This week the Corona Virus (aka Covid 19 or SARS-CoV-2) finally made it’s way to Ohio. There were a few cases in Cuyahoga County, one case in Stark and another in Trumpbull county. As of this writing, 50 or so are being tested.
Yesterday afternoon, I started to get a few contacts from people who wanted to pull their children out of school (public and private) and start to homeschool them for the rest of the year. Then today we got notice that all schools in the state will be closed for the next three weeks.
Although some schools may be set up for distance learning, not all districts are. One of the parents that contacted me yesterday had wanted to homeschool anyway and saw this as the push to get started.
I think since it’s so late in the year AND because the schools right now are only going to be closed temporarily, you need to ask yourself –
Do you really want to homeschool? or do you just want to get through this virus season?
If this is just a temporary thing because of the current health circumstances, maybe it would be better to just reach out to your district and your student’s teachers to see how they want to handle the break. Some districts have Chrome books and iPads that students can use for distance learning. Others might just post assignments online. Maybe this is the way to go for your family.
BUT …
If you’d really like to try homeschooling out as a lifestyle, keep reading!
So how do you get started homeschooling your student in the spring?
Legalities first!
The first thing you have to do is make it legal. The Coronavirus will come and go, but truancy charges can hang around a lot longer! So notify your school and your superintendent that you are withdrawing your child or children and ask them for the proper forms to do that.
Next, you will have to formally notify the school district that you are homeschooling. It doesn’t matter that we are almost 12 weeks away from the end of the school year. I double-checked that with Spencer Milligan at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association who told me, “In general, once you begin homeschooling in Ohio, you would submit a homeschool notification to your local school district.”
So how do you do that?
First, you need to fill this form out. This is the standard form for the state and is compliant with the Ohio law and that’s all the school district is really entitled to. YOU ARE ONLY REQUIRED TO GIVE THE INFORMATION ON THE FORM. Do not give any additional information like social security numbers.
The first five items on the form are pretty easy to comply with.
1. School year notification this year is for 2019 – 2020.
2. Name, address, and phone number.
Phone number is optional, and really all of their communication with you should be in writing.
3. Address of a teacher other than the parent. This would be if someone else was overseeing the education. Co-op teachers or other tutors do not have to be listed. Parents of student-athletes who may be looking to participate on NCAA teams for college should keep in mind that for eligibility purposes, they are always the ones in charge of the courses, requirements, and grades for their students.
4. Full name and birth date for children to be educated. You do not have to put their grade level.
5. Checkmark to assure that home education will include language, reading, spelling, and writing, geography, history – national state and local, math, science, health, physical education, fine arts, including music, first aid, safety and fire prevention.
I interpret that to mean that sometime, during home education, I will have touched on all of that and hopefully more – like government and world history. It does not mean that I will touch on everything in great depth every year. Even the schools do not do that.
6. You need to make an outline of what you will cover in your homeschool. You can base that off of what your student was studying in school, or you can make up your own. Here are guidelines from the state if you want to see what the are covering. Ohio Graduation Requirements are here. For more information on the outline, see my post here.
7. For #7 I make a list of the books and courses that I am going to use. There are sample book lists here and here.
8. Assurance that the child will be provided a minimum of nine hundred hours of home education each school year.
Just put a checkmark. If they’re awake, they’re learning!
9. A checkmark that the teacher has one of the listed qualifications.
This year my school district is trying to require either a copy of the teacher’s high school diploma or the name and address of the high school the teacher graduated from. Neither of these is required by state law so you don’t need to provide them.
10. Sign the form.
Make sure if you are re-notifying to include your composite test results. You do NOT have to send in the entire test, just a copy that shows the name of the child and the composite score. If you did not test, then the written narrative signed by your portfolio reviewer needs to be included.
When all that is done then, the following will be sent to the superintendent
___Notification Form – completed and signed.
___Curriculum Outline for each child.
___Book list for each child.
___Standardized Test results for each child or
___Narrative Assessment for each child.
Make copies of everything, put it all in a big envelope and send it in certified mail or hand-deliver it to the superintendent’s office requesting a receipt.
If you have a student who is graduating from your Ohio Homeschool this year, it is very important that you keep the letter your superintendent sends back to keep with your permanent records. I blogged about that here.
How To Transition from Public or Private School to Home School?
Since the schools themselves are calling this a spring break, take a week or two off just to decompress and relax. Enjoy your time together as a family and get used to being together at home.
I always advise easing into a routine. Maybe go for a walk or mass together in the morning first, or maybe start with subjects you both enjoy first and then add the more difficult ones later. Remember, you aren’t bound to the school schedule so you can keep homeschooling into the summer months if need be.
Remember, homeschooling is a lifestyle as well as an educational choice. Keep that in mind as you shape your homeschool into a lifestyle that fits you and your family!
Interested in more? Read all of my tips and posts on homeschooling here.
[…] in March, I wrote this post with a basic How-To Approach to getting started with homeschooling. You can check that out for the basic idea of the legalities in Ohio. This post from earlier this […]