TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

School District Hopes To Entice Homeschoolers

ADVERTISEMENT

By LINNEA BROWN

Hernando Today

Published: August 13, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Psst…The Hernando County School District called.

They want their homeschoolers back.

Or at the very least, they want the hundreds of local children who are currently being educated at home to give local public school programs a chance.

Hernando County School District officials will host on open house for parents of homeschooled students at 6 p.m. Thursday in the school board meeting room at the district office in Brooksville.

The event will be hosted by Superintendent Wayne Alexander, who sent out letters last week to parents of all homeschooled students in the county inviting them to the town hall-style meeting.

He also enclosed "Opportunities Abound," a district newsletter highlighting the district's new programs, in an attempt to convince local parents of homeschoolers that public schools have something to offer their children.

"Somewhere along the line, many of you grew disenchanted with the county's schools," Alexander wrote in the letter, adding that he intends to start a dialogue with families about their reasons for either leaving or choosing not to attend public schools.

But not all parents of homeschoolers are convinced of the district's intentions.

"This isn't about the kids learning. It's about increasing the head count," Brooksville resident Carol Lawhorne said, who homeschooled her daughter.

On average, each student enrolled in a district public school pulls in nearly $4,000 in state funding.

"It's ridiculous. They're doing it to get that extra money, not to help our kids," Lawhorne said. "If they wanted to help us, they would offer us (something else). This does not help students with learning differences."

Spring Hill resident and homeschool parent Diane Knoll agreed.

"The kids are cash cows," she said. "Why aren't they sending letters to parents of kids in private schools? This is an attempt to vilify homeschoolers for not contributing to the system."

Both suggested that instead of trying to get homeschooled students enrolled in schools, they'd like to see the district increase extracurricular activities and options offered to students who receive core subject instruction at home.

They cited reasons such as bullying, clashing values, testing and government mandates with initially spurring them to pull their children out of public schools. Many other parents have similar reasons for homeschooling, they added.

But others remained hopeful about the expanded dialogue.

Spring Hill resident Doreen Gadow, who homeschools her son, said she is looking forward to Thursday's meeting.

"Although I will never put my children in public school, we all need to continue focusing on the fact that we're trying to educate children," she said. "We need to be working together. There's been a lot of bad history with homeschoolers and public schools, but I'm hoping with the new superintendent coming in, there will be some positive changes."

Gadow and Knoll said that while there are still many concerns to be addressed, they'd be open to the possibility of enrolling their children in supplemental programs offered by the district, such as art or music class.

Legally, as long as homeschooled students are registered with the county and not under the umbrella of a private school, they may participate in many of the extracurricular activities and elective classes offered at local public schools.

"I'm really hoping there is a big turnout at Thursday's meeting, with people coming to express their opinions and concerns — and that it moves toward a more positive resolution for the children," Gadow said. "I'm curious about what will happen."

But Lawhorne, whose daughter now attends Pasco Hernando Community College, expressed no need to participate and no remorse about the district's budget woes.

"We pay our taxes," she said. "They get that tax money already. I've been paying taxes for 35 years in this county."

For more information about the meeting, call 352-747-7001.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT