Home-school definition, identity blurs with new programs
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Related stories
• A peek into the window of in-home schooling ...
Home school or ALE?
Alternative learning experience
What is it: An alternative to traditional school which is developed and supervised by a public school teacher. These programs include online schools, contract programs or other education options school districts offer, such as the Valley Academy of the Wenatchee School District and Columbia Virtual Academy of the Eastmont School District.
Laws adopted: 1996, 2005
Funding: ALE is considered part of the public school system, so the state provides education funding for every student enrolled. Several programs offer reimbursement to families for non-religious materials the student needs to finish their “student learning plan,” including books, software, admission to museums or plays. The program approves the purchases in advance.
Requirements: Parents sign a document saying they understand of the difference between home-school and ALE.
• Students follow a learning plan and their progress is monitored and assessed by a public school teacher.
• Students follow the same testing rules, attendance and graduation requirements as public school students.
• Students must prove they are doing their own work.
• ALE programs submit an annual report to the state and the school board of the program’s school district. The report includes enrollment, staff-to-student ratios, a program description and evaluation.
Home school
What is it: Parents are solely responsible for planning and supervising their child’s education.
Law adopted: 1985
Funding: No state funding, parents pay for their child’s curriculum materials, transportation and extras, such as music or swimming lessons.
Requirements: Parents must qualify for home school by doing one of these things: take a college course about home-schooling, earn 45 college credits, a local school superintendent deems the parent “qualified,” or the student works with a teacher an hour a week.
• The parent sends an annual form to the school district declaring that their child will be home-schooled.
• Students take 11 subjects a year: occupational education, science, mathematics, language, social studies, history, health, reading, writing and spelling and art and music appreciation.
• Students test annually, either the state test or another test approved by the state. Several testing companies offer tests and grading. The results stay with the family, not reported to the state.
• Students cannot graduate through a public high school unless they meet state and local graduation requirements. The Washington Homeschool Organization hosts an annual home school graduation.
• Home-school students can still attend school part-time and request some services, such as speech therapy or academic counseling.
Source: Office of Superintendent
of Public Instruction
WENATCHEE — There’s more than one way to learn at home, but not all of it is home school.
Home school families say they’re trying to make that distinction clear as more students flock to alternative programs — online schools or school-sponsored programs where students stay at home.
The worry is that if these public school programs are widely accepted as home school, then independent home school will be assimilated under government control. They see the blurring of the lines as a threat to their independence.
Emilie Fogle
The difference is who is ultimately responsible for the child’s education: The parent, or the state. In a home school situation, parents set all the structure. They pay for their own curriculum materials, and are not subject to the same attendance, reporting or pacing rules of Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) programs.
The definition started blurring nearly 15 years ago, said Emilie Fogle, a Wenatchee home school parent and board member for the Washington Homeschool Organization.
“When you said home schooling you meant home-based instruction, but after alternative learning law passed in 1996, it got fuzzy,” she said. “I wouldn’t know what I know today if that confusion hadn’t dragged us into it ... we were just getting flooded with calls.”
That issue came to a head in February when the House Ways and Means Committee proposed cutting all funding to elementary ALE programs, including online school, kindergarten to sixth grade.
Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, said the proposal was based on a 2004 study that said most ALE students would home school if their program were cut. State education officials say they do not know how many current ALE students came from a home-school background.
Hundreds of alternative and online school parents sent e-mails, phone calls and letters to the committee demanding the cut be taken off the table.
“ALE parents were down there saying don’t take money away from my home-schooling, I need this from my home-schooling,” said Janice Hedin, an advocate for the Washington Homeschool Organization. “Home-schoolers ask nothing from the state and we want nothing.”
Hedin and the home-school association met with lawmakers and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn to clarify the distinctions. In the meantime, the House Ways and Means Committee took back the proposal because there wasn’t enough research about how much the state would really save, Sullivan said.
If the definition of home school continues to fade into public school, lawmakers will expect that home schoolers assume the same rules as ALE, Hedin said.
“When public schools, ALE administrators and parents call what they do home schooling and home-schoolers don’t respectfully speak up about the difference, we allow that redefining, graying and ongoing lack of distiction between public school and home schooling,” she said. “Ultimately home-schooling will only be allowed through government home-at-school programs.”
