Half public school, half cyber school option

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I think that I have read about a couple parents (DW_a_Mom, DenvrDave) out there who's children are doing the half and half situation where their kids are partially at public school, partially home or cyber-schooled. For these two posters, and anyone else out there who has a similar situation -- how is this working for your child? How specifically are they doing this (which classes do they take at school vs. which classes are homeschooled?).

Yes, I would be very curious to hear information about this too, as it seems like a viable option for us in a couple of years too.

Sorry, we're not doing that, but DenvrDave is. We're only "homeschooling" the electives part of my son's education, and that doesn't qualify (he doesn't get an elective at school because he does Academic Support to have more time to edit essays, get a head start on homework, etc).

Where is DenvrDave these days? I miss him.
We were planning to do half homeschool half public school this year (homeschooled last year) but my son really wanted to try full days at public school to be with his buddies. We have encountered a major bullying issue though, so we may be moving back to the original plan if the school cannot fix it. My son is only in grade 2, and he has an EA (educational assistant) for the mornings, so we would homeschool in the afternoons. Mornings is all Language Arts at his school, so I would homeschool in science, social studies, and art, plus reading which we do everyday anyhow.

Hi everyone, and thanks for your kindness Its been five weeks and things are going very well. The main metrics are, there have been no calls home from school and my son's grades are A's and B's. In contrast, last year we got daily calls home from school and the grades were D's and F's. Its still early, but we're off to a great start and I'm cautiously optimistic that we have found a successful educational format, turned a corner, and are headed in the right direction.

Background: 14 yr old son with PDD-NOS diagnosis, currently a freshman in high school. He's been attending public school since kindergarten, had one-on-one aides in elementary school, rebelled, and middle school was a disaster from an academic standpoint. Some good things did come out of middle school, such as two true friends who are now in high school with him, positive experiences in music and physical education, and good relationships with a couple of middle school teachers. He's had an IEP since kindergarten, and we have tried many interventions and accomodations, but nothing worked in middle school...from an academic standpoint.

Details of hybrid public school / homeschool program: He takes two core classes, two electives, and a study skills class in public school from 7:30am to about 12noon. These classes include algebra, earth science, symphonic band, business computer applications (elective), and study skills class. He eats lunch in the cafeteria before coming home. He leaves school around 12:30 to 1:00 most days. During home school, he takes two core classes (language arts and world geography) through an internet-based on-line virtual academy that is approved by our school district. He has daily contact with his on-line teachers via recorded learning sessions and email. He also has the option to talk to the on-line teachers via telephone.

The advantages of this educational program are that: (1) he has fewer things to keep track of in public school, executive function has been a huge challenge; (2) he is allowed to take a nap at home and do the online school on his schedule, which is good because public school fatigues him greatly and I believe this has contributed to inattentiveness and lack of working during the second half of the day in middle school; and (3) he gets a healthy mixture of socializing in school and quiet alone time to focus on school work at home. Our strategy is to try this for one semester, see how it goes, and adjust the mixture if needed in the future. For example, we could, if need be, have him take all core classes online at home and take a couple of electives at public school. If all goes well this year, we'll add a foreign language next year which will set him up with the minimum college entrance requirements.

One important thing, my son deserves the credit for his success. I'm fairly hands-off when it comes to school. I offer gentle reminders, suggestions, and strategies, and I check homework and teach as best I can. But ultimately, my son is the one who is interacting with the teachers, doing the work, and getting it turned in. He's matured quite a bit in the past year, is taking school a lot more seriously, and understands that this is a stepping-stone to college. My role in this has been to set up the academic structure, make sure his IEP has appropriate accomodations, and to be a coach, friend, and mentor as best I can.

So that's it. Like I said, we're off to a great start and I'm hopeful for the future. But its early, and we've a long road ahead of us. Thanks for asking!

Sounds like a great solution so far Dave. Hope to see your wisdom around the parenting forum again Would you be willing to guest post on my blog sometime about your school solution?