Whether for religious reasons, for more flexibility, or to meet special needs, homeschooling is an educational option that is gaining more popularity. There are specific guidelines you must follow if you plan on having a Louisville home school but not as many as you may think.
The first thing you must do is send a letter to your school system’s superintendent. For Louisville, this would be the Jefferson County Public Schools‘ superintendent. Your letter will need to include your child’s name, address, birth date, age, social security number, and it must state that you are withdrawing him from the public school system, and that they will be attending classes at home. A copy should also be sent to the Director of Pupil Personnel. This letter will need to be sent each year, and you should call the public school system to find out who the current superintendent and director are. Below is a clip from an acceptable letter.
“Dear Superintendent Daeschner:
My name is Student Parent and I am officially withdrawing my son Boy Student from Rutherford Elementary School and the Jefferson County Public School system, effective immediately. I am going to be home schooling Boy and will follow all applicable rules and regulations.
Please note his information below: (child’s information listed)”
After you have received a letter in response, you will need to hold on to it. You are now legally ready to have a Louisville home school. Many parents do not home school because they think it is too hard, too expensive or are confused as to how to go about doing so. Some feel that the children will not get enough social interaction. These are not reasons to keep you from home schooling your child if you feel it may be the best option for their education.
It is not hard to run a Louisville home school. There are no government tests that the children have to comply with. You do not have to report anything to the public school system. Your child’s education rests in your hands. According to Kentucky law, your Louisville home school has to be in session the same amount of hours as public schools, although the hours may be different. For example, you may have classes during the summer, on weekends, or in the evenings instead of the traditional school schedule as long as the amount of hours are equal to the public school system.
Another requirement for operating a Louisville home school is that you must keep an attendance record that shows the amount of hours attended. It is also recommended that you keep track of any grades you give although many elementary level home schoolers are based on progress instead of grading systems. This is actually quite effective for most as it means the child is actually ready to move forward before they move on to a new subject. It is recommended that you keep a portfolio of your child’s best work, especially writing and projects as it will help them later in applying to colleges.
Your attendance record and child’s portfolio should be nicely organized. You do not have to show these to anyone on a regular basis when operating a Louisville home school, but you should be able to readily grab them should a school system representative show up at your door for a home school inspection. A home school inspection would usually mean they actually come in and inspect your home school, however this is an invasion of privacy, so they are not allowed to come past your door step unless you invite them in. If they do arrive at your door step, you will need to show them your records (attendance, any grades given, and some of your child’s work) and they will be on their way. The only usual reason for an inspection is if a concerned neighbor or person calls because they think your child is truant from school after seeing them on a regular basis during school hours.
There are support groups you can join as well that plan and participate in activities together like sports, art and outings that help ensure social interaction for the children. You can find them online by searching yahoo groups for “Louisville Home Schooling”.
There are local stores where you can buy books for your curriculum or you can find a lot of it online. Louisville home school curriculum resources include KSS teacher supply store on Taylorsville Rd in Hikes Point, The Parent Teacher Store on Hubbards Lane , and office supply stores such as Staples and Office Depot. My personal favorite place to find great teaching aids, workbooks, text books and save a lot of money is Half Price Books on Hurstbourne Lane. They have an entire section for children and homeschooling.
You can find more information on operating a Louisville home school at www.education.ky.gov
For more information about online home school resources, please see my article titled Online Home School Curriculum Resources.
