FAQ

What is the Homeschool Partnership (HSP)?

The HSP is a partnership between local homeschoolers and CLK school district to offer elective classes to homeschoolers at no cost to the participants. Funding is provided by state public education funds, i.e. your tax dollars, to cover instruction, course materials, and other costs.

What types of courses will be offered?

1. How are these classes offered for free? Your tax dollars pay for these classes!

2. What are the state’s requirements?  Count Day is a special day when all public schools in Michigan receive funding for students in attendance on this day.  Your local HSP staff will notify you when Count Day is approaching and how to ensure you meet the requirements. After count day, there are four weeks in the count month, and your student will have a one-on-one interaction with their mentor to talk about one of their electives to demonstrate learning. That interaction can be on the phone, by email, text, or in person.

Count Day is very important because the HSP funding for the whole semester is based on the number of students attending on this one day. The funding we receive allows us to pay for our space, course materials, instruction, and other important items.

3. Will my student receive a grade for their classes? Not a letter grade, rather it will come in the form of pass/fail or complete/incomplete.

4. Will I still retain my homeschool status if I enroll my student part-time through the HSP? Yes. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), students who sign up as part-time students of CLK’s HSP retain their homeschool status, providing their parents are responsible for teaching 51% of their total education. Under Michigan law, parents are responsible for teaching the following essential core subjects: mathematics, reading, English, social studies, science, writing, the constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Michigan, the history and present form of civil government of the United States, the State of Michigan and the political subdivisions and municipalities of the State of
Michigan. All the courses offered by the HSP (including advanced placement level courses) are electives, and are therefore eligible for your student to enroll in while still maintaining homeschool status.

5. Does the Partnership follow the public calendar and close for snow days? We are independent of the public school calendar and may be open or closed when the public schools are not. We do close for poor weather following the public schools’ actions, and we will send out notification when the center is closed due to snow or cold weather.

6. May we participate in the Michigan Educational Assessment program (MEAP) or Michigan Merit Examination (MME)? Yes, if you wish to. Please contact the school district in which you reside to make arrangements for either exam.

7. How will I be notified if a class or field trip has been cancelled which is not weather related? You will be notified by the preferred contact method you indicate upon enrollment. Therefore, please have a current phone number or email address on file at all times, and notify the HSP administrative assistants if there is a change in status.

8. If I join, am I committed for the year? No, registration is on a semester basis. You may change any or all classes at the start of a new semester. Also, if your child begins a class that just does not seem to be working, you may drop the course anytime, preferably after the first count day. You will be notified when the cut-off to drop a class is approaching.

9. I am interested in homeschooling my children, but I’m not sure; where can I get more information? You can contact: www.mytheo.org, www.lmhsc.us or www.homeschoolbuilding.org.

10. Do parents have to stay with their student during class? The learning center is a drop-in location, not a drop-off center. So, parents will need to make arrangements for some type of supervision if they choose to leave their student at the center for a course. Options to cover this requirement include partnering with other parents (co-op), or hiring a babysitter.

11. I have a young baby and a preschool aged child. Will a nursery be available while my older student is attending his/her seated class? There is space and amenities to accommodate varying ages at both the Hancock and Lanse centers, such as cribs, toys, nap mats, and other items as needed. If you have suggestions, please talk to your HSP Coordinator.

12. If I have more questions regarding CLK’s Home School Partnership whom can I contact? For the Home School Partnership: please call Susan Nielsen, 734-649-0600. Email address: susannielsen2008@gmail.com

13. Is a similar program already in place locally? Not locally, but there are several homeschool partnerships in operation in Michigan. To learn more please follow these links:
http://wlace.org/home-school-partnership/
http://www.gulllakeschools.net
http://nilesschools.schoolwires.net/

14. Will submission of birth certificates, social security numbers, home addresses, home phone numbers, or any other personal information be collected in order to participate? The enrollment process asks for the following information:
• Parent name, address and choice of contact method
• Student name
• Proof of residency: electric or water bill
• Documentation of immunization status: health department or waiver
statement
• Birth certificate: visual verification, no copies are made or kept

15. What do I do if my children are not vaccinated? You would need to provide a statement to that effect. You can use the official State
of Michigan immunization waiver form, or any other signed and dated document stating that you have objections to immunizations.  This link will lead you to a sample statement regarding immunizations:
http://nilesschools.schoolwires.net/cms/lib7/MI01001273/Centricity/Domain/717/SS_Imm_Wavier_March_2011%5B1%5D.pdf

16. Who collects the child’s personal data? Where will the child’s personal data be stored? Who will have access to the child’s personal data collected? Will the child’s personal data at any time be transferred electronically? Your Homeschool Coordinator facilitates the enrollment process that includes collecting the necessary data as outlined in question 17. Data collected on your child would include: name,
address, visual confirmation of birth certificate, and immunization status/waiver. This data is stored in a secure site through the CLK system and cannot be accessed at any time. At no time will that data be transferred.

17. Will my child be required to maintain weekly contact with mentor teachers? If yes, at what time, where, and how much time is required for contact with the mentor teacher? Who, or what authority sets these parameters for the time and contact with the child and mentor teacher? Weekly communication with the on-site mentor needs to take place. For a one-semester course, this conversation will take place about 5 times, once during Count Day, and for four weeks thereafter. These conversations can be in-person, on the phone, or by email or other electronic methods. There is no minimum time required, but it must be educational in nature. The purpose of the communication is to ensure
student success and customer satisfaction with course content, delivery and overall quality of the HSP program. The parameters are created by the Michigan Department of Education.

18. Will there be any cost to the parents for supplies, books, or equipment? Not if the materials are part of a session. The center has extensive materials in the toy and book and dvd library we hope students and families use as well to supplement and encourage learning.

19. Will there be any cost to the parents if the child cannot, or chooses not to, finish the classes, or if the parents remove their child from any virtual, seated, electives classes, or extracurricular activities? Due to the state requirements for funding, every effort should be made to determine if a child needs to drop a course in which he/she is enrolled by Count Day, which is early October. In the event that emergency life circumstances (death in the family, moving) prevent a center course completion, the HSP will not hold the parents responsible for the fees. If parents do not complete the requirements for count process from which our funding is derived, their student will be removed from the HSP for the following semester, and they will be asked to refund the partnership for the funds they have spent for non-center based electives, such as
community lessons.

22. Can I sign my kid up for just one class? or three? or a full day? virtual only? Seated only? Your child may enroll in up to 5 courses per year. These courses can be a unique combination of the Pod classes, the community resource courses and sessions given at the Discovery Center. It all depends on your child’s passions and interests and the family’s needs.

23. Can I enroll my kids in the partnership classes but under a “private pay” agreement”? (i.e. kid does classes, parent pays for them out of pocket) The Discovery Center currently offers all classes to non-enrolled participants at market rates. Please see center staff for information regarding this option.