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Dear Homeschool Frederick!,
My son is 16 years old and is enrolled in the Directed Program at a local FCPS high school. He is struggling academically and has fallen in with a group of classmates that are an extreme negative influence on him. We want to start homeschooling him after the first term. At this stage of his school career, are there particular issues we should be aware of?

Thanks,
Mr. D.

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Dear Mr. D.,
Thank you for asking an excellent question. For any high school student who wishes to school at home, there are several decisions that need to be made.

First, you must consider whether you wish your student's progress to be monitored by Frederick County Public School personnel or through an umbrella program representative. Two site pages on Homeschool Frederick! can help you make that determination: Curriculum Options | Beginning Homeschooling

If you know that your student will not be returning to the public school system, the opportunities for designing your own curriculum are endless! Many resources are available to help your student develop and mature including Frederick Community College, Mindworks, and online educational programs.

You may wish to prepare your student for the GED which can be a ticket into FCC and other higher educational institutions (noting that emancipation is set at age 16). If you're 16 and not enrolled in a public or private school and want to earn your diploma from the State of Maryland, consider this free computer-based instruction program online with teacher support available. In fact, a no-obligation orientation is available through FCPS Adult Ed at 240-236-8450.

However, if your student wishes to re-enter high school at any time, it would be a wise move to align your homeschool curriculum with one that closely resembles the FCPS curriculum (curriculum listed online at FCPS Teach). Why?Regulation 400-49. This regulation pertains to the procedure for claiming high school credits should your student wish to return to the high school setting. To receive credit, you will need to create your student's educational portfolio which should include all saved materials and completed work (and be prepared for oral and written exams as this would also help represent the student's portfolio). There is also no guarantee that a credit will be given as this is up to each school's principal.

You should seek professional advice from an Umbrella Group representative or FCPS Student Services Monitoring Personnel (Ron Johnston or Gary Marple via Student Services). You can also visit Homeschool Frederick!'s site page for Beginning Homeschooling to help further guide you.

Whatever path you and your son take, Homeschool Frederick! wishes you the best educated journey possible!

Sincerely,
HSF! Staff