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Homeschool record keeping in Colorado--turns out that sticky notes won't work
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Photo copyright by PhotoXpress.com My sticky notes are messier.
Before I started homeschooling, I called the Colorado Department of Education and spoke to Pahmela Hines with the Schools of Choice unit. I asked her what the most common mistakes that homeschooling parents made and she said the biggest issue is that parents don’t keep adequate records.
And I can totally see how that happens. I have been playing around with a couple of different systems to plan and keep track of what the girls are doing, but I have yet to find something that does not drain the life blood from me to setup and keep up. I have notes to myself written on scraps of paper on what the girls are working on. But I lost track of a week (in between finding the perfect planning/tracking system) and I would be hard pressed to remember what day it was we went to the zoo and when my 10 year-old took that math test. (As a short-term solution, I finally just got a paper academic planner and am using that so I don’t lose track of everything—you think you won’t forget, but you do.)
What records do I have to keep? According to Colorado Home School Law, ‘Your records must include but are not limited to, attendance data, test and evaluation results and immunization records.”
Attendance and hours of instruction—172 days of school, with an average of 4 hours
I started by just documenting the state requirements and I didn’t keep track of every hour. I know that on regular school days, the girls work from 9:30 to 12:30, with an additional hour of reading. I consider our family calendar to be part of my record keeping and I can pull their additional lessons or activities off that. As I started writing this article, I became nervous that I wasn’t doing enough for record keeping, so I contacted my school district to ask how they suggest homeschool parents keep track. RoxAnn Hiam, the Douglas County Options Coordinator, recommended that I track every hour and then total it up at the end of the year. Even down to subjects, like:
Wednesday, October 14th:
- 9-10 Math –two digit multiplication
- 10-11 Reading –read aloud pages 1-10 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Just to clarify, there is no legal declaration to record your school days and times this way. The state of Colorado doesn’t say how your are supposed to track the subjects you teach or the hours involved. But I can see how it would be helpful to do more then what I’ve done so far. Ms. Hiam stated that if your child should enter public school down the road, the school might ask for that info (though, they can’t demand you have it), as well as examples of your child’s work. If you have a high schooler, you will need to keep track of hours and subjects in a more detailed way to prepare your student’s transcript for college, so keep that in mind.
Evaluation
You don’t have to worry about evaluation until your child is in 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 11th grade. The state mandates testing in those grades, with results going to the district and the parent. Just keep it in file so you can find it if you need to. You can usually get tested through your local school district or anyone qualified to give the test (certified teachers and even tutoring services, but call to verify).
Immunization records
For immunization records, get a copy from your doctor’s office every time your child gets shots or request a copy at the beginning of your school year to make sure you’re up-to-date on the state requirements for school-aged children. If you’ve delayed or decided not to get immunizations, you still need to have that documented. Have a note from your child’s health care provider in their school file.
Sticky notes aren't gonna work for long. I think finding a good planning and tracking system is going to take some trial and error. For now, I'll keep using the paper planner to record things. Like that we watched Mythbusters. Totally counting that as science.
For more info: Some parents decide to leave the papework up to what are called umbrella schools. Here is a link to some of them in Colorado. *Note: some of that list is just support groups, so pay attention. :)
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Comments
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