INITIATIVE
April 2000

DIRECTED TOWARD SCHOOL BOARDS

INCLUDING THE JUNE 1999 DRAFT DOCUMENT

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Covering Letter

April 4, 2000

Dear School Board Official,

This package was compiled for you by the Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents. We are  a non-sectarian, non-profit, volunteer-managed group with a strong commitment to providing information about Family and Community-based Education  (Homeschooling)  to anyone who is interested.

We act as a link between educators and institutions such as the provincial government and  school boards.  We communicate, on behalf of our members, to administrators, politicians and elected officials, about the rights of parents to choose an educational model best suited for their children. We support parental choice in education as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As a trustee, or appointed official, you represent the local community,  providing a link between electors and the education system. We invite you familiarize  yourself with some of the current issues.

You may be particularly interested to read a draft document which has resulted from a  series of meetings involving the Provincial School Attendance Counselor (PSAC), and various stakeholders who met to examine current practices with an eye toward improvement.

As well as the draft about best practices for Boards as they are shaping their own policies,  this package contains an example of one school board's adopting of the current draft, suggested readings related to home based education and alternative  educational philosophies, and some excellent web sites to help you explore further.

We invite you to contact us for more information.
 
 
 

Herb Jones, OFTP Administration

Enclosures:  About Family and Community-based Education (Homeschooling) in Ontario

                     Current Durham County School Board home schooling procedures

                     Draft Document prepared in co-operation with the Provincial School Attendance Counsellor

                     OFTP Brochure

                     Home Schooling Fact Sheet

                     Information Sources

About Home Education

About
Family and Community-based Education
(Homeschooling) in Ontario
 

In Ontario, students are not restricted to attending public schools. Parents can legally opt to provide for their children’s education privately, either in a school setting or at home.  Students educated at home grow up to be well-adjusted citizens and active contributors to society. They have been welcomed  at post secondary institutions, especially in the United States, although awareness and acceptance is growing at Canadian universities and colleges as well.
 

Families choose to homeschool for varied reasons. Many have an educational philosophy which is different from that provided in an institutional setting.  At times, parents may choose homeschooling after it becomes evident that their child is not progressing well in school. Most choose to continue because they value the strength of character and self-esteem which emerges from basing education within the family and community, and the rich quality of family life it permits.

A memo issued by the Ministry of Education in 1981, and never raised to the status of a guideline, did little to help demystify homeschooling or to help Boards determine effective, uniform policies. Since then, homeschooling families and support groups have been advocating for change.

On February 6, 1998, OFTP submitted a complaint to the Ombudsman of Ontario,  concerning human rights violations due to the actions of various School Boards. This report accurately portrayed the harassment suffered by home schooling families at the hand of some School Boards across the province of Ontario. The complete report and the reply of the Ombudsman is available at http://www.flora.org/oftp/OReport.html

In the past year, there has been a series of consultations designed to explore possible best practices for Boards in relation to home-based education under Ontario's current laws. Taking part in these discussions: Jim Sebastian, Provincial School Attendance Counselor (PSAC); Pierce Thomas,  president of  the Ontario Association of  Counselling and Attendance Services (OACAS); Glen Purcell, Scarborough attendance counsellor; Des Brennan, attendance counsellor from the Hamilton-Wentworth  School Board; Betty Brown, Superintendent of Education, Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board;  Jack Barbibeau, Director from  Home Schooling Legal Defense Association (HSLDA); Jake Zwart, Secretary of the Ontario Christian Home Educators' Connection (OCHEC); Albert Lubberts, president of OFTP and  Donna Sheehan, executive member of OFTP.

These meetings have led to increased understanding and to the drafting of a document. The draft document outlines different degrees of contact which families who are  choosing to educate their children at home may have with their local School Board, and still be seen to be in compliance with the Education Act.

The Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents supports parental choice in education as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (26-3) of the United Nations and  believes contact between local Boards and home educating families must be of a voluntary nature.

OFTP encourages school boards, as they develop new policies, to find ways to foster good relationships with learners who are, or who have been, pursuing academic studies at home.

