back to school by Katie Raquel
PANDEMIC PARENTING
Homeschooling for Beginners
W
hen schools closed in March, I stepped away from my organic juice business to shelter-inplace with my husband and three young children. That business “pause” has turned into more of hibernation, as we realize the best course for our family is continuing to hunker down through the upcoming school year — with my husband working from home while I homeschool our kids. As much as we loved our daughter’s school, we realized that distance-learning was not a good fit for us. Too much screen time, too much busywork, and too much stress. It’s entirely possible that your district created a system that works well for you. If that’s the case, stick with it! But many parents I’ve spoken with are interested in exploring alternatives that give them more freedom and flexibility.
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montereybayparent.com
TWO POPULAR HOMESCHOOL OPTIONS: 1. Enroll with a public home-based charter school. Home-based charter schools give parents the flexibility to choose their curriculum, with the support of accredited teachers and a statefunded stipend of $2,600 per year for materials, tutoring, and enrichment activities. Technically, parents are considered “teacher aids” and are accountable to teachers. A recent California funding bill has restricted charter schools’ ability to meet the demand of new homeschoolers, and many schools have a long waiting list. 2. File an affidavit to function as a home-based private school. This is what our family will be doing until we can get into our charter school of choice. We won’t have a stipend for materials or support from a dedicated teacher. Still, we will have complete control over our curriculum,
with access to a wealth of free online resources. This can be an especially good choice for families with younger kids who may thrive in a lessstructured environment with a focus on play and interest-led learning. STEPS YOU’LL NEED TO TAKE: The process of setting up a homebased private school is pretty straightforward: you fill out and sign a Private School Affidavit [PSA] stating that your home is a private school, with you and another adult in your home acting as the teachers and administrators. While you are committing in your affidavit to educate your child on the same broad topics of study they would encounter in public schools, you will not be required to check in with anyone to share progress, and there are no testing requirements. An informational page at cde. ca.gov states that “Parents are not required to report to their school
MONTEREY BAY PARENT • august 2020