Rachel Schleif: 664-7139
schleif@wenatcheeworld.com
Comments
Want to comment on this story? Registered users can use the form below. Please know that we at wenatcheeworld.com hope our site is useful, entertaining and civil. So we'll delete comments that are obscene, abusive or way off topic. We appreciate it when readers use the "suggest removal" button to flag inappropriate comments. For more about interacting with the site, see our Use Policy.
Ckiser (Cindy Lester) says...
I appreciate how you've explained this.
Even though we do not fit your definition of a homeschool family, we do supplement WAVA course work with courses we buy independently. Does that still completely exclude us from using a "homeschool " label ? This is the question we struggle with.
To be honest it's just easier to say "we homeschool" than having to take 10 minutes to explain the differences and where we fit on the spectrum--wherever that may be. It's not intended to be offensive to those who are more traditional.
April 3, 2010 at 7:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wenatchee_momof5 (Mrs. B) says...
The definition of "homeschool" is:
–verb (used with object)
1.
to teach (one's children) at home instead of sending them to school.
–verb (used without object)
2.
to educate one's children at home.
–noun
3.
a school set up in the home.
I have only been "homeschooling" for a few months now, but I had no idea the apparent issues between traditional homeschoolers and I guess, non-traditional homeschoolers. I teach my children at home, therefore by definition my kids are homeschooled. However, they also receive services through "ALE's". The current ALE we use doesn't even provide instruction at all. Only I provide the sole instruction. The ALE's purpose in our case is only to provide funds for buying books and supplies in addition too being there to answer any questions I might have. Additionally, they help me make a learning plan to set a guideline that we should follow. I use the term guideline loosely. The learning plan is fairly general and broad. We are still allowed much freedom with what we want to teach.
In my opinion, homeschool is just that - a home school. Its teaching your children at home. There are just many different ways to achieve that. There are traditional ways with no ALE's. Additionally, with new additions of programs and services we just have more choices now.
April 4, 2010 at 8:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DannO (Emilie Fogle) says...
Cindy I can appreciate the "why" people have for choosing the different options open to families. I respect and support every family to choose what is best for their family.
I believe as time goes by more people will understand what it means to attend an Alternative Learning program, this article and others certain help. People are beginning to understand there are multiple ways for children to learn while going to public school.
Families which operate under the home-based instruction law are concerned that this legal option will become less understood and less respected. As I stated in the article, up until a decade ago everyone who mentioned the word homeschooling understood it to mean home-based instruction. This included school administrators, educators, legislators and the public. When asked for advise on homeschooling, everyone was clear on the rules and responsibilities. This is no longer the case.
To answer your question about using the term “homeschooling” when asked, I say use whatever term you wish. I say this with reservations. There are situations where clarity is more important then convenience. You must decide when this is. Being asked which school your child attends while standing in a grocery store line would be a situation of convenience. While talking with a close neighbor and certainly speaking with a public official about your educational choice, I sincerely hope you choose to explain your family has chosen a public school program such as WAVA. Most people will have lots of questions and this could open up a great opportunity for dialog where everyone can exchange ideas.
I believe it is vital in both our positions to take the opportunity to explain what it is we do. We should avoid making judgments of other peoples' choices. The issue at hand is there are 3 distinct ways of educating our children. When we choose one of these options we shouldn't hesitate to explain the reasons and hopefully the responsibilities that come along with it.
April 4, 2010 at 9 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Ckiser (Cindy Lester) says...
Emilie-
I really do see the points you are making. Up until now I never fully understood why there seemed to be a small rift between traditonal and ALE families. I've always seen more of what we have in common than the differences we may have .
As my husband was quoted in the companion article, we revisit every spring whether we feel comfortable with increasing state intrusion. Right now, it works for us. One big reason is that we enjoy and respect our advisor/teacher. He's been pretty hands off with us once he was satisfied that we are focused and taking the schooling seriously.
I can also relate to Mrs. B's frustration though . My son is young enough that his entire WAVA experience thus far has been adult guided. So, ALE parents can sometimes feel a little "slighted" when it comes to how much effort we put into it. There is a teacher /advisor involved for support, but if a family is following the curriculum and doing well on work samples, etc., the teacher/advisor input is surprisingly minimal. 99% of the entire affair is simply me and my child. In those ways we do feel like a lot like homeschoolers.
It's nice to chat with you on these issues. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my comments. I know that people like you have had to work darn hard to advance homeschooling to where it is today. I appreciate that . I also understand why you want to safeguard the progress you've made.