Resource List for Information on Home Education

Resource Information List on Homeschooling

On the Internet

Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the General Assembly of the United Nations,  Article 26 (3)
"Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children."
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

Association for Canadian Home-Based Education http://www.flora.org/homeschool-ca/achbe/index.html

Canadian Home Based Learning Resource Page http://www.flora.org/homeschool-ca/

OFTP - The Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents   http://www.flora.org/oftp/

Home Based Learning Network  http://www.flora.org/hbln/

Articles

Homeschooling and the Redefinition of Citizenship by Bruce Arai in the Education Policy Analysis Archives
http://olam.ed.asu.edu/epaa/v7n27.html

Homeschooling  Back to the Future  by Isabel Lyman in the Policy Analysis archives of the Cato institute
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-294es.html

Homeschooling- Another Educational Choice by Mary Beth Nelsen in the archives of the Connecticut Home Educators Association   http://www.connix.com/~dschroth/chea/articles/homechoice.htm

In Print

Callan, E. (1997) Creating Citizens: Political Education and Liberal Democracy. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Gatto, J.T. (1991) Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers.

Guterson, D., (1992) Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense, New York, Harcourt Brace.

Holmes, M. (1998). The Reformation of Canada's Schools: Breaking Barriers to Parental Choice. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press.

Holt, J. (1983) Learning All The Time. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers.

Holt, J. (1981) Teach Your Own: A Hopeful Path for Education. New York: Delta/Seymour Lawrence.

Illich, I. (1971) Deschooling Society. New York: Harper & Row.

Knowles, J.G. (1998) Home Education: Personal Histories. Chapter 14, pp 302-31 in M.L.Fuller and G. Olsen (eds). Home-School Relations: Working Successfully with Parents and Families. Toronto: Allyn and Bacon.

Knowles, J.G., S. Marlow and J.A. Muchmore (1992) From Pedagogy to Ideology: Origin and Phases of Home Education in the United States, 1970-1990. American Journal of Education, 100(1): 195-235.

Knowles, J.G. (1991) Parents' Rationales for Operating Home Schools. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography; 20(2): 203_230.

Luffman, J. (1997) A Profile of Home Schooling in Canada. Education Quarterly Review, 4(4):30-47.

Marlow, S.E. (1994) Educating Children at Home: Implications for Assessment and Accountability. Education and Urban Society, 26(4): 438-60.

Mayberry, M. J.G. Knowles, B. Ray and S. Marlow (1995) Home Schooling: Parents  as Educators. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.

Mayberry, M. (1993) Effective Learning Environments in Action: The Case of Home  Schools. School Community Journal; 3(1): 61_68.

Mayberry, M.(1988) Characteristics and Attitudes of Families Who Home School. Education and Urban Society; 21(1): 32_41.

Mayberry, M. and J.G. Knowles (1989) Family Unity Objectives of Parents Who Teach  Their Children: Ideological and Pedagogical Orientations to Home Schooling. Urban Review; 21(4): 209_225.

Menendez, A.J. (1996) Homeschooling: The Facts. Silver Spring MD: Americans for Religious Liberty.

Pfleger, K. (1998, April 6) School's Out. The New Republic. 11-12.

Ray, B. D. (1999). Home Schooling on the Threshold: A Survey of Research at the Dawn  of the New Millenium. Salem OR: National Home Education Research Institute Publications.

Ray, B. D. (1997). Strengths of Their Own--Home Schoolers Across America: Academic Achievement, Family Characteristics, and Longitudinal Traits. Salem OR: National Home Education Research Institute Publications.

Ray, B. D. (1994). A Nationwide Study of Home Education in Canada: Family Characteristics, Student Achievement, and Other Topics. Lethbridge: Home School Legal Defense Association of Canada.

Rudner, L. M. (1999). Scholastic achievement and demographic characteristics of home school students in 1998. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 7(8). [online]. Available at http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n8/.

Sheffer, S. (1997) A Sense of Self: Listening to Homeschooled Adolescent Girls. New York: Heinemann.

