Now I know why the public school officials were so friendly when I called last week to understand Maryland's cryptically worded homeschooling law. I probably saved them hundreds of dollars just in diesel costs.
Another great thing I found was that having the kids enrolled in Seton helped me evade the onerous superintendent supervision of their education which includes up to 3 yearly visits, extensive portfolio requirements, and the potential of some government entity stating, "You aren't doing a good enough job, you have to enroll them with us." It made me wonder how many of those school buses are filled with kids who can't read on grade level and don't get to pursue their own interests in history or science. How many days do they waste on learning to take a standardized test? How many hours in the day do they actually spend on-task?
Just like I don't want to get cleaning tips from messy Molly or be subjected to childrearing articles from a psychologist with screwed up kids, my take is that when the public schools are graduating children who are all academically excellent then they can give direction to the homeschoolers, but certainly not in the today's climate of overwhelming school failure.
Here's how rising fuel prices affect an organization with a fleet of 1,273 school buses: The Montgomery County school board today will consider giving Superintendent Jerry D. Weast emergency powers to make students walk farther to school, if need be, in the coming academic year.
The school system's diesel costs have more than doubled in four years, from $3.6 million in fiscal 2005 to a projected $7.9 million for fiscal 2009, which begins next month. It's a hardship shared by the Fairfax County school system, with more than 1,500 buses; the Prince George's County system, with 1,285 buses; and other area systems that transport tens of thousands of students daily and are paying more for fuel than the average parent.
Should prices continue to rise, the school system could save money by raising maximum walking distances for students, because more walkers means fewer buses. Currently, elementary school students walk up to a mile, middle school students 1.5 miles and high school students two miles.
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I guess things must be super hands-off in NC, because the hs-ing requirements are really very easy in MD, IMO. I don't get visited. I meet w/my county 2x/yr in a public library meeting room and show a single staff member (whoever's available in the room) samples of work in each subject area required by the state. They check off a form saying they've seen evidence of instruction. For subjects that might not produce tangible work, we simply write up brief descriptions of how the subject has been taught/books discussed aloud, etc. The state cannot require progress, only evidence of instruction. I'm usually in and out in ~5 min.
In Virginia we didn't have to do anything because we were enrolled with Seton, it was just like sending them to the local private school. In NC we had to register and show I was "qualified" (I sent them a copy of my masters in Education transcript) and have the kids tested (but didn't have to show the results to anyone). So after these experiences and meeting tons of very well-educated homeschooled kids I am skeptical and leery of a state that requires anything more. My children's education is my responsibility, not the state of Maryland's and I want to keep it that way.
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