April 4, 2010 at 10:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DannO (Emilie Fogle) says...
Cindy, you are welcome. It is just a joy to spend time with our families isn't it? I wish you well in your journey.
April 4, 2010 at 12:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
speakuplouder (D D) says...
Thank you Rachel for focusing on an important public education issue which most of the media in the state has chosen to ignore.
The definition between ALE and home-based needs to be clear and wide because of educational and fiscal accountability to taxpayers.
ALE’s were originally implemented to offer school districts the opportunity to experiment with different teaching models and offer students who were not succeeeding in regular classrooms an alternate way. They have been co-opted by home-based schoolers, like Wenatchee mom, who view them as a resource for free curriculum from which to freely pick and choose and at the same time avoid the educational accountability of public schools.
Home schoolers have been encouraged in this by the greed of commercial purveyors of online curriculum and school districts who receive the allocation money for an ALE student but hope to expend less in costs.
Lost in the money frenzy is the goal of educational accountability. The state has been virtually absent from requiring ALE programs to produce and publicize their assessment records. There has been no effort to define the amount of free instruction a home-based student may receive from a public school program, ALE or otherwise, before requiring them to take the assessments regular students take in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
The lack of oversight, both fiscally and educationally, by state education officials, legislators, and districts is deplorable.
D Dick
April 5, 2010 at 11:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
randydutton (Randy Dutton) says...
We homeschooled our boys for 2 years when we lived in Canada, and my wife said it was the best 2 years of her life. For parents who have the time and the means, very little can compare.
We moved and had them in public school, and were extremely disappointed in the lack of control at the school, and the waste of time in the classroom.
We now have them in online public school (WAVA) and are overjoyed by the curriculum, the great teachers, and the opportunity for students to learn at their pace without the distractions of misbehaving students, and wasted downtime.
If the state wanted to save taxpayer money, and improve education, they would promote and encourage homeschooling, but not try to force, as they did, students to move from ALS to homeschooling by cutting off their funding.
Leave the choice to the parents and students, not the bureaucrats who are more interested in protecting the union than the students.
April 5, 2010 at 11:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DannO (Emilie Fogle) says...
D Dick, you are an excellent example of the public's misunderstanding of the differences between home-based instruction and ALE families. I hope to address at least 2 or 3 issues you have raised.
As stated in the article, I've been involved with the legal aspects of home-based instruction (homeschooling) and ALEs for more than a decade. I can safely say homeschoolers have not "co-opted" ALEs. You are correct legislation was passed in 1996 to encourage public schools to "think outside the box" when it came to student learning. Alternative learning had been occurring for years, however programs were not supported by law and districts were taking risks by offering anything besides standard accountability measurements of the period - seat time. Seat time verses learning had been a huge issue for many administrators, educators and families. ALE legislation and the following agency rules gave schools the leeway to look at other methods of accountability.
There are two issues here I wish to address:
a) your claim we've "taken" over ALE programs.
b) there is no accountability
First, I'm sorry you missed this part of the article - students who are enrolled full time in any ALE are public school students. This is not my opinion, it is the state law. Families may call themselves whatever they wish, my concern is with public officials who do not understand the law.
Historically homeschoolers were invited to participate in these early programs. Wenatchee School District's Valley Academy is the oldest in the area. I attended numerous meetings prior to their opening. Read the section of these articles where I talk about the "blurring" of lines between the meaning of homeschooling and ALE. Now go review Wenatchee School Board meeting minutes for the late 1990s and early 2000. Home-based instruction families asked the district to stop advertising to our families and to not call their ALE a homeschool program. The district has followed through with these requests.
Second, you are not correct the ALEs do not produce and publicize their assessment records. These are public school programs and must submit reports like any other school to the district. Again, contact the Wenatchee School District and ask for WASL and other scores for Valley Academy students. They have been included for a number of years.
Home-based instruction families do not use taxpayer money. The State of Washington does not supply books or field trips to our families. We do not acquire a State of Washington diploma but we may take the WASL we if we wish. Homeschoolers have been entering college and starting businesses for decades. Our educational path is different but we have produced functioning and involved citizens for a very long time. Homeschooling has become a fad and you may see many imitations. This is why keeping the definitions and responsibilities for all three options open and accessible to families is so important to me.
April 5, 2010 at 5:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Norm (Norm Messer) says...
