Homeschooling Guide For Alberta Families: How to Get Started

Want to start home schooling but not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered. Check out info on the different types of home learning and the steps to take to get started here.

Types of Home learning

Teacher/School-led online learning:

• Offered through Edmonton Public and Catholic school boards
• Courses and subjects follow the Alberta Programs of study
• The school delivers the “1400 outcomes per grade of the Alberta Programs of Study”

LIVE ONLINE TEACHER INSTRUCTION (SYNCHRONOUS)

In this type of home-school, students would be assigned a specific teacher and participate in virtual class at scheduled times online. Teachers follow the Alberta curriculum and students must complete their courses within the deadlines of each quarter or semester.

Argyll with EPSB and Genesis with ECS both offer options for teacher-led online learning through Edmonton Public and Edmonton Catholic respectively.

ONLINE SELF-PACED TEACHER-SUPPORTED (ASYNCHRONOUS)

In this type of home-school, students are able to work at their own pace and not be restricted to “school hours”. Children must keep in contact with their teacher and submit work regularly, still keeping to the deadlines of each quarter or semester, but during the times that work best for them.

Parent-led home education:

• Also known as: Parent-led home-school
• The parent is in charge of everything including curriculum choices and assessments. (Home education program)
• Unconfined time; parents must be available for the kids during their chosen school time
• Parents can choose to use the Alberta Program of Studies or (consulting a Home Schooling Facilitator) they can choose other programs (commercial or parent developed) to meet goals they have set for their children
• Parents to maintain a portfolio of student work
• Students are encouraged to write provincial achievement exams in grades 6 & 9
• Parents choose to either follow the “1400 outcomes per grade of the Alberta Programs of Study” or the “22 Home Education Outcomes“

Shared responsibility program:

• Offered through School of Hope
• Combination of parent-directed and teacher-directed courses
• For grades 1-9 the teacher directed portion of learning must be 50-55%
• “The Shared program is only for families who were not previously in the Online or Shared
  program as it is meant to be a transitional/exploratory year for homeschooling families
• Students choosing to study in a Shared Responsibility/Blended Program cannot register in more than one school, and % of Teacher vs Parent course totals cannot change after
  September 30th.” -School of Hope

See a chart of detailed characteristics of each type of learning here.

Steps to Get Started

Do your research

Look for the pros and cons for both students and parents. Look into all forms of at-home learning to determine which is best for your family. The Alberta Home Education Handbook is a great place to start. Know the rules, requirements and responsibilities of taking on home learning before committing to getting started.

You have until September 30 to make your decision *which is a big one* so do not rush; explore all options and determine what is best for your family.

Good to know:

• You can still choose to home school your children after September 30 of the school year, but in that case you will not be eligible for any reimbursements for the cost of homeschooling (which is offered for parent-led)
• After September 30, if you have already committed to homeschooling for that year, it may be difficult to enrol your child in in-person learning if you change your mind as the province will have already allocated funding based on each school’s enrolment numbers from September.

Getting Started

Step 1: Notify

You are only required to notify your school board that you have chosen to home school. No need to ask or wait for permission.

Fill out the Home Education Notification Form here.

Step 2: Register

Your child must be registered with a willing non-resident board (or association board) in Alberta by September 30. This board does not need to be in your district – you can choose any board in Alberta. Some popular choices in Alberta include:

• School of Hope – offers both teacher-directed and parent-directed learning options
• Argyll Centre (EPSB) – offers both teacher-directed and parent-directed learning options
• Wisdom
• Bloom – this board welcomes children of all faiths, but allows access to a number of programs offered in partnership through the Edmonton Islamic Academy including field trips, school sports teams access to the school library and more.
• Centre for Learning @ Home

Find a full list (in alphabetical order) of Home Schooling Boards to choose from in Alberta here.

Step 3: Create a Home Education Plan

For parent-directed learning, you will need to submit a home education plan that meets the Home Education Regulation requirements (the board you register with should be able to help you with this)

This will include:

•  The resources you plan to use to cover each subject and what you would like reimbursement for
• Method of delivery (ie: self directed)
• Type of assessment – this can be observation, discussion, etc. It can, but does not have to be by exams/quizzes

A facilitator (a certified teacher) employed with the board you choose usually meets with you twice a year; once to come up with the *changeable* learning plan and usually at the end of the year to record the learning that took place.

Support:

Consider joining a support group of parents in your area. It is a quick and convenient way to get answers to your questions about homeschooling from other homeschooling parents. Groups can usually be found by doing a quick Facebook or Google search, or check out the list we put together below.

Facebook groups:

• • Edmonton Homeschoolers
  • Home School Swap & Chat Canada
  • Homeschoolers Central Alberta
  • Alberta Homeschoolers Group
  • Edmonton West End Homeschoolers
  • Edmonton & Area Aligned Homeschoolers
  • Edmonton And Area Homeschool Network With Shine
  • Edmonton And Northern Alberta Homeschooling and Unschooling
  • St. Albert & Area Homeschoolers
  • Sherwood Park and Area Homeschoolers
  • Fort Saskatchewan Homeschool Support Chat
  • Beaumont Homeschoolers
  • Leduc & Area Homeschoolers
  • Parkland Home Educators Association
  • Homeschoolers of Parkland County
  • Homeschooling the High School Years, Alberta

Helpful websites:

• • Alberta Home Schooling Association – all inclusive, all types of home learning, non-faith based
  • Alberta Home Education Association *Faith based, home education (only)
  • Giant List of Online Resources – list from the Alberta Homeschooling Association

Province-Wide Support Organizations

• AHEA – Alberta Home Education Association
• AHA – Alberta Homeschooling Association
• Home Learning Advocacy & Support Association of Alberta

Edmonton-Area Support Organizations

• The Home-Based Learning Society of Alberta
• Home School Christian Fellowship
• The Society for the Homeschool Network of Edmonton

More info:

• There is a limited amount of funding for home schooling in Alberta. You are only able to receive this funding if you are registered with a board by September 30 of the school year. After that you can still choose to home school, but will not be able to access funding for that school year for that child
• Funding for home learning is typically 1/4 of what each public student would be funded for in school. The supervising school splits this with the parent. (example: in 2019 the amount that went to parents for the year per student was $835)
• There is no funding for parents for school-provided education done from home
• Kids must be 6 by February 28 of the current year to register for Grade 1 (for in-class or at-home learning)

The above info is intended for parents in Alberta with kids attending grades 1-12.

 

Have other great resources for local home learning? Email them to us so we can add them to the blog: contact@edmontonmama.ca

 

 

Photo credit: Hope in the Chaos