Homeschool World Forum

[threeforme]

Hi, my name is Andrea. We live in North Alabama and have 3 children ages 7, 5, and 9 months. We are debating making the switch from public school to homeschool. God has certainly opened some doors for us in this direction and now we are praying for the courage to sever our public school ties. I have a Master's degree in education and have been a supporter of our local schools for many years, so this is a tough decision and may seem hypocritical to many friends and fellow teachers. I wish I knew of other children my children's ages that were currently homeschooling in this area....we are concerned about making the transition smooth for our 2nd grader; we want her to love it from the beginning if possible.
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Andrea

[Theodore]

Well, you're not the only teacher to homeschool her children. Even just in the past few weeks, I think there was another poster to our forum who said she had a teaching degree and was looking into homeschooling her children. It may feel right now like you're letting down the public school system, but better that than having the public school system let down your children.

The good news is that it's very easy to homeschool in Alabama:

http://www.chefofalabama.org/ala_law.htm

The second and preferred way is known as the "Church School Law" (Ala. Code §16-28-3). Under this statute students between the ages of 7 and 16 are exempt from the state's compulsory school attendance law if they are enrolled in schools operated by a church or association of churches.

To facilitate home schooling, a church may form a school in which parents are enrolled as teachers and students are assigned to classes taught by their parents at home. Church schools are exempt from all state accreditation, teacher certification, and regulatory requirements. The only requirement is that the parent must submit a church school enrollment form to the local school district office indicating the church school in which the student is enrolled.

Basically, you join what is known as an umbrella school, which allows you to homeschool regulation-free. Since you have an education degree., you could also homeschool as a tutor, but this does have some requrements attached.

As for homeschool support groups in your area, try the following:
http://www.home-school.com/groups/AL.html
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