7 Important Things to Know Before Homeschooling High School
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When my oldest child was in 8th grade I was worried. I knew that we were about to begin homeschooling high school and I was very concerned that I was going to mess it up. It felt bigger and scarier than homeschooling elementary or middle school. Every grade is important, but homeschooling high school felt IMPORTANT.
In a way, that concern was valuable. It pushed me to research and understand how to homeschool high school confidently. Now, many years later, my oldest has graduated from high school and is living her college dreams an hour away from home. My youngest is set to graduate from our homeschool in two months.
Here are 7 things you need to know before homeschooling high school.
7 Important Things You Need to Know Before Homeschooling High School
Understand Your State Requirements
It is always important that you are following your state requirements for homeschooling, but this is especially true during the high school years. A homeschool needs to be compliant in order for the records to be considered valid. It would be a shame for a student to complete all of the high school coursework and have their diploma deemed invalid because their parent forgot to submit the necessary documents.
This will look different in every state, but make sure you are:
- Registering on time, if required
- Keeping and/or submitting all required paperwork
In North Carolina, we have to register our homeschool and then close it when we are no longer homeschooling. I have heard horror stories of families not registering their homeschool and military enlistments falling through because the recruiter found out that the diploma was not valid. It is worth taking a few minutes and setting up your homeschool properly.
It is also important to note that while you are required to follow all of the homeschool laws in your state, you do not have to follow the public school graduation requirements. Those requirements are for public school students. Personally, I made my graduation requirements more rigorous than those of our local schools. You only need to be concerned with the homeschool laws in your state.
Shift From Teacher to Facilitator
A shift begins to happen in many homeschools when students enter high school. There is a shift from teacher to facilitator. Homeschool parents do not need to be experts in all subjects in order to homeschool effectively. They just need to facilitate access to the experts. There are a number of ways this might happen:
- Hire a skilled tutor
- Enroll in dual enrollment college courses
- Sign up for online courses
- Find co-op classes with trained experts
My family used a variety of these methods. Both of my children enrolled in dual enrollment classes at our local community college when they entered their junior year of high school. They used the virtual labs created by Dr. Moon for hands-on science labs (I highly recommend the virtual labs!) We also utilized a few co-op classes that were taught by people with experience and passion for the subject.
My husband and I also began to co-teach. When the kids were younger, I was the primary teacher. By the time my son began his senior year, my husband was the primary teacher, and I played a supporting role. This allowed my husband, who has a math degree, a computer science degree, and a business degree, to teach our son. My son has a strong interest in math and engineering, so having a teacher with that specific skillset has been helpful.
You don’t have to know or teach everything yourself. You do need to be willing to find someone who can teach what you can’t.
Start With the End in Mind
Homeschooling high school requires a plan. Begin high school with a general plan of what needs to be completed. This is not the time to wing it – especially if your student has goals after high school. Both of my children are attending college, but even if they were undecided, I would have created a plan that met all of the requirements so that the option was always available.
Related Post: How to Create a Homeschooling High School Plan
When I was preparing for my oldest to enter high school, I researched the admissions requirements of our state universities. I also researched the graduation requirements for our local public schools. I know that I said above that those do not apply to homeschoolers. That is true. But I wanted to make sure that my homeschool graduation requirements were at least as rigorous as the high school down the road.
Create a high school plan before your student’s freshman year so you are not scrambling to fit in required courses at the last minute. My family chose to pack a lot of classes in the first 3 years of high school so that the last semester of the senior year could be a little lighter. Senioritis is real!
You Are Responsible for Recordkeeping
Homeschooling high school requires a little more record-keeping than homeschooling earlier grades. Homeschool parents of high schoolers are responsible for maintaining all of the related records. One of the most important records is the transcript.
Homeschool parents must create and update each student’s transcript to reflect their coursework and grades. This will be submitted to colleges during the application process. I found it easiest to begin the transcript during the freshman year and then just update it each semester.
Related Post: How to Create an Official Homeschool Transcript
I recommend that the transcript be kept in a safe place. While my students were still in high school, I kept a digital copy in my Google Drive. My husband also had access, so if anything ever happened to me, my kids’ records were safe and accessible. I always kept a paper copy in our family fire-safe box. After my daughter graduated, I gave her access to view and print, but not edit, her transcripts.
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Socialization and Extracurriculars Are Still Important
Socialization and extracurriculars are easy when kids are homeschooling in elementary school. Park days, field trip groups, and sporting events are plentiful. I found there to be fewer socialization and extracurricular activities when my kids hit high school. However, these groups are still useful.
Academics are important, but so is having a group where you feel like you belong. Co-op classes, dual enrollment, sports leagues, and church (if you are a member) can help you keep your students connected. College applications also ask about extracurricular activities.
Prepare for Life After High School
Part of homeschooling high school is helping them prepare for the next phase of life. My kids entered college full-time after graduating from high school. This meant that I needed to complete the Common App school profile. In a traditional school setting, this is uploaded by a counselor. In homeschool, that is the parents’ job. This needs to be completed even if your high school students utilized dual-enrollment.
This isn’t hard or complicated, but it is something that needs to be done in order to give your student’s college application context. I kept my homeschool profile in my Google Drive, so it was easy to copy and paste it into the Common App.
You will also want to be aware of important dates:
- SAT/ACT registration and testing
- College application deadlines
- Dual enrollment dates
- Graduation ceremony dates, if you are celebrating with a larger homeschool group
Teach Your Student Independence
Learning to be independent and responsible is incredibly important for high school students. Students need to learn to create and follow their own schedule. They will need to balance their academic pursuits with leisure time.
One of the benefits of dual enrollment is that high school students are learning to be college students while still having the safety net of mom and dad close by. High school is the time for young adults to learn how to maintain a planner and balance their time.
In addition to learning to be independent students, this is a great time for teens to learn to manage things like laundry, meal planning, and cooking. We take turns cooking in my family – including the teens. This gives them experience in planning and creating healthy meals, which is a skill that will serve them well when they are on their own.
Homeschooling high school can be a deeply rewarding experience, but it is best to understand the associated responsibilities before taking on this important task.
Keep reading . . .
- Homeschooling High School Resources, Curriculum, and Tips
- 5 Ways to Earn High School Lab Credit
- Make Keeping High School Records Easy
- 5 Things to Know About Dual-Enrollment
- Ultimate Guide to Hosting Homeschool Graduation
- How to Create a Homeschool High School Plan
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