And they pay you to enroll your children in this school!!!

Having been homeschooled myself and raised with a good dose of comon sense I often think "if something sounds too good to be true it probably is."

All three of my children got "First Day of School" photos as I got them out the door to their new "schools."  The baby was only disapointed that she didn't "get" to ride the bus.  What's with that anyway?  She loves her uniform though, so hopefully that will make up for the lack of bussing--cause I am not going that far! 

Well here is the scoop, and you can tell me what you think!

Four years ago, a group of homeschool parents, public school teachers and a public school principal all got together to try to figure out a way to work together.  They ended up forming a school called "The Enrichment Cooperative." It works like this.  They have a building, which was previously used as an elementary school.  They operate as part of the local school district.  The school serves as a resource place for homeschoolers and offers them the option of taking classes either at the school or online.  They also offer many internship oportunities and practical life skills for high schoolers.  And many of the online classes are AP classes and college level classes designed as part of a "Running Start" program to give high school kids a decent amount of college credit prior to their "graduation" from high school.  In the lower grades the classes offered are considered "enrichment," and children may come to the school for classes 1 or 2 days per week.  The homeschool parents are formally and legally considered to remain in charge and in control of their children's education, but the cooperative offers these enrichment classes to help supplement the home curriculum.  And the definition of enrichment is very broad based upon how each individual family views it.  Some families do the "fun and interesting classes" at home and have their children take more academic classes at the cooperative for "enrichment."  Other families have their children study the academics at home and they go to the cooperative for "fun and exploratory, hands on" kinds of classes.  For example, my 7th grader is taking Flash Animation, Stop Motion Animation, Bridge Building and Historical Structures, Guitar Lessons, Martial Arts and Sign Language.  My 4th grader is taking an Art class which is primarily pottery, Sign Language and Stop Motion Animation with her brother, Sewing and a chemistry class.  We are hoping to get her into flute lessons as well if we can find a cheap or free flute for her to use.

The atmosphere of this "school" is family.  Parents are strongly encouraged to stay on site, wander in and out of their children's classes, or stay and learn or help.  Younger siblings are also encouraged to tag along and be a part of the action as long as they are not disruptive.  Alternatively there is a very friendly family room with toddler toys and activities, and kitchen stuff.  They have pot luck lunch days, bring your own lunch days and a "delightful" cafeteria with typical school cafeteria lunches (for those days when nothing goes right getting everyone out the door I guess.) There are also 2 playgrounds. 

Legally, the parents remain responsible for their children's education and must still fill out the state required documentation for homeschooling.

Financially the school, as a public school, receives funding for the number of students enrolled.  And each family is allocated a stipend to use towards their children's education.  This can be used towards the coperative classes that have a fee, towards music lessons, towards curriculum which you purchase for use at home (but religious curriculum is excluded), museum admissions related to school, sports team registrations, and more. 

There is an accountability mechanism in place which, so far, is the only potential problem area I see.  To participate there is a requirement that you share your learning goals for each child with a teacher/advisor at the cooperative.  They then give you any suggestions if they think you have gaps in any areas.  At this point my understading is that these "suggestions" are simply that and there are no requirements for you to change your program, but this is the area I intend to be alert about watching.  The people are VERY nice and I was welcomed into the co-op by my former childbirth educator from 10 years ago, who was one of the founders of the cooperative!  Just moving back into the area after 9 years it is nice to find some familiar, friendly faces.

So, it does seem too good to be true, although there are a few hmmms.  We intend to try it out this semester and this school year and see how it goes.

As a homeschooled student myself and as a homeschool mom I don't even know what to do with myself now 2 days each week.  I take the 4 year old to Montessori School at a Catholic School where they VERY graciously provided her with a great scholaship. Then I take the big kids to the cooperative and then I have to figure out how to better myself in some way, or relax, or rush home and get a bit of work done I'm not sure yet what to do!  I think I need a laptop, then I could sit and get caught up on all my computer work instead of staying up all night to do it!

 

Good Night --it'll be tomorrow in 5 minutes ...