For those who want to go public, fall may be last chance for
students who are homeschooled to enroll at Gilroy High School
Gilroy – Danielle Zappa learned how to read, write and multiply beneath the roof of her Gilroy home, under the watchful eyes of her mother.
But when she hit her teens, Gilroy High School, with its sports and music programs, appeared much more attractive than homeschool. And since her older sister traveled the same route, Danielle’s parents weren’t surprised.
“For us, in the homeschool community, as they grow older it’s harder and harder to reproduce what a big school can provide,” Sandi Zappa said.
But Zappa was surprised to learn that her daughter can’t wait even one more year, that she has to enroll this fall in order to maintain her status as a sophomore. So Danielle will begin GHS as a sophomore this fall and be able to take advantage of the athletics offered.
The high school’s new unofficial policy change impacts all local teens aching to make the homeschool to public school switch. After this fall, homeschoolers will no longer have the option of entering Gilroy High School as sophomores, juniors or seniors.
Freshmen who earned all or some of their primary education at home, will still be accepted since they have yet to earn any high school credits.
Before James Maxwell took over the GHS helm a year ago, school officials allowed homeschooled students to jump into the program after freshmen year. Since Maxwell came on board, he said he’s told parents that students from unaccredited institutions, which includes the vast majority of homeschool programs, will not be accepted as upperclassmen.
“The question is when’s our transition and what will the official policy be,” Maxwell said.
But because the practice has taken place for some time and no official policy exists, the principal decided to make a special one-year exemption.
The official resolution probably won’t be finalized until the fall, Maxwell said. Most parents wishing to homeschool their children file a private school affidavit called an R-4.
But since there are no laws on the books in California regarding home schooling, whether the district accepts those student’s credits is “really up to the high school,” said Barbara Colton, manager of the California Department of Education’s Elementary Education office.
Public and private schools receive accreditation through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. For high schools, those credits translate to A-G requirements and are required by the California State University and University of California systems.
Colton receives numerous calls concerning homeschooling, often from school officials asking if they should allow the students to enroll as sophomores and up. “And I tell them it’s pretty much up to you,” she said.
Still, Colton said districts will avoid sticky situations by establishing a procedure.
“I think it behooves school districts to have a policy,” she said. “It does add fairness to the situation.”
As a public institution, GHS must allow the teens to enroll but their status upon entry is up to the school. Because there’s not a clear-cut scenario and every homeschooling situation is different, the district would have leeway to make exceptions but a policy, would offer some guidance, Colton said.
Only a handful of homeschoolers plan to take advantage of the extended deadline. And some local teens, including Cynthia Walker’s 16-year-old, are completely content in their current scenario.
When Walker, a local homeschooling mom, informed her daughter of the impending deadline, she quickly told her mother, “I don’t want to go to Gilroy High School.”
And for added drama she said she would “whine, scream and kick,” if forced to attend the local high school.
As an avid equestrian, homeschool is the perfect fit for Walker’s daughter. The flexible schedule allows ample time for visits to the stable and to take classes at Gavilan College.
