Should I still use a diploma agency?
In Pennsylvania parents are now able to issue their own diploma and transcript (signed by their senior year evaluator). Is there still a reason to pursue getting a diploma through an agency like PHAA, Mason-Dixon, or Susquehanna? I personally will recommend that homeschoolers consider using a diploma program rather than issue their own for several reasons: […]
How the Homeshool Law Changed in 2015
How the Homeschool Law changed in 2015: 1. You no longer turn in your portfolio to your school district. Instead, by June 30 you just turn in the evaluation letter written by your evaluator. 2. You no longer turn in your test scores. If you tested your children, your test scores go into your portfolio which is not turned in to your […]
Why homeschool your high schooler
Why homeschool your high schooler Challenging your teens instead of seeing them as a challenge By SARITA HOLZMANN Posted Nov. 8, 2014, 08:45 a.m. at World Magazine (see link below) Teenagers often earn a bad rap. If you picture all teens as flirting, gossiping, self-centered bundles of raging hormones, it’s no wonder homeschooling high school can be […]
What are Colleges looking for?
I just returned from this summer’s PHAA Conference and learned some great things about what colleges are looking for when the screens students. One session I attended was about the College Interview and covered what to do, and what not to do, and how to prepare. Very informative and interesting! Mr. Laszlo Pasztor, a PHAA […]
AP, Honors, or CLEP? which is better?
I recently attended the PHAA “High School at Home” Conference and gleaned some clarifications and explanations that were very helpful! 1. AP Courses are the best preparation for college. The courses themselves are more challenging, get the student interacting with an expert teacher and other quality students. Even if your teen does not take the […]
How to Turn a Course into an “Honors Course”
In general, most teens want to get their courses completed as quickly and easily as possible, often with a “just git ‘er done” attitude. But once in a while a student really puts extra effort into a course, delving into personal study of an area of interest, entering a contest that requires additional research and […]
Book Recommendations … for Guys
Mrs. Susan Richman recently wrote an article for evaluators in the summer 2013 edition of Excelsior Magazine. She makes the point that teens often react very differently to the literature assigned for their reading in high school English courses. “Why the difference? Seems to me,” she writes, “that a main one is … some of […]
Can a student graduate early?
This question is asked often of the Richmans, of the PHAA Diploma program. Here is a recently published answer from Susan Richman: “This is a question we get *regularly*, and the answer is always the same– NO, it’s NOT possible to graduate early in less than 4 years. “That said, some PHAA students are ready […]
Testing! Testing!
What tests are required? What tests should my child take? What tests will colleges see and care about? How do I get those tests? Students in grades 3, 5, and 8 are required by the homeschool law to be tested using a standardized achievement test. The law specifies a list of a few approved tests (see list […]
Recommended Read: “Aggressive Girls, Clueless Boys”
A parent of a teen in our school heard about this book about aggressive girls on a radio interview and suggested we get it for the library. I did, and read it as soon as it arrived. Here’s the review I wrote on Amazon.com: “As principal of a Christian school for almost 30 years, I […]