In New South Wales registration for homeschooling has jumped 15% in the last 12 months. That does not include those who have chosen not to register with the state.
Reasons parents give for removing their kids from the public school system:

Curriculum
Bullying
Homeschooling has lost its ‘hippie’ stigma

State Education spokesman Andrew Stoner says the problem is publics schools […]

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry reading this post, An Open Letter to a Concerned Parent. These must be the parents that California educrats and judges have in mind when they create their rulings and policies. Sadly, it’s hard to imagine a young man like this one finding academic success.

Continuing the conversation on local control and statewide correspondence schools (SWC) here is a hypothetical example comparing a SWC in Galena, namely IDEA, with an in-district charter school, namely Frontier which is part of the Anchorage School District (ASD).

Those such as the Alaska Home Educators Alliance (AHEA) who advocate for less regulation of statewide correspondence schools (SWC) are adamant that they do have local control. That is, the parent in the home is the local control; the parent’s accountability to the district is all that is necessary. Let’s take a closer look at […]

Just back from the public comment and work session. Initial impressions are there is not as much controversy as anticipated judging by the public participation. Public comment did go overtime but not in overwhelming numbers. Comments were typically from parents who wanted more freedom to spend their allotments on Fine Arts and PE and to […]

This is a very hot issue right now and will be discussed at the State School Board work session Friday, September 21st. Statewide correspondence schools are subject to a 15% spending limitation on fine arts and P.E. and prohibited from using parent-purchased sectarian materials in student learning plans. In-district programs are not subject to these […]

It is an interesting question. Why would a tiny school district such as Galena City Schools enthusiastically take on the responsibility for educating students in urban districts like Fairbanks or Anchorage? Galena is a village of about 635 on the Yukon river about 280 miles west of Fairbanks. Tax revenue is minimal, 3% sales and […]

I took the Alaska Home Educators Alliance (AHEA) online survey. As surveys go it isn’t written to gauge opinion but rather to lead the survey-taker to the answer AHEA wants. So, I’ll go through the six questions one by one.

Do you agree that the compulsory school attendance age should remain the same and should not […]

As I’ve written before, Alaska has the best homeschooling choices in the nation. But it does not mean we are content with the status quo. There is a pretty heated controversy perking between some homeschoolers and Governor Sarah Palin’s administration that hit local talk radio this week.
Here are the pertinents. Alaska Home Educators Alliance […]

I’ve read a few articles and posts recently about the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) and their recommendations for how state governments should govern homeschoolers. It took me a while to find the original statement online; it’s in a 52-page document that details the current platform of the NAESP. Here is the complete […]