Wanna Be a Steader!

Homeschoolers are a Threat to Superintendent's Control and $$

Get out the Duct Tape or this article will make your head explode!

This was forwarded to me from someone who read this in the Wapakaneta [sp?], Ohio paper.  AAAARGH!!!  It's ALL money and control - money and control!  WHY, oh why, would ANY homeschooler EVER want to LOWER our standards and do what public schools do?  They act like homeschoolers are the ones who risk - and are - falling behind when WE are the ones who are AVERAGING 30 percentile points ABOVE public schoolers on the SATs and every other nationally normed test!!     

The last paragraph will really melt your butter!  Whose children are REALLY living in the 'real world' (don't you just HATE that old argument?!), public school kids OR homeschooled kids?  I vote for the homeschoolers EVERY time...because they ARE!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

 Honing home scholars

Officials: Stricter regulations needed

By ANNIE LINDER

Staff Writer

The decision of how and where a child should be educated is a
fundamental right of parents — but often a frustrating matter for
school superintendents.

Parents have the right to home school their child for a variety of
reasons, including religious conviction, a desire to protect children
from the negative influences of peer pressure or the opportunity for
more individualized interaction, district officials say.

"I'm not against school choice at all, but there are two camps here —
there are those folks who do this extremely well, and there are other
folks who use this as a way to escape school," Wapakoneta
Superintendent Keith Horner said.

One point of frustration for superintendents, Horner said, is the fact
that school districts are held accountable for students who transition
from home education back into the public school system and then drop
out or fail because they are not adequately prepared in certain
subject areas.

Horner also said it is difficult to determine the grade level of a
student who is re-entering the school system after being educated at
home for several years. Students are given an assessment test, similar
to one given to those who transfer from schools outside of the state.

In Auglaize County, an average of 125 students are educated at home,
according to statistics maintained by the Auglaize County Educational
Service Center, which oversees home schooling requests of families in
local districts such as Waynesfield, Minster and New Bremen.

Approximately 60,000 students in Ohio are home-schooled compared with
the 1.8 million students in Ohio attending public school, Ohio
Department of Education spokeswoman Karla Carruthers said.

When it comes to regulating home-schoolers at the state level,
requirements are "pretty loosely defined," Carruthers said.

To educate children at home, one must have a high school diploma or
equivalency and submit a proposal to the district superintendent
declaring their intentions, while also agreeing that their students
will undergo some form of assessment each year.

Superintendents have limited control over what form that assessment
takes and how it is conducted, Horner said.

Home educators have three basic options — they may have their students
take a national standardized test administered by authorized personnel
(which the student must pass by scoring within the 25th percentile),
submit a written narrative indicating the student's progress by
someone with a valid Ohio teaching license, or use some other method
that is mutually agreed upon, such as an online test or report card
submitted by a licensed teacher.

Many home educators choose to use some type of a support system, such
as a home-schooling Web site with a guided curriculum or an
independent textbook company, Auglaize County ESC Superintendent Pat
Niekamp said.

The Ohio Department of Education Web site has a link to a series of
online resources for families, including a suggested curriculum the
department is now developing called Learning and Growing Together. The
Auglaize County Virtual Academy is another option for families to
enroll their children and receive lectures at home.

While some students might transition easily from home education into
the virtual school, Auglaize County Virtual School Coordinator Deb
Munis said, others may be behind in certain areas. The Auglaize County
Virtual School enrolls an average of 60 students each year.

"It just depends on the child, their capabilities, and the curriculum
parents have chosen," Munis said.

Despite the many educational resources available to parents today, St.
Marys Superintendent Ken Baker said he feels the state should place
tighter parameters around the broadly defined area of home education.

"It's actually one of the things in the state of Ohio that I feel
personally isn't being monitored as well as it should be," Baker said.
"There needs to be some standardization from district to district,
more highly qualified instructors, and more intervention and grade
reporting."

Although Baker said he knows some home educators who are very
effective and many who have good intentions, the majority are simply
not qualified to teach a broad range of subjects in a way that
certified teachers are.

Baker added that although he respects a parent's right to educate
their children at home for legitimate reasons, he feels that right is
too often abused by parents who have a frustration with the school
district or a child who has been unsuccessful in the classroom setting.

"Instead of finding out what the problem was, they make a snap
decision to pull their child out of school," Baker said. "I worry
about the end result of these children."

Aside from academics, there are many skills learned through a
traditional education that go beyond the curriculum, district
officials say. "Dealing with bullies, making friends, and learning to
be held accountable — those are all abilities students develop by
interacting with their peers at school," Baker said. "It's being able
to cope in the real world."

http://www.wapakdailynews.com/articles/2006/12/05/news/news0