CVUSD Parent Meeting Explores Creating a Program Whereby Home School Students Would Be Allowed to Join the CVUSD School District

 

Important points from the May 31, 2005 home school meeting:

 

  • For administrative purposes the home school children will be assigned to individual public schools around the district or possibly gathered at just one school.

 

  • Standardized test scores of home schooled children will be included with the test scores of students attending public school.

 

  • CVUSD administrators hinted there was a possibility for the home school students to use traditional math programs in addition to the Everyday Math, though none of the district’s proposals have yet been presented in writing.

 

  • The district has NOT considered the possibility for current public school students being allowed to home school in a single or dual subject (such as reading and math) and then being allowed to attend the balance of classes.

 

  • Martha Mutz, Director of Curriculum for CVUSD, indicated that the CVUSD budgets only $100 per child per year for books.  She further indicated that because of the recent budget cut this could decrease to $60 per pupil per year (a 40% reduction).  The District will receive $6,500 per home school student.  [According to the Governor’s office the district is due to receive more money in the coming budget than from the previous year, it is not clear how this should translate into a 40% cut in the CVUSD per pupil budget for books]

 

  • The district required 25 home school families to sign up before the program could be implemented.  If you do the math that is $6,500 x 25 = $ 162,500.  The program will require a vice principal and a teacher to oversee the program, with increasing numbers of administrators required as the program grows.  [So if you subtract out 2 salaries at an estimated $80,000 per year that would leave $2500 for the students for the year, which of course divides into just $100 per pupil.]

 

 

 

 PUBLIC COMMENTS

May 31, 2005

Parent Meeting for CVUSD Home School

 

Committee members, my name is Jo Anne Cobasko,   I would like to thank the administrators for considering home schooling options for the CVUSD.  I will appreciate the administration addressing a few issues that require clarification.

 

Last fall we tried to negotiate home school in math and reading for our child, and that he be allowed to attend the classroom for the remaining subjects.  Since CVUSD had no home school policy at that time, this was not possible.  We are now paying over $7,500 per year to send our child to a private school.

 

The first point which needs clarification is:

 

Will single or dual subject home schooling be made part of this policy? 

 

It would seem only fair that if the district is going to receive $6,500 per home schooled student, they should have to perform services just as though these students are fully registered in a district K-6 classroom.  A recent news article hints at the possibility but indicates that only chorus and band will be offered, of course parents must pay to have students participate in these activities.  It is my hope that the district will allow students to be home schooled in as little as one subject and then attend classes for the balance of the usual curricula offered at any grade level.

 

The second matter which needs careful consideration is:

 

Will the district allow curriculum differentiation and how will it track which programs are used?           

 

The district will of course offer Everyday Math to home school students.  It is probable that 80% of these parents will choose NOT use the EM, but instead invest in state approved programs and tell the District what ever they must.  There are CVUSD K-6 teachers who behind closed doors do not use the EM curriculum, so it is foolish to think that home schooling parents will not do the same.

 

The third matter which is the most critical for parents and students who DO NOT participate in home schooling is:

 

How will the district segregate standardized test scores for home schooled students?

 

It is likely that home school students who have NOT used district approved curricula will see their standardized exam results used to support the continuation of lackluster programs implemented in CVUSD classrooms. The test scores of home schooled students MUST be reported separately.  District officials should not be allowed to use test results achieved due to the hard work of home schooling parents providing "direct instruction" at home as a means to offset poor test results from students in classrooms using "discovery" based teaching methods (Constructivism).  The commingling of test scores will only slow progress in the detection and removal of ineffective classroom programs.

 

I look forward to hearing the debate regarding these issues, and hope that the district will in fact protect the rights of all parents who wish to see accurate test results which reflect the quality of their child’s classroom programs. 

 

Thank you

 

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Jo Anne Cobasko

Founder

Save Our Children from Mediocre Math

Web site:  http://socmm.home.att.net

 

 

CVUSD  EVERYDAY MATH   CVUSD