Urgent Homeschooling Recs Needed
We had to pull our 5th grader out of school (independent school in Oakland) for the rest of the year due to unaddressed bullying. We are looking for any advice on enrolling him in an independent study program for the rest of the year. He is way ahead in academics but we'd like him to have some continuity in his record, and we need flexibility in his daytime routine. Any advice would be deeply appreciated!
Mar 24, 2022
Parent Replies
Go to HSC.org/quickguide for quick info on pulling out of school and creating a small private school and a button to sign up for their seminar about how to homeschool.
Sounds like my 8 year old son’s experience. I also pulled him out of OUSD in November to homeschool for bullying and he’s academically advanced. I enrolled him in Connecting Waters Charter Eastbay. Its been great since he was accepted in January. They provide structure, support, in person classes, and funding for academics and extracurriculars. I had no idea how to go about homeschooling as I went to private school and my husband public school. I felt like I did the wrong thing at first by pulling him out because at first he missed his classmates and even “his bully”, but after 3 months at CWEB, I know I did the right thing for him. He’s so much happier and has plenty of time and energy to do his extracurriculars which he could never do at OUSD. He can’t even fathom having to sit in a classroom and listen to a teacher talk for 5 hours, learning absolutely nothing he doesn’t already know, and getting bullied on the playground and in the bathrooms. I tried to support OUSD for 2.5 years, but their lack of action and concern, not to mention the teachers own personal agenda is not worth my son’s happiness and education.
We’ve been very happy with Connections Academy this year (for 5th & 2nd grade). Each child has a teacher and a virtual classroom, with daily assignments and opportunities for daily zooms, online or in person activities. My 5th grader operates pretty independently. Not sure if they’re currently accepting but know students have joined since the school year started.
Oakland Unified offers a K-12 independent study program--it's worth reaching out to see if there is space at this point in the year. It is largely virtual right now but in pre-pandemic times also had some face-to-face components for students. I'm sorry you and your child are dealing with this!