Taylor, J. W. (1986) Self-Conception in Homeschooling Children. Doctoral Dissertation, Andrews University.

Thomas, A. (1998). Educating Children at Home. London: Cassell.

Webb, J. (1989) The Outcomes of Home-Based Education: Employment and Other Issues. Educational Review, 41(2):121-33.

Welner, K.M. and K.G. Welner (1999) Contextualizing Homeschooling Data: A Response to Rudner. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 7(13). [online]. Available at http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n13/.

Introduction
Home schooling is a growing movement that affords parents a chance to take responsibility for their child’s education and help develop the child’s interests.

 Is it Legal?

Yes!  According to the Ontario Education Act (Section 21) a child is excused from attendance when the child is receiving satisfactory instruction at home or elsewhere.  Many school boards make demands on parents who home educate.  Most, if not all, of these demands are not supported by law.

What About Socialization?
This is probably the most misunderstood aspect of home schooling. Homeschoolers enjoy far more opportunities than children in the school system to learn to relate to others and get along with a wide variety of people.  This happens as a normal part of family life - by living in the community, meeting regularly in community and home education groups, attending field trips and participating in countless other everyday activities. Many homeschooling parents  say it is the positive aspects of socialization through the home that attracts them to this lifestyle.

Will Home Taught Children Be Able To Go On To Higher Education and Careers?

A  number of high school correspondence programs are available. In Ontario, the Simcoe Board of Education - EDEN Project has begun offering high school credit courses over the internet. Some home schooled children have taken college courses to prepare for university. Many  universities in the U.S. are actively recruiting home schooled students because of their creativity, independence and ability to work on their own. A recent study found that many home schoolers become entrepreneurs.  Famous Home Learners

Albert Einstein
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."

   John Quincy Adams                    Winston Churchill
   Alexander Graham Bell               Albert Einstein
   Agatha Christie                           Astronaut Sally Ride
   Noel Coward                              Mark Twain
   Thomas Edison                           George Bernard Shaw
   Benjamin Franklin                        Theodore Roosevelt

Mark Twain
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

What Do You Teach?  Must You Follow A Curriculum?

The goal of education is to understand the world we live in, to gain self-awareness, and to be able to find out what we want to know. Curriculum is a tool, a context within which education takes place.  Some parents use a structured learning curriculum. Others follow a child-centered approach, believing that a child learns best when she is fully engaged and interested in the subjects being studied.  Some families use a mixture of the two approaches - concentrating on a few core subjects: reading, writing, math, and research, and allowing the child to follow her interests in other subjects. There are many texts, workbooks, curriculums and video taped lectures available. Home schooling conferences are excellent places to examine and purchase materials. However, much of what families use to home school is available at  local public libraries and bookstores.

 Ontario  Federation  of  Teaching  Parents
 

 How Many Kids Are Being Home Schooled?

Many home educating  parents do not register with local school officials. Reliable estimates put the number at between 1% and 2% of all school children. In Ontario that would translate into 20,000 children. Estimates for the United States range between 700,000 and 1.2 million children.

What About Testing? How Do You Know How They Are Doing?

Home schooling parents are monitoring each child’s progress every day. These parents may have a better idea of the progress than if the child were in school. Every child is unique. What is important is to allow the child to work up to his/her potential.

Must A Home Schooling Parent Be A Certified Teacher?
No. Any parent willing to continue to learn can be a superb home teacher. Though many  teachers have chosen home schooling for their children,  parents from a wide variety of professional and educational backgrounds successfully educate their children at home.

Home Schooling Benefits:

Closer family bonds.

Course of study can be tailored to the child’s individual interests and abilities.

The learning environment is more relaxed and natural.

Children can learn free from physical and psychological bullying.

Diminished  influence of peers.

  Why Do Parents Choose Home Schooling?

There are as many reasons to home school as there are homeschooling families.  Every child is different, every family is different, and no single system can be right for all of them.  Everyone who home educates discovers a greater depth to the meaning of family.

How Long Can You Home School?
 From birth to whatever age the child leaves home.

