A hybrid home school is a an educational strategy where the children are legally home-schooled but where families can still benefit from in-person instruction in a school setting. https://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/commentary/2020/07/15/what-is-hybrid-homeschooling/
For our purposes, a hybrid school is a group or association of home school families that work together to pool resources to provide a balanced education for their students while providing a portion of the education in-person and a portion of the education at home.
Because of our membership in the church, we have an advantage over many hybrid homeschool families in our ability to use shared resources (building, WIFI, shared volunteers) to more effectively accomplish the common goal of educating our students.
Participating is 100% optional.
Every family is free to make their own decision regarding how to educate their children. The association will be providing a package that we believe will help parents with the most important and difficult-to-teach classes and provide good guidance for the other classes. If families choose not to participate in the association, there are many other educational choices including home schooling without the association and other private schools.
While we respect your choice with regard to your family, we do need to know whether you'll be participating in the association. We will provide a participation deadline date in the upcoming weeks so that we can assess the cost and the resources needed for the hybrid school.
Yes! Help will be provided in a number of forms:
Core curriculum teachers should be able to provide guidance regarding their classes.
Non-core curriculum teachers that parents choose to use should be able to point to resources that will assist with their classes.
A forum through Google Groups will be provided so that parents can collaborate together and share information and difficulties.
When there are issues with compliance, members of the association board will provide assistance in identifying the correct resources or helping answer questions.
We have created a compliance page to help with this process here.
We have set up a Google Groups page where parents can go to discuss various topics, ask questions etc. For more information, see the Hybrid Collaboration page here
College admissions counselors have responded with 100% consistency that there is no difference in how homeschool, hybrid, private school, or traditional students are evaluated, accepted or considered for college. Detail regarding the interview responses are contained at the college feedback page here.
Teachers providing core curriculum classes will teach the underlying material, provide a grade, and provide materials for the binder required by law. For more information on teacher expectations, see the teacher expectations page.
The classes held in the building each day are likely to be very nearly 100% taught. Any streaming that the parent chooses to have their child do can be done at home or after the teaching day is done at 11:30.
Streaming could be used off-hours as a tool to make up for missed days and to supplement in-class instruction.
There will be roles where a great many of the parents can contribute to teaching in the school. There will also be a need for participation in non-teaching roles. Overall, the expectation is that at least one of the parents in every family will contribute in some way. Although, right now, volunteer time cannot be quantified, we expect that in many cases a parent will be participating during the mornings three days per week, in some way. We will update this, as we are able to discuss teacher commitments.
Email the church office to offer to teach an elective. Staffing of co-op classes will be handled by the board.
Yes, aides will be needed to assist with some classroom activities, provide substitute teaching, and help grade papers and tests.
Right now we are expecting in-person classes to begin around the end of August. Since you are in charge of your children’s educations, our reading of Pennsylvania law is that you are free to start schooling for your children as early as July 1st if you choose. [source: PA DOE - Home Education Programs]. The expected association calendar, including expected breaks is located here.
The association will run on a balanced budget each year, passing the actual costs along to the parents on a per-student basis. Parents will pay for the services that they use.
There will be some fixed administrative and overhead costs that will be divided evenly on a per-student basis. The association will endeavor to keep those costs as low as possible in order to minimize the financial burden on families.
Elementary school enrollment is all-or-nothing, so per-student elementary costs will be the total salaries of all paid teachers plus a small supplies stipend for all teachers, divided by the number of students.
Jr./Sr. High School costs will be assigned per class. The cost for a particular class will be the total teacher salaries plus a small supplies stipend for that subject across the association, divided by the number of students taking that subject.
At this time, the schedule is VERY tentative. We are generally expecting the schedule for in-school days is likely to look very similar to the current LCA schedule. If students happen to miss school for sickness or personal reasons, as long as they continue to progress in the material while they are away, it should be seamless for them to simply rejoin the taught classes upon their return.
Because elementary school (K-6) grades will have one set teacher who teaches every subject, they will not have a schedule set by the association. The home room teacher will be given the flexibility and discretion to teach the material that they need to teach each day in the order that they choose, spending the appropriate amount of time on a particular subject and then moving on. Since children of those ages can only productively study one subject for so long, we believe that giving the teacher the flexibility to set their own schedule produces the best educational result. The teachers may choose to set a regular schedule themselves, but they will be free to change it at their sole discretion. There will not be bells ringing throughout the morning.
Jr./Sr. High School students will have a class schedule that is the same every day. We will set the schedule in a way that allows teachers to stay in the same classroom all day and navigates the shared classes (eg. 11th and 12th grade is combined for History) as smoothly as possible.
The Jr./Sr. High School class schedule will likely be published several weeks before the start of in-person classes.
Evaluators will charge for their time. The estimated cost per evaluation is $15 to $50+ depending on the evaluator. The association is recommending that all families join the Pennsylvania Homeschoolers Accreditation Agency . This agency provides members with a list of qualified evaluators, grants accredited diplomas to graduates, and houses and sends transcripts at your request. The cost to join is $50 per child. If you choose not to join PHAA, here is a list of evaluators you can reach out to directly here .
Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 11:30AM. Additionally families may elect to use the building for gym classes and non-core/ elective classes, as long as a parent has taken responsibility for the activity. Occasionally we will have work from home days due to inclement weather or sickness. In the event that we work from home, parents will be emailed and students should follow the syllabi for each class.
The core classes for which the association is providing in-person lectures are Math, Science, Language Arts and History.
The following is a list of instructional areas that (according to phaa.org) appear to be required by PA law and are not covered by the in-person lectures that the association is providing. Parents should be able to meet the minimum state requirements for these subjects with very little effort. Instruction and study beyond the state minimums are up to the discretion of the parent.
