A seemingly inane announcement in a Seattle-area publication:
The Edmonds Homeschool Resource Center has changed its name to Edmonds Heights K-12. The school recently changed its name from Edmonds Homeschool Resource Center to Edmonds Heights to reflect their association with the Edmonds School District. “We changed our name because we wanted to clarify our mission in serving students and partnering with parents as a part of the public school system,” said Principal Danny Rock.
Does it raise red flags, ring any bells for anyone? If not, see if this helps:
Public schools and business people are increasingly trying to convince homeschoolers to enroll in their programs and use their services. At first glance, the offers may seem attractive. However, they undermine homeschoolers’ identity and freedom and serve the interests of their promoters to the detriment of homeschoolers.
From the same column:
…in Washington state, the growth rate for homeschooling, which had consistently been 15-20% per year, has dropped to zero in the past two years, in large part because of the growth of alternative public school programs.
-Excerpts from Homeschoolers, Is Our Good Name for Sale? by Larry and Susan Kaseman, Home Education Magazine, Sept-Oct, 2000.
Guess our good name outlived its usefulness. Wonder how many families got sidelined from bona fide homeschooling in the process?
Shellie said on June 25, 2010
I am, and always will be, a die-hard homeschooler. I have raised 4 children in an environment that emphasized self-motivated learning and child-led exploration. For the first 13 years we homeschooled without any kind of “group” other then just getting together with other families and independent dance classes, etc.
I have also graduated (without diplomas, thank you) all four children from EHRC (now called Edmonds Heights). Were my kids in a public school? Yes. I also had to sign an intent to homeschool for each of them. The majority of parents in our parent partnership are rabid homeschoolers. Do not think, that because we use the resources available to us that we aren’t – whether the state/district thinks we are or not. Many of us are really upset with the name change because we identify ourselves as homeschool families.
As a homeschool/unschool parent for 13 years independently, and an additional 13 years in a parent partnership, I resent the insinuation that we give you “real” homeschoolers a bad name. I am a homeschool parent, and my children completely identify themselves as being HOMESCHOOLED. That includes college admissions, where they have applied with no transcript other then from community colleges.
No one side tracked our family from “bona fide” homeschooling. We were able to use some resources available to us and still remain the strong homeschool family that we are. I’d love to see anyone convince my children that they weren’t homeschooled!!
Mary said on June 25, 2010
sorry, if your children were enrolled in a public school so the school district could get my tax dollars for your enrolled children, then they were public school students. Enrolled is enrolled. How independent is it if you have to sign away your right to raise your children as you see fit with an ‘intent to homeschool’? Did you need an ‘intent to parent’ or an ‘intent to feed? Deal with it – you sold your homeschool freedom for a pat on the head from the school district. How does it feel to know you’ve been under the watchful eye of professional educators for 13 years while they collected public funding while using your family? Sorry, that’s not homeschooling, that’s public ed.