<p>You can certainly homeschool even at this late date. Ideally you will look into what options are available to you and come up with a plan. While community college is an option, it doesn’t have to be the only option. for example, you could take one or two classes there and do some coursework at home (study a textbook, videotext, online computer class, tutor…). It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition.</p>
<p>If you do decide to homeschool and would like assistance, I would recommend North ATlantic Regional High School. Their website: [NARHS</a> | Your diploma, your way.](<a href=“http://www.narhs.org/]NARHS”>http://www.narhs.org/)
I used this school with my kids and was very pleased. They offered good advice on how to do high school through homeschooling.</p>
<p>I’d like to encourage you to consider homeschooling. It can open up a world of possibilities that would simply not be available to you as a public/private school student. That was the experience of my children. They were able to take advantage of opportunities that would have been unavailable to them had they attended school. And they sure did not miss the high school ‘drama’.</p>
<p>I disagree with Ivyleaf. There are plenty of terrific living and work communities. I am in an academic career, and my group and department are great. I have had close, supportive, productive relationships with coworkers over many years. </p>
<p>It’s not running away to recognize that a situation is not working out and leave it to find something better.</p>
<p>Here in PA, the cyber charter school is free - I think costs are picked up by the district in which you live. I have known a couple of people who have pulled their kids out of high school for different reasons and gone this route. Maybe something to look into in CA.</p>
<p>If you think the problem is specific to the particular school or certain people at that school then another option might be just transferring to another HS in your district or possibly even to a different district. If the issues are more general then that probably wouldn’t work so well of course. Transferring would get you out of the specific environment but still give you an opportunity to attend a HS with others allowing to to make more friends, participate in HS sports, music, theatre, etc. if you’re interested.</p>
<p>My son’s best friend in California left HS after sophomore year. He took the GED and enrolled in community college. He will transfer to Berkeley. His high school (in the “Top 100” in the country) just didn’t have the courses he wanted to take. He hasn’t had any social problems since leaving high school, people are friendly at the community college and he run a small business on the side. I suppose if you were heavily involved in high school sports or music, you might be missing something by going this route, but otherwise, not so much. If you were an A student in high school, you shouldn’t be afraid of college coursework.</p>
<p>For us, D was asked to leave HS after junior year. She studied (with the help of an adult community night course, that she really didn’t need), took and passed the GED course, which entitled her to enroll in our CC. She did great in CC and transferred to her dream college (a private competitive U) after applying as soon as she completed her 1st semester of CC. She transferred as a 2nd semester sophomore & saved us semesters of tuition.</p>
<p>She kept in touch with her HS friends and is still very close to many of them (even currently living with two of them). We didn’t consider homeschooling because neither of us felt she needed any more HS and she felt very comfortable just enrolling in CC (she was 17).</p>
<p>I am also interested in what you decided to do. We are also in CA and D has asked to be homeschooled or do online school for her last two years of hs (she’s a sophomore). She is a competitive equestrian who hopes to ride in college for an NCAA school.</p>
<p>She believes that the only way to make her college goal is to have flexibility to ride more which she does not currently have with her public hs schedule. D is an excellent student with one AP class and mostly honors classes this year. She is not kean on doing additional AP classes whether she stays in traditional school or not. She has completed 3 years of language so would not need to do a language.</p>
<p>D still needs one more year of lab science and we want her to do 2 more years of math (she does not care for math). My husband could help with the math and maybe science. D loves english and history and I believe she could do well in these courses.</p>
<p>I am interested in any information anyone has. Thanks!</p>
<p>I just met with a girl at the high school here. She’s a junior and just moved here at the beginning of this academic year. She wants to leave the high school and homeschool, so she met with me since my kids didn’t go to high school beyond just taking a few classes there a la carte, and they are doing well in college now.</p>
<p>This girl is a straight A student and a talented musician. High school takes up too much time for what she gets out of it. She could take the academics on herself and do it better, at a higher level, and in a fraction of the time. She’ll probably do a blend of classes at the local college, online classes, and independent/home study. There are a lot of ways to work it out.</p>
<p>Bananas:
Best wishes for your recovery and I hope that you are getting treatment and therapy!
That being said, there are some things that are therapeutic - or I might say essential - for recovery from depression. One of them is to HAVE A SCHEDULE! I am not saying that this is impossible through homeschool, but you or your parents will have to enforce it, and strictly, even when you do not feel “up to it”. Allowing you to continue with the altered sleep and eating patterns that frequently accompany depression will NOT be therapeutic, but having a schedule will. Exercise needs to be part of that schedule. And, helping others can be very therapeutic for depression also. You also need social support. Peer relationships at your age are important. If you are so isolated that you cannot have peer relationships, you are not setting yourself up for normal adolescent development. Again, I am not saying that it is impossible to have peer relationships if you are homeschooled, but you need to make sure that you can have this somehow.
I don’t know what “getting into trouble” means, but if it involved substances, you will need treatment for that too. And, your peer relationships need to be away from that “toxic environment”.
And, I hope that medical reasons for depression have been ruled out!
Good luck!</p>
<p>Showmom,
One way to tackle math is to take it at a local community college. If she places into credit math (most likely she will have to take a math placement exam to see if she is ready for college level math) then she can cover a year’s worth of high school math in one semester. I did this with a few of my kids as it helped them to get through their math requirements more quickly. </p>
<p>I’d suggest finding other homeschoolers who live somewhat near you and asking them questions. also, your library and the internet are a wealth of info in this area. I spent a lot of time reading about homeschooling before I began to do it. </p>
<p>That said, it is quite possible to homeschool in high school, especially if you daughter wants to do this.</p>
<p>Showmom858= we are in the same position. Wanting to free up some of the time she finds wasted at school to concentrate on her riding.
