Choosing the Right Homeschool Method

With 15-20% annual increase, home-based education is growing faster than a teenager. The proliferation of web-based technology has created endless possibilities and greatly enhanced the overall home-based learning environment. Home-based educational options go by nearly a dozen different names, creating some confusion in the marketplace.

Here are the four main categories of nontraditional schooling you should know about when making a decision about teaching your child at home. Each has its own advantages that will appeal to certain students and parents.

Basic Homeschooling
In the most traditional, stripped-down version of home-based schooling, you are basically on your own. You pick the curriculum from the hundreds of choices available, you handle all the necessary paperwork and interface with your school district and you set the schedule. Any academic support tutoring, questions about lesson plans, finding resources and so on is left entirely up to you.

Homeschool Academies
Homeschool academies provide a deeper level of support than simply homeschooling your child on your own. The best, like Bridgeway, provide a flexible curriculum choice, academic support and help with record-keeping. Lessons are often a combination of computer, text book and experiential learning.

But homeschool academies are not created equal. Some pack on hidden fees while others offer nothing but their own curriculum. Still others take a one-size-fits-all approach and assign a curriculum based on age or grade level regardless of academic achievement, learning style and personal interest.

Some are accredited and recognized to grant diplomas, while others are not. Amazing to think but some don t even provide teacher guides to help parents teach their children!

An Experience Unmatched
At Bridgeway, we provide the highest level of individual attention, flexibility and support so you and your child get the most from the home school experience.

Cyber Charter Schools
Cyber schools work in conjunction with a public school district. In general, they take the impersonal approach of a traditional brick-and-mortar school as opposed to the family-based homeschool academy model.

Cyber schools generally provide one curriculum per grade level and offer little to no flexibility with scheduling. In fact, with most cyber charter schools, you must sign in at a certain time each day and put in a prescribed amount of time each day. This can make for intensive days and a very rigid structure.

Many do not offer 11^th or 12^th grades and are not recognized to grant diplomas, leaving parents to scramble for options as their child looks to finish high school. And most do not offer dual enrollment a program to enable advanced high school kids to earn both high school and college credits for the same course.

Distance Learning
Distance learning is a somewhat vague term that can be applied to many forms of home schooling, though it generally has some online web-based component. In fact, many homeschooled high school students prefer to refer to their education as distance learning because the term appeals to them more.

Dual enrollment at Bridgeway where advanced high school kids earn both high school and college credits for the same course falls into the more traditional definition of distance learning. At Bridgeway, this is all done online, where students interact with professors, participate in forums, engage in real-time chats with other students and more.