How Do Home Schoolers Feel About Teachers And The Education System?

We hold teachers in the highest regard. Home teaching parents educate only their own children, often no more than 2 or 3. Teachers must work with as many as 30 or more children in one room for several hours a day. It is a difficult balancing act for the school teacher to help the slow ones along, stimulate the quick ones, entice the reluctant learners and set limits for the children who do not do, or are not able to do, as they are told. The type of education a family chooses for its children is often dictated by many factors. Home educating does not fit everyone’s needs. For the majority of families the public run school system meets their requirements.

How Do Home Schooling Parents Avoid Burnout?

Academic pursuits take fewer hours a week than in school because of the one-on-one tutoring. Learning to work independently teaches children how to fill their time wisely. It has often been noticed that when a child is ready, many concepts that can take years to learn in the school system are mastered within a matter of weeks. Readiness is everything.

Durham District School Board
Procedure #5155  Created on 10/15/99
 

Procedure:  Home Schooling
 

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Durham District School Board recognizes the right of parents/guardians to provide “satisfactory instruction” at home or elsewhere as specified in the Education Act, July 1995, Section 21(2).  Maintenance of “satisfactory instruction” is mandatory and will be further assured by direction from the Ministry of Education & Training if the need arises.

1.2 When the Durham District School Board is informed or has reason to believe that a family is home schooling, the Board shall provide the family with:

- a copy of this Procedure;
- a copy of the Notification to Home School Form (Attachment #2);
- a list of resources and services that the Board is able to offer in assisting the family;
- a directory of home school support groups the family may contact

1.3 The Superintendent of Education/Area or a designate shall:

? be responsible for the initial contact with the family and the providing of the package outlined in Section 1.1

1.4 Parents will return the Notification to Home School Form within 14 days.  For statistical purposes the parents will be requested to complete this form annually.

2.0 NOTIFICATION TO HOME SCHOOL FORM

2.1 On the Notification to Home School Form the parents or guardians are requested to provide their name, address and phone number, the name and date of birth of school aged children and the home school the children would attend.  Parents will sign the Form and return it to the Board selecting one of the following options:

- I/we as parent(s)/guardian(s) of the child/children named herein assume sole and full responsibility for the education of the child/children;
- I/we as parent(s)/guardian(s) of the child/children named herein assume sole and full responsibility for the education of the child/children, but request the Durham District School Board act as a resource in assisting in the education of the child/children.

2.2 Where Option 1 has been selected, the Superintendent of Education/Area or designate will issue a letter of acknowledgement to the family (Attachment #3).  Further inquiry into the matter will occur only if there are compelling reasons for believing that satisfactory instruction is not taking place.

2.3 Where Option 2 has been selected, the Superintendent of Education/Area or designate will issue a letter of acknowledgement (Attachment #4) and indicate the services and resources that the Board is willing to make available to the family.

3.0 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

3.1 The Superintendent of Education/Area or designate may have reason to inquire further into cases when they have reason to believe that satisfactory instruction is not occurring in order to ensure that the needs of children are being met.  Examples include:

- parents do not submit or refuse to submit a Notification to Home School Form;
- credible evidence exists that satisfactory instruction is not occurring;
- a child is suddenly withdrawn from school to be home schooled and there is reason to believe that home schooling is not the reason for the withdrawal.

In such cases, the appropriate area attendance officer will request the parent to submit a Form and request to meet with the parent to discuss the situation and concerns.  The parent could be referred to one of the provincial home schooling organizations if it is appropriate.

