This pandemic has put everyone on edge, including my little one. My family has always thought about homeschooling, but New York DOE doesn't make it easy to learn about it either. This year, we were trying to find a school that would be remote teaching for this school year until everything because of a new normal in New York schools; unfortunately, we couldn't find what we were looking for. After searching for community on Facebook at others who homeschooled their child(ren) successfully, we did it, and this is the best decision we have made for our family.
At first, it was a struggle because we had to unlearn the traditional schooling, which is get up, rush to eat breakfast, hop on the subway or car to make 7 am arrivals, lunch at 11 am, and then she is starving by the time I pick her up at 3 pm. Stuck in traffic until 5 pm, do homework and eat dinner to repeat this the other four days out of the week. The mornings aren't hectic, and my little girl is starting to love learning all over again.
Homeschooling can be intimidating but rewarding all at the same time. I love the freedom to teach my child what she's going to actually need in life; such as financial education; writing a check, reviewing bank statements, making bank deposits, learning about stocks, options and NFT (Non-fungible tokens), black history, home economics: cooking, doing laundry. There are a lot of free resources that you'll find that your little one is already doing in school. Also, you get to decide when your child will have learning days, as long as it's 6,480 minutes per school year which is from July 2021 to June 30, 2022.
Of course, we do all the rest of the courses from ELA to Science as well.
Here are the steps to homeschool in New York:
Step 1: Write a letter of intent and send it here: LetterofIntent@schools.nyc.gov (for submission of Letters of Intent to homeschool only)
Step 2: Figure out what curriculum you are going to use and submit your Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) within 10 business days of the receipt of the notice of intention to instruct at home
Step 3: Have fun and make sure you will have 6,480 minutes of instruction per school year
Step 4: Your quarterly reports depend on when you start your homeschooling, the last quarterly report is your annual assessment, which I'll be including all testing, quizzes, and artwork for them to review. Dates for Quarterly Reports 1 – 3 are suggested by the Central Office of Home Schooling. Parents may determine actual dates of quarterly reports submission on the final page of IHIP, but reports must be sent in four evenly spaced quarterly intervals. For students entering home schooling during the school year, the number of reports should be proportional to the period of home instruction.
Where do I send documentation?
Parents of children who are currently home schooled in NYC must send all compliance items directly to homeschool@schools.nyc.gov. Please note that compliance items including Letters of Intent, Quarterly Reports, IHIPs, and Annual Assessments cannot be accepted via fax.
All documentation must include your child’s name as it appears in our records. For Individualized Home Instruction Plans (IHIP) and Quarterly Reports, please submit only one form per child - do not list multiple children on the same form even if they are in the same grade.
If you have moved or your contact information has changed, please send an email to homeschool@schools.nyc.gov along with the student name to avoid any delays.
What if I no longer home school my children?
If you are no longer a New York City homeschooling family, please email homeschool@schools.nyc.gov and provide a brief description of the circumstances, which may include the following:
- If your child has completed homeschooling for the school year in which they turn 17 years old, your child is beyond compulsory age and may be discharged;
- If your child has transferred to a private, parochial, or non-public school and you still reside in New York City we are able to discharge your child;
- If you have permanently moved outside of New York City or the United States, and do not plan to return to New York City we are able to discharge your child; or
- If your child has passed the TASC (formerly GED) assessment we may discharge your child.
What if I want to enroll my children in a public school in New York City?
If you decide to enroll your child(ren) in the public school system, you may do so at any time. Reach out to a Family Welcome Center to discuss your options.
Let us know if you are homeschooling and we can do some field trips together.
