Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments independent study thru district

wondering if anyone is doing independent study thru their local school district, meaning teaching child at home, but using district provided curriculum, teachers etc ?

more to the point- is the child allowed to work at their own pace? can the curriculum be accelerated? can the the child test out ie take end of year math test, and then do the math book to learn gaps etc as needed?

if the child finishes the years wok early, before end of school year- are they allowed to take "final" tests and begin next grade level?

thanks in advance
just trying to learn how different districts operate their independent study programs...
((DS is in independent study, and while allowed to work at his own pace, he isn't necessarily allowed to skip ahead or finish early. still learning how it works here as well.
thanks again

I don't believe our school district has any independent study option at all. I don't see how that would work since they need the child to be actually ATTENDING the school to get the funding.

hi mk,

our district actually has a "school" for nothing but independent study== just not a traditional school setting, meaning the administration is located in a downtown office and there are various satellite schools around the city, parents can choose whichever school location they want to go to, typically one they live nearer to,

and then OH YES the school gets the attendance credit/funding for the child,
but
the parent keeps track of attendance, and all the work the child is doing on a daily basis is put on the sheet- and together parent/child meets with a district teacher at a district location 1/wk for 1hr minimum, turning in the attendance record along with all the work that was reported on it as having been done. parent discusses schooling etc w/ teacher, the teacher administers any tests that are needed, and also just chats with the child about what they are going over etc, at whatever level the child is at.

anyhow, parents are allowed to put down "absent" if child is ill one day and doesn't do school. typically DS could do a whole weeks worth of public school curric in just 1day. I learned quickly to spread it out through the week on the attendance record. DS was then free for supplemental or to continue onward thru the grade level. or we took a "field trip" ie museum etc, we did a LOT of field trips I did always put them down!!

hmm. I wonder why would you even want to do this? Wouldn't just simple homeschooling give you a lot more freedom without the need for all the reporting?

Our district has a public charter school for homeschoolers. They offer a few classes, but mostly school is done at home. Although there are many of the same disadvantages as posters have mentioned (such as having to report attendance and work done), there seem to be a few advantages. One is that there is someone at the school who can help you plan your curriculum and keep you on track, which I can see would be great if you want or need to homeschool but have no idea where to start. The other is that they have a large textbook/curriculum library you can use, so you're not spending as much on supplies (plus you can experiment with a curriculum without having to commit to buying it). I think you can sign up for programs like EPGY for much cheaper, too.