Deciding to Homeschool

Angela Arlington

Alishia Watts’s son Jake was diagnosed with ADHD at age 3. He had severe behavior issues that were hard to control at home and at school. He entered kindergarten with an individual education plan (IEP) and was placed in a life skills program. He struggled and was suspended from kindergarten a couple of times. Due to his behavior, Jake did not do well academically and was retained in kindergarten but was only allowed to attend half days in his second year.

Then, in first grade, he was suspended for his behaviors repeatedly. “Being able to attend regular classes depended on his mood and behaviors,” Alishia explained. Jake was miserable at school and hated being there. So, when Alishia got another call from the school suspending him, she decided that was the last straw. “I decided to pull him out and home school him. We worked on the basics at first.

I taught him to read. From May to August that year, we read 75 books!”

Alishia took Jake for neuropsychological testing, and from those results, she realized homeschooling was the best choice for her son. Researching options, she decided to try Indiana Connections Academy, a free, online public school. “He needed a more structured curriculum than I had time to create,” she explained.

Indiana Connections Academy (INCA) was the right fit for Jake from day one. “The special education department was very supportive and listened to all of my concerns,” Alishia said. “They provided Jake with a supportive one-on-one class via the computer once a week with his learning support teacher. He needed the one-on-one time because of his difficulty staying focused.”

Jake started to enjoy learning again. “Using the structured curriculum provided by INCA, Jake started to thrive academically, emotionally, and mentally,” Alishia said. “We both made friends. He is still friends with kids he met his first year. We have met a few in person, and he video chats and plays games online with others. He also has friends outside of school whom he has play dates with. Alishia feels that if Jake were still in public school, he would have had a hard time making friends.

“My husband and I work together to educate Jake,” Alishia said. “I’m terrible in math, so my husband is in charge of that subject. I do all of the other subjects!” Jake has been a straight-A honor roll student since enrolling in INCA four years ago. He loves online school, and Alishia has no plans to put him back into in-person public school anytime soon.

MY TESTIMONIAL ABOUT INDIANA CONNECTIONS ACADEMY

By Alishia Watts

Indiana Connections Academy (INCA) is a free public online school. They provide a self-navigating online curriculum. Classes are provided via Zoom, led by amazing licensed teachers. They provide my son with a highly supportive individualized education plan.

He has accommodations that support his needs, including a learning support teacher (with a special education degree) that has weekly check-ins with him, a social skills therapy group that helps him work on his emotions and making friends, and small group live lessons with his general education teacher. He also has Zoom and video chats with his friends. My son attends state testing with full accommodations, including time and a half, tests read to him, and built-in sensory breaks. He is medicated, so he has afternoon-only testing, which the school supports.

The entire staff, including the principal, are extremely supportive of the students they work with. INCA has made school enjoyable for my son and has brought our family closer together. We have had several projects that involved his sisters and grandfather. My son continues to thrive every day, and I know that INCA was the best decision I ever made for his learning.