"The lack of oversight, both fiscally and educationally, by state education officials, legislators, and districts is deplorable."
.
1. Emily has already addressed the factual assertions in your post; I'm just wondering what possible set of facts would justify calling the "lack of fiscal oversight" deplorable. I can't think of any.
.
You complain about people receiving free curriculum and free instruction from the public schools. How can this possibly be a complaint? Are you not aware that public schools are free for all children to attend?
.
2. As to educational accountability, that's certainly a valid concern: there's certainly the possibility that some parents would opt for homeschooling and then not actually bother to teach their children much. While this IS possible, I think its extremely unlikely, so unless/until you've got some numbers showing that a significant number of home-schooled kids aren't prepared to attend college when they're 17 or 18, I have to say that you're crying wolf here.
.
April 5, 2010 at 6:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DannO (Emilie Fogle) says...
Norm as I explained in my message to D Dick, if I understand his concerns, this "lack of educational or financial oversight" relates to the public school program called Alternative Learning Experience (ALEs). Given there is no financing for homeschooling (home-based instruction), there is no oversight. D Dick is concerned that oversight is lacking for ALE students, not homeschoolers.
April 5, 2010 at 9:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Norm (Norm Messer) says...
My main issue was with this part of his comment:
"...who view them as a resource for free curriculum."
.
It sounds like he thinks that parents of [ kids who don't go to a physical public school building] shouldn't be able to access publically developed lesson-plans and such without paying for them.. That strikes me as ridiculous.
.
April 5, 2010 at 10:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DannO (Emilie Fogle) says...
Norm, D Dick's complete sentence reads:
"They have been co-opted by home-based schoolers, like Wenatchee mom, who view them as a resource for free curriculum from which to freely pick and choose and at the same time avoid the educational accountability of public schools."
Perhaps D Dick dislikes the idea of getting a resource (curriculum) for free without "paying" (accountability). It is not unheard of for an entity like government to make demands for giving something such as books and instruction - pay the piper if you will. Government represent us, the taxpayer, and as the bank to these programs, many people fear there is little "accountability". The devil is in the details - just what type and how much accountability is enough to show wise use of tax dollars?
April 5, 2010 at 10:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
speakuplouder (D D) says...
To Ms Fogle and Mr Messer- I have no problem with home-based students providing their own curriculum and having their parents hold them accountable for their learning. I am quite aware that students enrolled full-time in an ALE program are subject to the same educational oversight as students in the district's regular program.
ALEs are wonderful opportunities for districts and students. But under the umbrella of ALEs the commmercial online curriculum providers have been allowed to make their product appealing to home-schoolers and districts. Districts are required to offer their services part-time to home-based students, so if online curriculum is part of a district ALE then the home-based student has free access to it. There are no state rules which limit the percentage of a home-based student's use of such instruction. So a home-based student could use a district's online program for 90 percent of their studies and still not be required to call themselves an enrolled public school student, subject to the assessments of district students.
Those programs with high numbers of such students have virtually no public educational accountability because the home-based students do not take the assessments like the WASL on which such evaluations are made.
Districts are incentivized to accommodate these part-time students because they get to include those partial student FTEs toward their student numbers for apportionment.
Washington law clearly states the purpose of taxes for schools is for public education. Home-based and private schools are not public education.
D Dick
April 5, 2010 at 11:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Norm (Norm Messer) says...
"Norm, D Dick's complete sentence reads:..."
.
Thank you, but I'm already quite aware of that. I highlighted the portion I took exception to in order to help you overcome your failure to understand my point.
.
"Perhaps D Dick dislikes the idea of getting a resource (curriculum) for free without "paying" (accountability)."
.
Yes, that's what I find ridiculous in this case because:
1) "curriculum" is basically just information; once the state pays to create it, it doesn't cost them any more to allow more people access to it, and
2) The parents of these kids are already paying taxes, just like everybody else.
.
April 6, 2010 at 4:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Norm (Norm Messer) says...
"Washington law clearly states the purpose of taxes for schools is for public education. Home-based and private schools are not public education."
.
Cite?
.
April 6, 2010 at 4:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
speakuplouder (D D) says...
"WASHINGTON STATE CONSTITUTION Article IX SECTION 2 PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. The legislature shall provide for a general and uniform system of public schools. The public school system shall include common schools, and such high schools, normal schools, and technical schools as may hereafter be established. But the entire revenue derived from the common school fund and the state tax for common schools shall be exclusively applied to the support of the common schools."
