." (Check the Common Application homeschoolers supplement </p>

<p><a href="https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/HomeSchool_Supplement.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/HomeSchool_Supplement.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p>to see what kinds of questions are asked on that rather poorly fitting form.) </p>

<p>Good luck making that decision. We've been dealing with similar trade-offs here.</p>

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<p>I thought the Stimulus package included money for schools, wont that help at all?</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone for great responses. </p>

<p>Joylyne: We're already all over the budget process, but the vote will happen too late in the year so that the students and administration must plan for the worst case scenario which is what I think everybody is trying to do. Nobody expects the vote to pass in a recession. </p>

<p>jackief: I’m sorry this happened to you too. This is a real disaster and I thought that between a recent Boston Globe editorial, Obama’s speech and the stimulus package, that there would be some hope, but talk is cheap and we have no indication that any real help is on the way from our elected officials. </p>

<p>We’ve definitely considered what you suggest, but the key issue for D is the AP Stats vs MVCalc. That just might push her over the edge to be homeschooled, because AP Stats would involve substantial homework and class time that she can’t afford along with MVCalc. With two independent studies, she needs 4 classes in school to be within guidelines. I suppose that if we can solve the AP Stats issue, and she gets MVCalc, she can pick something really easy like art or astronomy as a 4th class just to be legal, and effectively do what she wants by not registering in school for the language class, which is merely an elective, but taking it anyway. The non-honors class would reduce her GPA but not appreciably and at that point, who cares. </p>

<p>Ahl: That’s the kind of creativity I come to CC looking for! Alas, study abroad is not viable. </p>

<p>PlanA: 4 courses at high school, incl. AP Chem, 2 courses at night at Harvard Ext. (HES)
PlanB:3 courses at high school, 2 courses at HES, AP Chem online or something. </p>

<p>Key fall activity is visiting, interviewing and applying to colleges, LOL! </p>

<p>TokenAdult: I'm trying to investigate mixed options and I was hoping to still use the guidance department that I’m paying for with my taxes :-), but it’s good to know we have other options. Thanks for the vote of confidence. </p>

<p>Kayf: LOL! Think Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny! If and when our community gets any stimulus money I suspect that they will just cut the existing school allocation and fund the other services that they’ve gutted even more. Our roads are third world, our clueless Governor has an education agenda that doesn't find garden variety K-12 education sexy enough, and with 3 layers of government to pass through, no good deed goes unpunished.</p>

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<p>"Key fall activity is visiting, interviewing and applying to colleges, LOL!"</p>

<p>The abroad option only needs to be long enough to make it impossible for her to fit into whatever the unacceptable HS scheduling norm will be next year. IF it appealed to her, I bet she could work the college app stuff around that schedule. But-- I'm not trying to push your kid out of the country! really!</p>

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<p>We faced a similar situation, program was cut due to low enrollment. We made 'lemonade' out of it - too long to go into here. Should your d. remain in her hs, her GC can account for any unusual course selections by explaining the budget situation. I would be concerned about moving a child who you say is young for her grade and not ready to go to college early. We're on our second to go through the college admissions process, and I would not want to have to learn the home schooling ropes at the same time as you're dealing with college admissions. If you're new to college admissions AND home schooling, do you have the time to learn and do both well?</p>

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<p>I think that homeschooling senior year has substantial disadvantages. Not only would your daughter be cut off socially from her friends and from the tradiational senior year activities (prom, graduation, etc.) that many kids value, she would be cut off from the school guidance department/registrar/teachers who will write recommendations, all of whom will have to cooperate with her in the college application process. Also, if any of her ECs are school-based, she would be cut off from them as well -- perhaps at the time when she has the opportunity for the greatest leadership role.</p>

<p>I can understand your daughter's frustration at not having the academic opportunities she thought she would have. But at worst, she's simply postponing those opportunities for one year. All of the courses she wants will be available at college (assuming that she chooses a college that teaches the unusual foreign language that interests her). </p>

<p>If one of my kids had been in your daughter's situation, I would have suggested that he/she work out the best schedule possible within the high school's constraints, realizing that it's only one year until academic opportunities will improve greatly.</p>

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<p>My daughter's oldest friend left their school for senior year for similar reasons. Our small school changed the rules midstream, literally on the last day of the junior year. The friend transferred to another high school in the district that has relatively few high-performing students, and their guidance counselor was happy to work with him so he could get the schedule he wanted. He took half of his classes at a local community college and half at the high school. Everything turned out well - he enjoyed all of his teachers and classes, and he is now a freshman at MIT :).</p>

