If you live in California and are an independent homeschooler, it is time to file your Private School Affidavit, also know as an R4. It is recommended that you file between October 1 and October 15th, though you can begin homeschooling at anytime during the year and file then.
I use the phrase "independent" homeschooler to describe those who don't utilize independent study programs through the public school, umbrella programs with private schools or accredited distance learning programs. In these cases, you don't need to file an R4.
If you have any questions, A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling is a good resource.
When I filed just a few minutes ago, I was the 62562 "school" to file. Last year, I was number 46761. Two years ago, I filed on October 12th and was number 36106. Now, all these "schools" are not homeschools, but I can definitely see an upward trend.
---------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
4 comments:
I'm glad there's an upward trend. It shows that the word is getting out that there are several choices out there for educating one's children.
I live in Missouri, and can tell you that there are several families who homeschool nearby, but there's no way to know exactly how many. We don't file anything with anyone (unless you want to, and who wants to??) and while we're supposed to keep a log and a portfolio, I don't know of anyone who has actually been called to present this stuff as evidence of homeschooling.
How do you know what number school you are? Is it the confirmation number for the PSA? Mine was 58422 and I filed the morning of 10/2.
According to 2007 data from the CA Dept. of Ed, there were 3,480 private schools in the state that enroll 6+ students (which would include ISP's plus any homeschooling family with a large number of kids). That number has actually been on the decline in recent years. Back in the late 1990's there were around 4300 private schools of that size.
And the total number of students enrolled in private schools in the state peaked in 2000 at 648,564. In 2007, there was only 564,734.
If I had to guess why overall private school enrollment is down, I'd say the two biggest factors are the growth of charter schools (enrollment in those nearly doubled between 2003 & 2007) and the increasing cost of tuition coupled with weakness in the state's economy. A good number of families never recovered from the dot-com bubble burst and plenty more have been feeling the pinch in this latest downturn.
I wonder if the shifting demographics have anything thing to do with the decline.
When I was growing up my neighbor was filled with children. Now it seems many areas around us have few children.
I know a lot of young families are leaving California for cheaper places. I wonder if there has been an overall decline in the number of children in K through 12.
Post a Comment