At the time the laws were enacted allowing home-based and private school students to receive part-time services at public schools there was no individualized online instruction available. The non-public students had to attend the same classes and activities alongside public school students. I can understand this being allowed then as a public good and it was clearly public education.
Districts which allow home-based students to take online classes part-time have to pay for every one of those classes whether the teacher and curriculum is district provided or commercially contracted.
April 6, 2010 at 10:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DannO (Emilie Fogle) says...
Ahh, how refreshing to know you have done your homework D Dick. It makes these conversations much more fruitful and less frustrating.
Regarding the 80-90% enrollment - you are correct. This is not something the Washington Homeschool Organization supports. In fact we have been reporting on it for a number of years. We have renewed our attempt to talk with our representatives and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Progress is slow with government. Some folks in OSPI have absolutely no interest in having a dialogue on this subject so that leaves informed citizens like yourself talking and asking questions. Please, do not blame home-based instruction families. They do not write the rules and have often been directed into these enrollment rates to bolster funding for these programs. You see, ALEs can refuse part time enrollment on a "financial need" basis. Many families would like to take 1 or 2 classes ( less than 30% enrollment) but have been "advised" to enroll in more.
There is no clear definition of part time enrollment and ALEs have chosen to use the "anything less than full time" definition to fund their programs. It is working great for them. There is no way to show the intent of the legislature when they pass bills but I do not believe they ever intended part time enrollment to include up to 5 out of 6 classes. I do not understand percent enrollment. I believe it is calculated on hours spent verses classes taken.
OSPI is working hard on guidelines for accreditation to online schools. I'm not sure they were prepared for the onslaught of interest. Charter bills/initiatives were voted down 3 times. In my opinion, the latest online/digital law was another door in. Columbia Virtual Academy, K12 and WAVA are major players in our state.
April 6, 2010 at 11:14 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DannO (Emilie Fogle) says...
Norm wrote:
"1) "curriculum" is basically just information; once the state pays to create it, it doesn't cost them any more to allow more people access to it, and
2) The parents of these kids are already paying taxes, just like everybody else."
Curriculum is a huge industry. Millions are spent. Just because it is online does not make it free or less costly. States do not create curriculum. There are state standards to be met but curriculum providers will lobby very hard to be chosen to provide texts which meet a state's standards. TX is a big influence on curriculum providers because they buy so much. Curriculum is not free and teacher oversight is often needed.
Second, I pay for the ferries which I rarely use. Seniors pay for public education as do many others who pay for public works they will never utilize. I'm ok with that. This is the cost of living in our communities.
Homeschoolers have appreciated the occasional band or sports team classes for our children. My son loved taking welding. Taxes for public schools are a cost we are not able to change.
April 6, 2010 at 11:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
speakuplouder (D D) says...
Emilie, I do not blame home-based families because I believe they are being used by for-profit online curriculum companies who are exploiting and lobbying for loopholes in the the ALE laws to promote their product. Districts are also being lured by these companies as a way to increase their apportionment. Because districts are so strapped for cash they will do virtually anything to increase their revenues. This includes using these programs to lure as many students as possible to their districts.
My concerns are two-fold- the misuse of public education money, and the disregard for evaluating these programs as to their instructional quality and effectiveness by the same standards applied to the regular school model.
There needs to be objective discussion of these issues based on the intent of basic public education law and best pedagogical practice, outside the influence of special interests.
Diane Dick, former school director
April 6, 2010 at 12:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DannO (Emilie Fogle) says...
Diane, I understand your concerns. Though I have different ideas on gauging learning processes, I completely understand your concern over the appropriate use of funds.
School districts have been involved in bringing in "new students" for years without spending any time offering these programs to existing students. I find that a shame. I'm not sure the laws can be changed to allow online McGraw-Hill material (major curriculum provider) and not some other online provider. I suppose they could try not to include For Profit companies but I don't believe that would solve the problem.
I know OSPI is in the process of developing guidelines for accrediting online "schools" so that questions over quality of materials and teaching methods can be addressed. If I remember correctly, Columbia Virtual Academy will be grandfathered in. They are handling the Eastmont ALE now.
Like I've said, I wish I did not know all this. I do not enjoy having home-based instruction families being used to garner funding and our educational option put in question by the public and legislators.
April 8, 2010 at 1:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )