| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 10/24/2007 5:05:26 PM Home School Legal Defense Association HSLDA: Beware New Hampshire Virtual Learning Academy |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== October 24, 2007 New Hampshire Virtual Learning Academy: Free Lunch for New Hampshire's Homeschoolers? Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: All over the country, private homeschoolers are hearing from local- or state-sponsored virtual schools. It's easy and free, the schools promise. You can continue to homeschool and we'll give you all the equipment you need, including curriculum, "free consulting," and more. However, many homeschoolers are wary of these too-good-to-be-true offers. Just recently, New Hampshire has joined the ranks of states who have a government-supported virtual charter schools. However, New Hampshire's virtual school is somewhat different from other states'. And it is possible that, properly utilized, participation in the school may benefit New Hampshire homeschoolers. However, there are risks associated with enrolling in this government-funded program. Please carefully consider the information below before enrolling your children in the school. First, the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School ("VLACS") is a public school. When you enroll your child in VLACS, he or she is no longer considered a private homeschooled student, but rather a public school student. This means that the student is ineligible for HSLDA membership benefits and services. Enrolling your child in VLACS also means that you are agreeing to waive some of your parental rights. You are also agreeing to educate your children according to the public school's rules and regulations. While this may not at first appear to be dangerous, HSLDA has observed that these schools tend to increase the regulations each year, thereby gradually restricting freedoms. For example, VLACS will: > Develop personal learning plans for your children that must comply with state requirements; > Assess your children according to state requirements; > Require parents to use the school's secular curriculum; > Have certified teachers check up on you; > Force parents into the role of "learning coach." Second, while VLACS does not offer many of the enticements that other virtual schools offer (such as free computer equipment), it does offer something that many of our members would not pay for if they had to: free secular curriculum. Many of HSLDA's members choose to homeschool so that they can freely communicate their values and faith to their children. While an occasional course from a secular perspective (an AP calculus course, for example) may not pose a problem for a homeschool family, indiscriminate supplementation of a homeschool program with VLACS curriculum could introduce content and values many homeschoolers try to avoid. Our goal at HSLDA is to protect the right of parents to privately educate their children, free from government controls and restrictions. VLACS is a tax-funded, government program with many controls and limitations. It is not the free, private homeschooling that has been so successful for many years. Please, carefully analyze the risks and benefits associated with such a school, and seriously consider alternatives. As a homeschooling parent, you are responsible for making choices regarding your child's education. Choose wisely. ADDITIONAL OBJECTIONS TO VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOLS Before you make a decision about enrolling in this program, please read the following articles: "Charter Schools: The Price is Too High," by Christopher J. Klicka http://www.hslda.org/courtreport/V18N1/V18N101.asp "Charter Schools: Look Before You Leap!" by Roy Hanson http://www.hslda.org/courtreport/V18N1/V18N102.asp Thank you for your prayerful consideration of this important matter. Sincerely, Michael P. 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