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If you are new to homeschool and just don't know where to start or what to do.
- AHA walks you through with step by step instructions on homeschooling with AHA, with documents that you can view, save, print at your convenience.
- AHA provides information on teaching styles, methods, and curriculum. Email AHA
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First Time Home Schoolers
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Homeschool or homeschooling is also known as home education or home based learning. The child is generally taught by the parent, but a family member or even a tutor may do it. In the state of Alabama the state does not care who teaches the child. Nor do they require any certification or degree of the teacher not even a High School Diploma.
The state of Alabama requires only three things: (AHA members please go to your members doc.'s to have copy of Alabama homeschool and education laws)
1. That the parent enrolls the child with a cover, church, umbrella (they all mean same thing) and follow that schools requirements and rules. This school must be physically located in Alabama.
2. At enrollment the parent must notify the public superintendent with a form that the cover (church, umbrella) school provides.
3. If the parent does not re-enroll, withdraws, or transfers, the school must notify the public superintendent of this.
Alabama Hope Academy also known as AHA is one of the oldest cover, church, umbrella schools in Alabama. But they are one of many. The requirements with the schools vary from one to another. Some provide only local covering and some provide state wide coverage. Some take enrollment at only certain times of the year and some take enrollment year round. Some have few requirements and some have more than private schools. Most all schools provide K-12.
AHA recommends a new homeschooler to check out each cover (church, umbrella) school before enrolling with one. Please go to www.leapinigfromthebox.com for a list of Al. cover schools. First make sure the cover school is physically located in Alabama. One of the biggest and most common mistakes a new homeschooler does is not check this out. The result is enrollment with an online curriculum provider that provides education for k-12 but is not a legal cover, church, umbrella school in Alabama. Which means the family is not legally enrolled and the Alabama truancy laws would apply to them. This could result in court days with fees and jail time. There are thousands of online schools and curriculum providers that enroll k-12. One main reason a new homeschooler enrolls with them is because they state High School Diploma, and Accredited. Would you like more information? Email AHA
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Accredited?
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Most believe if the school is not accredited their diploma is worthless. This is not true. Even the state does not require all public / private schools to be accredited. Does high school accreditation make any difference for a student wanting to enter college? No. Nor does it play any part in applying and or receiving scholarships. Southern Association of Colleges and schools or SACS is the regional body for accreditation in the southern states. This includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia. A school must become a member of SACS and pay membership fee of $650-850 before they can even be accredited. On their accreditation procedures page it states the application fee $10,000 with candidacy fee of $2,500.for national institutions. The cost is even more for international. Then you have regional accreditation and national. Now both are competing with each other. Here are just a few that do not require accreditation:
With Harvard College and Yale University they do not require any accreditation. It does not make any difference with them for attending or for schorships.
University of Alabama- No it does not matter for attending or scholarships.
Auburn University- No it does not matter for attending or scholarships. They do have a leadership scholarship that went to accredited high schools.
Northeast Al Community College- if not accredited or homeschooled student has to take ACT and score 16 or higher or take GED. If accredited they do not have to take the ACT but take placement test. If they do score 20 or higher they do not have to take placement test.
University of Florida- Non reginally accredited will have to take SAT 2 test. No minimum score required on ACT or SAT
Just call the college/university you are interested in and ask them if accreditation is required.
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Charter Schools
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This leads us to one other option that new homeschoolers can be deceived by. Charter schools are public schools that exist through a contract with either a state agency or a local school board. The charter—or contract—establishes the framework within which the school operates and provides public support for the school for a specified period of time. The length of the contract granted varies by state, from one to 15 years, with the average length being three to five years. Charter schools are subject to the same state regulations as traditional public schools, including special education, bilingual education, academic standards and assessments, health, and safety. The online program may be free but bottom line you are not homeschooling, you are enrolled with public school. Alabama does not have charter schools as of Dec. 16, 2011. So once again you are not legally enrolled to homeschool in Alabama
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