My D had a meeting with her HS counselor and now I am going to schedule one as well. I want to find out all of our options. My first choice for my D is to do another year of public HS. But as I told my D I am willing to explore other options.
One option is to take the CHSPE exam. Even if you pass you don’t have to leave HS it just gives you the option. The next test date is in March and the first deadline to sign up for that test date is Feb 17th. You can sign up later but it cost more. They can continue their education at the CC college. What I don’t care for is that after 2 yrs when they are 18 they are considered a jr transfer student.
Another option in our area is Middle College at the CC. But the literature states it is geared towards the student who plans on doing 2 yrs at the CC and transferring.
We also have a charter school in our county that is part homeschool and part dual enrollment. I am going to look into this option.
I am all about having options and choices down the road.</p>
<p>[Self</a> Directed Education - Beach High School](<a href=“http://www2.cruzio.com/~beachhi/home.html]Self”>http://www2.cruzio.com/~beachhi/home.html) Take a look at Wes Beach’s Independent Study High Schools. He’s in California and is experienced in helping students, including those transitioning from difficult high school experiences set up independent study plans. Bananas - I think he’d be of help to you.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your suggestions. We have a homeschool “school” in our district that is very close to us. D could possibly take some classes there if she needs additional help. My concern with D is that although she is an excellent student she tends to procrastinate. I told her that if she wants her Dad and I to support this she has to convince us that she can keep up with her work. I will also look into the CC classes for her.</p>
<p>mom60 - It is really difficult for kids that are dedicated to riding and showing at the upper levels to also attend a regular school. D has some great opportunities she could take advantage of to further her riding if she had more time during the day. Our trainer has connections in Florida and D really wants to spend at least a month there next winter as a working student for a big trainer that is a firiend of our trainer. She would be able to ride and show their sale horses which would help her resume for college.</p>
<p>Mine also is a procrastinator. It remains to be seen how much effort she will put into prepping for the CHSPE. A concern I have about the CC classes is that she will have less opportunity to earn grades. In HS they seem to give points for all kinds of odds and ends that help my D earn good grades. I doubt in college spanish you get points for turning in your notebook or participation or even completing the workbook assignments.
My D has great determination and focus if it is something she is interested in. School is not her passion.</p>
<p>This is timely. My daughter decided to do her math class through independent study. Her school allows this. She goes to school until 11:30 and then leaves to practice her sport. She didn’t want to leave the high school scene altogether but really wanted to devote more time to her sport so this is a good compromise.</p>
<p>lilmom- Your D’s plan is what I would like to work out with our school. I would love for her to be able to go to the HS half day and take 1 CC class and be able to spend the time on her sport that she wants. I have requested a meeting with her counselor to see if something like that is doable.</p>
<p>mom60, D approached a trusted math teacher to supervise her ind. study. He agreed and then she went to her GC who happens to be very supportive. There were no problems doing this. Good luck! </p>
<p>Next yr, as a jr, we will look into cc for at least 2 of her classes as well as an online course (I hope they offer some!) this summer to lighten the load.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion about looking into what resources your school district offers for homeschoolers. Some districts have special home school centers where students can take online classes and access other resources and after school activities organized for home schoolers or home schoolers can organize there own after school activities and hold them in the home school center. This can help provide some social support as well as curriculum guidance to make sure you are meeting graduation standards. Local homeschooling groups and message boards will know more. </p>
<p>I think that for some students, the traditional system just doesn’t fit and trying to force them into that mold because of silly reasons like “this is how it is in the real world” isn’t doing them any favors. Maybe it’s because in Washington State (where I come from and where my parents work in public instruction) we have a well developed program and history of high school students spending their last two years of high school in “Running Start,” which allows them to take most of their classes at community college so as to earn college credit, get more challenging courses, and provide an option for students that aren’t interested in sticking with the traditional model. </p>
<p>I think any student who is mentally healthy and confident in themselves and their abilities will do well in the “real world” even if their upbringing was a little unorthodox. Whereas insecure, angry, traumatized, under served, or under educated students bring little to the real world even if they have followed through with the regular curriculum. I don’t think there’s any one single way to do it, and it varies by kid. I loved high school, but a lot of people don’t, and there’s no shame in trying to get a fresh start and a solid foundation before launching into the less certain waters of the “real world”</p>
<p>Hey guys,
after a hiatus from College Confidential I’m back.
So basically, my parents and I decided not to homeschool, seeing as how I am already late into my junior of high school. Also, I earned a couple bad grades in 1st semester and I don’t want colleges to see it as me running away from my grades by turning to homeschooling.
I’ve already signed up to take the CHSPE in late March, and am also in the application process for dual enrollment between my local CCC and high school. If I don’t get accepted into the program [as it is quite selective] I’ll either have to get through one last year of high school, or enroll fulltime at the CC given that I pass the CHSPE, of course.</p>
<p>School isnt THAT dreadful anymore but I still don’t like the environment. </p>
<p>I’d love to end up at an elite private college but given the circumstance with my suspension and the fact that all my teachers know what happened, it will be hard to be accepted let alone get solid letters of rec. I don’t know how successful students are transferring from community college to private schools though… anyone have any info?
I know that private schools, unlike UCs will focus on your high school record and test scores. Test scores aren’t a problem as I’ve already completed my SATs (2390 on first try, self studying) and only need to take one more subject test. I hope that my SATs will ameliorate some of the blemishes on my transcript (2 Cs, rest all A’s, plus that awful suspension)</p>
<p>For now, I’m just working on my application for dual enrollment at the local CC and also waiting for my chspe test date!</p>