In the last couple of months, I have posted about our family’s experience with navigating the Pennsylvania State Homeschool Laws for the first time. You can find those posts here and here. Now, let’s see what has transpired since the last post…
So, I dropped the portfolios off at the school district office on 6/18. The receptionist was very friendly, and we talked about homeschooling in Oklahoma. She enjoys the Pioneer Woman and is amazed at all the homeschool activities Ree Drummond does with her kids. Of course, I took this opportunity to share my thoughts that the less restrictive the regulations are, the more freedom homeschoolers have to socialize outside of the home setting. The more restrictive the regulations; the more we tend to stay in our house, especially in areas that have fewer homeschoolers. In a district with only 17 or 18 homeschooling families, we kind of stick out like a sore thumb when we are at the store or playing in our yard during normal school hours.
Anyway, the receptionist took my portfolios for this year and my signed affidavits for next year. She mentioned that the person in charge of the homeschool portfolios liked to talk with homeschool moms and that I may get a call from her. I will admit that I was not too pleased with this statement. Am I apposed to speaking with someone? Oh, no! However, the law requires so much already that I don’t think that I need to be “grilled” by the school district after opening my homeschool to an evaluator.
So, here it is July, and I hadn’t heard anything by July 9th, so I sent an email to the person overseeing the homeschool portfolios to see if the reviews were done. The next day, July 10th, I received an email from her secretary saying that the reviews were done, and the portfolios could be picked up in the district office. I stopped by the next morning on my way home from work to pick up the portfolios. There were no notes. No letter stating that the portfolios satisfied the homeschool requirements. Nothing. One would think that with the documentation I had to do that they would have to reciprocate by providing something in writing that I had done what was required. I guess I will stalk my mail to see if they send one later… If not, I do have receipts that I had them sign when I dropped the portfolios off, stating that they received the portfolios and affidavits for next year. Also, I have the returned portfolios. Is that enough? I guess I’ll need to check with HSLDA to find out. If you are a homeschooler and are not a member of HSLDA, I can’t recommend them enough! It’s great to have someone who will have your back, not only for if the school district gives you problems, but also for if you have questions about satisfying the law. ADDED 7/25/14: This week I received an email stating that the kids’ portfolios had been reviewed and satisfied the requirement. Whew!
The positive part of stopping to pick up the portfolios when I did? This cool moth that I saw on the pavement! I’ve never seen one like this before, and it is so beautiful!
On to homeschool year 2014-2015 with a high school freshman and a 4th grader!
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