<p>The only down side was leaving the old school. That was sad for him and sad for everyone else, teachers and students.</p>

<p>A side benefit for his mom was that he finally learned to drive. She had been wanting him to drive for awhile, since they live in a remote area and it would be convenient if he could get himself places. Also, he is old for his grade so this had been available to him for a long time, but he just didn't want to do it. As soon as they made the new school plan, he got his license, parents got him a car, and he ended up enjoying his new mobility.</p>

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<p>Do her plans for this summer preclude her taking AP Chem or some other course during the summer?</p>

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<p>Way back when, our private Catholic HS, faced a serious budget crisis and raised tuition nearly 75%. They provided the option for rising juniors and seniors to take the required 4 year graduation elements (English and Religion, IIRC) during the summer. The rising seniors were done in August. The rising juniors took a full year of classes the following year but were done one full year earlier than scheduled, thereby saving one year tuition.</p>

<p>So my suggestion to you is that your daughter take the HS diploma requirements during the summer, get recommendations lined up now, use the following year as a 'Gap'/'Independent Study' year while applying to colleges.</p>

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<p>We've had homeschooled kids come back into the school system for their senior year to take advantage of the smoother process for college apps.</p>

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<p>AP chem seems like a hard class to independent study because of all of the labs-- why not take apchem and multi/linear at HES, and then take 4 other courses at the HS. Your D wouldn't be able to continue her language of interest for a year, but would have the math and science and could have her senior year with her friends. Alternatively she could just treat AP stats as an easy class which would give her time for some activities etc. and wait to take multi/linear at college. If the GC explains that she wasn';t allowed to take multi/linear due to budget constraints, no college is going to hold it against her. It seems like no matter what she does she will have the grades/classes to get into any school, so it seems like it makes sense to focus on ECs and also the application process</p>

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<p>"She was looking forward to being a senior and graduating with her friends." You answered your own question. There will be plenty of opportunities in college for advanced coursework. </p>

<p>You don't need to choose between homeschooling and traditional school. If the schedule works out, she can attend traditional school for part of the day and homeschool for the rest.</p>

<p>I think teachers push AP Stats over MVCalc/LinAlg as it is easier to fill with students and and easier course to find a qualified teacher.</p>

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<p>ClassicRockerDad, my daughter had a similar situation her senior year of high school in that she had "topped out" of the available math classes. Our local community college didn't offer anything truly suitable either, so she dual enrolled at a state university that's a little more than an hour away. She drove there two days a week and took three classes every day (morning) at the high school. Because she was already there and the tuition was the same regardless of how many credits she carried (well, there was probably some cap...), she was able to take other classes she was interested in at the university. We chose to minimize her travel by scheduling all classes during those two days. Our school district paid her tuition.</p>

<p>As for missing out on high school activities, my daughter didn't feel she missed out. Occasionally her friends would forget to pass on an announcement or she'd have to miss an EC meeting, but people worked with her and it was manageable. Her EC's took place after school anyway and she was available 3 out of 5 weekdays and weekends. </p>

<p>I think her experience on a college campus locally helped her quite a bit to be completely comfortable with the long distance situation she is now thoroughly enjoying. She learned to talk to professors and to deal with things like debit payments from id cards and getting student tickets for ball games, parking permits.... Lots of things were demystified before she was "on her own" 2K+ miles from home.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
You don't need to choose between homeschooling and traditional school. If the schedule works out, she can attend traditional school for part of the day and homeschool for the rest

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Bingo! This is exactly the direction that I'm trying to find out about! </p>

<p>How does one do this? How does one find out what the school's legal obligations are in this scenario? Ideally, they'd have to let her take her 3 classes, provide guidance counselor services and allow her in ECs if we pay our mandated activity fee. She may even get in the yearbook. She just wouldn't get a diploma and would need a GED because she wouldn't have fulfilled THEIR ever changing requirements. I believe that no worthwhile college would have a problem with her education. This seems like a small price to pay if it comes down to that.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
why not take apchem and multi/linear at HES, and then take 4 other courses at the HS

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</p>

<p>May be doable. Currently these two courses are offered Thursday nights at the same time. Next year might be different. I'm also looking into MIT Delve on Sundays for APChem. Not sure HS would cooperate.</p>

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<p>RE. post 18: in our state, which has practically no homeschool regulation this would have to be negotiated with the individual school district and if there was no precedent in place for that school district, would never be settled in time for it to make a difference to your family. Check with your local homeschool group though. They will know. Maybe you will get lucky.</p>