Home School

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Home SchoolFor Andrews Academy to consider acceptance of academic credit, a home school program must involve the student in a series of carefully designed academic experiences constituting a valid curriculum. When the home schooling experience is a substantial portion of the program, part-time academy enrollment must be carefully coordinated.

Home school credits are occasionally earned through an accredited correspondence school and as such may be accepted by Andrews Academy and applied to the student’s transcript as described in the Credit Transfer section. The normal two-credit limitation for students-in-residence does not apply for home schoolers.

Home schooled students anticipating enrollment in the Academy should contact the Andrews Academy Principal to plan appropriate procedures in advance. When a home schooling program is designed by a parent/teacher, whether materials used are from a home school support organization or developed by the parent/teacher, the Academic Affairs Committee will only consider a request for credit that includes careful documentation of the learning experience.

EVALUATION GUIDELINES

  • The student must take a standardized achievement test administered under the direction of the Andrews Academy Guidance Department with satisfactory results (a testing fee applies)
  • Subject area testing is required where the supporting materials have insufficient documentation
  • A standard $25 minimum fee is assessed for each course evaluated
  • The Academic Affairs Committee is the authoritative body to apply such credit as it determines appropriate
  • The actual application of credit is done after the student has successfully completed a minimum of one full semester (3.0 units) of Andrews Academy enrollment
  • The credit applied to the transcript for home schooling or a combination including correspondence is limited to six credits per year
  • Students with a maximum of 11.0 units of home schooling credit provided by certified instructors are eligible to participate in the National Honor Society, College Enrichment Program, Comprehensive Endorsement, Graduation with Academic Honors (and all other unique programs and/or groups at Andrews Academy)
  • Organizational leadership positions are reserved for full-time Andrews Academy students.

DOCUMENTATION OF HOME SCHOOLING COURSES

In order for a student to receive credit for courses completed through home schooling, the student and the parents must offer supporting materials as evidence of the scope, sequence and depth of the work completed. Such evidence will be supported by the items listed below:

  • The name(s) of the teacher(s) or tutor(s) who offered instruction in the course
  • The name of the course and the number of days over which the material was studied
  • An index of the topics covered, indicating the sequence in which they were covered
  • A list of textbooks, periodical articles and other sources of information used
  • A paragraph of 200-250 words describing the approach(es) used to deliver the content as well as the methods used to evaluate the quality of the student’s work
  • All work submitted by the student: daily assignments, essays written, all examinations, projects with a written description of the purpose of the project
  • A gradebook or list of assignments in sequence and the grade or numerical value for each assignment
  • A sequential list of the time spent on the course each day, including beginning and ending study times
  • Upon receipt of these elements of documentation, the Academic Affairs Committee will give consideration to the application of credit and the specific amount of credit assigned

The purpose of the requirements listed above is to insure that the coursework is equivalent in scope, sequence and depth to courses offered at the Academy. Traveling to Washington, D.C. or Gettysburg, for example, is a very nice way to supplement a course in American history; however, it is no substitute for actually studying the causes of the Civil War and their dreadful consequences by reading books and articles on the subject. Such trips, as instructive as they are, simply cannot stand as replacements for entire courses.