4.0 PROVINCIAL INQUIRIES

If the Board is unable to resolve the situation at the local level, the Superintendent of Education/Area or designate will request the Provincial School Attendance Counselor to inquire into the case under s.24(2) of the Education Act.  If an inquiry finds that satisfactory instruction is not occurring and orders that the child attend school, the Superintendent of Education/Area must decide what action is appropriate.

~~~~~~~~~
 

APPENDIX A

HOME SCHOOLING

THE DURHAM DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

HOME SCHOOLING

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS
 

If you decide to teach your child at home, you should be aware of the following information in order to provide a worthwhile learning experience for your child.

1. Home schooling applies only to students of compulsory school age as defined by the Education Act Section 21 (1) (a) and (b) see Attachment #1.

2. All instructional materials, records and expenses are the parents/guardians responsibility.

3. The “Notification to Home School” must be signed and returned to signify acceptance of these responsibilities and understanding of the procedure (See Attachment #2).

4. Credit for successful completion of a secondary school course may be granted only by a secondary school principal; therefore, home schooling beyond the grade 8 level is extremely difficult to arrange for both the parents/guardians and the Durham District School Board.

5. Should a parent request the Durham District School Board act as a resource, the Board will provide the parent with an up to date catalogue of curriculum materials available for purchase from the Board and provide assistance as deemed suitable by the Superintendent of Education/Program.

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ATTACHMENT #1
 

HOME SCHOOLING

The following excerpts from the Education Act, July 1992, outline the guidelines for compulsory school age, the criteria for excuse from school attendance for home schooling and the role of the Provincial School Attendance Counselor.

Compulsory Attendance

21 (1) (a)
Unless excused under this section, every child who attains the age of six years on or before the first school day in September in any year shall attend an elementary or secondary school on every school day from the first school day in September in that year until the child attains the age of sixteen years; and

21 (1) (b)
Every child who attains the age of six years after the first school day in September in any year shall attend an elementary or secondary school on every school day from the first school day in September in the next succeeding year until the last school day in June in the year in which the child attains the age of sixteen years.

When attendance excused
21 (2) A child is excused from attendance at school if,

(a) the child is receiving satisfactory instruction at home or elsewhere.
 

Provincial School Attendance Counselor

Provincial School Attendance Counselor is of the opinion that the child should not be excused from attendance, the Provincial School Attendance Counselor shall direct that an inquiry be made as to the validity of the reason or excuse for non-attendance and the other relevant circumstances, and for such purposes shall appoint one or more persons who are not employees of the board that operates the school that the child has the right to attend to conduct a hearing and to report to the Provincial School Attendance Counselor the result of the inquiry and may, by order in writing signed by him or her, direct that the child,

Inquiry by Provincial Counselor

(a) be excused from attendance at school; or
(b) attend school,
and a copy of the order shall be delivered to the board and to the parent or guardian of the child.

Powers of Provincial Counselor

24 (3)
The Provincial School Attendance Counselor has all the powers of a school attendance counselor and may exercise such powers anywhere in Ontario.

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ATTACHMENT #2
 

HOME SCHOOLING

THE DURHAM DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD

NOTIFICATION TO HOME SCHOOL
 

I (We), _____________________________________________________________________________________

The parent(s)/guardian(s) of:

_____________________________________________________________ AGE __________ GRADE ______
 

_____________________________________________________________ AGE __________ GRADE ______
 

_____________________________________________________________ AGE __________ GRADE ______
 

SCHOOL LAST ATTENDED:  ____________________________________________________________

1. ________  assume sole and full responsibility for the education of the child/children named above.

or

2. ________  assume sole and full responsibility for the education of the child/children named above, but request the Durham District School Board act as a resource in assisting in the education of the child/children named above.

(Please indicate one of the above options)
 
 
 

_____________________________ ___________________________________________________
Date     Parent(s)
 

 _________________________________________________________
 Address
 

 _________________________________________________________
 Address
 

 _________________________________________________________
 Telephone No.
 
 
 

______________________________________ __________________________________________________
Date      Superintendent of Education/Administrative Officer
 
 
 

Also included in the mailout to parents planning to home educate their children, Durham District School Board sends photocopies of the followng Canadian and Ontario pages from the internet:

http://www.flora.org/homeschool-ca/on

http://www.flora.org/homeschool-ca/books/catalogs.html

http://www.flora.org/homeschool-ca/books/periodicals.html

http://www.flora.org/flora/booklets.html
 
 
 

June 1999 Draft  - This was mailed out with December Home Rules and can be see on this site here.

Ontario  Federation  of  Teaching  Parents Brochure