Kindergarten
No specific classes are required, but we suggest adding classes reflected in grades 1 through 6. Curriculum for many of those classes will be readily available.
Grades 1 through 6
Health
Gym
Art
Safety education, specifically fire education
Music
Grades 7 and 8
Safety education, specifically fire education
Gym (1/2 year total for grades 7-12)
Art (1/2 year total for grades 7-12)
Music (1/2 year total for grades 7-12)
Health (at some point in grades 7-12)
Grades 9 through 12
Humanities (2 years(classes) May be completed in the same year-For example, Drama and Spanish I taken in the same year would meet this requirement.)
Safety education, specifically fire education
Geography (1/2 year total for grades 7-12)
Gym (1/2 year total for grades 7-12)
Art (1/2 year total for grades 7-12)
Music (1/2 year total for grades 7-12)
Please see the High School Checklist for full list, including core classes.
As a home-schooling parent, your child’s entire education is at your discretion. You can use whatever curriculum you want as long as the entire education offered meets the requirements of the law.
As a tool to help parents, the association will offer a list of suggested curriculum for non-taught classes. Parents are free to choose that curriculum or choose their own curriculum.
Yes. We will offer a suggested curriculum that should meet the educational requirements of the state, but parents can choose to use a different curriculum and add whatever classes they choose for their student(s). This is a great opportunity to customize your student’s education and allow them to study subjects that interest them. We have compiled a list of some ideas, but you are more than welcome to do something that is not on this list.
Kindergarten is optional in Pennsylvania, so in most cases, nothing needs to be done at all. If your child will be 6 years old prior to September 1st of the current school year, however, Kindergarten is required and all the above paperwork is needed to register as a home school and report on progress at the end of the year. [source: PA Department of Education]
Core teachers will provide grades to parents for their student's portfolio. For non-core classes, teachers who volunteer will provide grades. For untaught non-core classes, parents will be responsible for grading their students' work.
Accountability is a choice. In theory, a parent could take various actions to allow students to get higher grades. Nevertheless, failing to hold students accountable will ultimately be to their detriment. At some point, (potentially when students take standardized tests, like the SAT, when they arrive at college, or when they enter the work world) learning will be tested and if grades have been propped up by parents, students will not do as well. Teachers providing core classes will give grades and it is up to parents to report those accurately. For non-core classes, it is up to parents to determine whether to hold students accountable to the standard.
Electives do not need to be done every day. We would suggest staggering the electives of your children to avoid time conflicts where parental involvement is needed.
By way of example: one child could do their electives on Monday and Wednesday and another child could have theirs on Tuesday and Thursday. Or you could do them all in the same day, or a little bit every day. It is at your discretion that these subjects are studied.
There are two options with curriculum: 1) utililize curriculum referenced in the grade guide, most of which has previously been used at LCA or 2) evaluate a different curriculum which may be more effective for your particular student.
With regard to the association referenced curriculum, that curriculum should be familiar and should cover all of your educational needs, if you choose to use it. As a result, no one will be in a position where they have to go find their own curriculum.
Each parent will be free to use whatever curriculum they want, however, so here are our thoughts.
There are perhaps three criteria for judging curriculum:
Is it appropriate - godly, without bad language, inappropriate pictures, inappropriate topics, or any presentation of evolution as fact?
Does it work for your child - do they enjoy using it, does it suit their learning style (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.), and does it make sense to them?
Does it drive educational outcomes - when your child studies using the curriculum, do they learn things?
All families will have the opportunity to use the school building and WIFI for afternoon and Friday classes. A parent will just need to:
Sign the building use waiver
Commit to being with your students while they are in the building
Sign in and out on the classroom sheet showing what classroom you will be using
Clean up after yourselves (Throw away trash and clean as necessary)
Contact the Wellspring Academy Board and they would be glad to assist!
In general, we are expecting that parents who opt into the hybrid school will be in the building the majority of the time when their children are as well. This is likely to be clarified further, as teachers are asked about their willingness to teach.
The building will be open at 8:10 and classes will begin at 8:30, so you can drop your kids off any time between 8:10 and 8:30.
Pick up will depend on which classes your children are taking. It is expected for the morning classes to conclude at 11:30.
Additionally, if you choose to offer to teach an elective class or enroll your student in an elective held at the building after 11:30 AM, your student may require a later pickup.
You will be free to meet the other educational requirements for your children in whatever way you choose. You could combine efforts with other families, take museum trips, take music lessons, take classes offered by other institutions (libraries, Mingo Creek Park, etc), or work independently in your home.
Yes! You will simply need to sign the building use waiver, supervise your children, and clean up afterwards.
The administrative worker in the school office will let people into the building through the school entry doors. They will dismiss minors to authorized adults.
The building will be secured with security cameras and locked doors.
No. Elementary-age (K-6) children will be under the supervision of their home-room teacher the entire time they are in the building. Older (7-12) children will be expected to be supervised by the parents or an adult that the parents arrange any time that they are in the building but not in classes (which will be rare). If older children are found in the building unsupervised, that will be reported to the parents.
Yes, there will be a nursery available during in-person teaching for anyone with preschool children to use while they are teaching or volunteering.
Parents who utilize the building during Fridays or weekday afternoons will need to keep preschool children with them or make other arrangements.
No. As long as students are dressed modestly, the association has no direction or rules for what students must wear.
The law is not entirely clear on this, but public schools are required to retain records for 50 years. We will obtain additional guidance, but at a minimum, we would expect to retain records for the foreseeable future. To be clear, these are grades and portfolio records, not all records.