When Monterey County schools closed in March, I stepped away from my organic juice business to shelter-in-place 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.
TWO POPULAR HOMESCHOOL OPTIONS:
- 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 state-funded 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.
- 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 less-structured environment with a focus on play and interest-led learning.
STEPS YOU’LL NEED TO TAKE:
The process of setting up a home-based 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 district. However, keeping in mind that the school district has responsibility for checking on school-age children not attending school, you might avoid confusion by informing the district that you intend to home school or privately educate your children. Also, many public schools will require that you provide proof of filing an affidavit before withdrawing your child from their public school.”
And it’s worth noting that, “Filing the affidavit does not affect your child’s right to return to public school, and may be done at any time.” Detailed information on the requirements for homes filing a PSA can be found at https://hslda.org/post/how-to-comply-with-california-s-homeschool-law.
SUPPORT AND COMMUNITY:
Whether you go with your public school’s distance-learning option, a home-based charter, or decide to file a PSA, you may want to socialize, co-teach, or even go in on a private tutor with a small group of like-minded families. Popular way before COVID, homeschooling groups can give families a sense of support and community that’s often missing when we opt-out of traditional classrooms.
Of course, nothing is clear-cut these days, especially when it comes to socializing. Here are a few things to consider:
Your group needs to be on the same page when it comes to everyday social distancing. This kind of arrangement requires a ton of trust and clear communication. How does everyone feel about masks? How often are they going to the store? How exposed are they at work, and how much do they socialize with friends and family? Ideally, everyone in the group would only socialize within the group, but the real world is messier. Make sure everyone has the same expectations.
Group activities would ideally take place outside, with everyone distanced as much as possible. Some groups may choose to let kids play without masks, knowing that everyone in the group is on the same page when it comes to mitigating exposure to COVID. Again, keep communication clear and open.
If your group can afford it, they can pool resources to hire a tutor who can give specialized instruction.
If members of the group need time to work, parents can take turns hosting kids, similar to a babysitting co-op.
CO-OP LEARNING GROUPS:
Local mom Jen Rhodes-Howard explains exactly how she and her friends are making it work:
“My kiddos were in their last year of preschool, a time where developing social-emotional skills are paramount. A group of us moms decided to do a weekly virtual circle time every Friday morning to keep the kids connected. Each family took a turn hosting and taught about a new fun topic. One Friday, our friend, who was hosting, was experiencing technical difficulties and started to cry. She’s seven months pregnant and had worked so hard for Penguin Day. We quickly decided, “Don’t worry, we’re coming to you! See you from your porch!” and we all headed over to her home. That was our first in-person, outdoor circle time.
Each family spread out a blanket apart from each other, and the adults masked up. It was incredible to see how happy the kids were just physically being together for the first time in months. It filled their love bucket for days. We decided to continue circle time each week outdoors. The kids looked forward to circle time all week.
“QUARANTEAM:”
Meanwhile, COVID numbers continue to rise, and now we’re looking ahead to fall and the beginning of school. That’s where the idea for us to quaranteam and teach our kids together just made sense. It does require A LOT of trust. We have all had to inform other friends outside our bubble that we would not be engaging in activities with them. That’s not easy. But when it comes to the health of your children, it also wasn’t that hard. We are all sacrificing.
To pull off a small co-op learning group, there’s a couple of logistical items to figure out, and I’m sure we haven’t thought of them all. This is a learn-as-you-go situation.
In a nut-shell, this is our plan: We do this together in a bubble. The children don’t play with kids outside the bubble. Nor do the adults. We all take COVID very seriously.
We wear masks in public and when we get close to each other in the bubble. We don’t go to gatherings. We don’t go to high-risk environments like gyms or in-door dining. We limit grocery runs and utilize delivery. We will follow the public school distance-learning curriculum - alternating homes. A parent from each household takes a turn leading the class (and we do have both Mom AND Dad participation!).
We emailed our school principal, informing him of our group’s plan asking the children be placed in the same “class” together. It would be quite challenging to have five children following different curriculums with different Kindergarten teachers.
Working the program from home all “class” is outside as weather permits for as long as possible. We are allowing our children to get close to each other with this model. We allow them to do activities together like swimming together in an outdoor pool and even taking a private martial arts class together. They are the happiest they’ve been in months, and we are limiting the number of contacts they could contract the virus from. This may not work for everyone. We are incredibly fortunate to have this option. Not everyone does. We hope that we can free up physical space in the school building for someone who needs it if there is an in-person option. We hope this also helps keep our teachers safe. And we hope, hope, hope they are valued, paid their worth and given every support needed to survive this crisis. This is a crisis care year.”
Katie Raquel is the founder of Katie’s Coldpress, a Realtor with Over the Moon Realty and the author of SQUEEZED: The Raw Truth About Work-Life Balance. She lives with her family in Monterey County.