CHEWV

Category: News

  • Public School Re-Entry

    Public School Re-Entry

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    A new law, HB2785, passed in the 2021 session and effective last month, affects homeschooled students who are returning to public school.

    The latter part of section (e) states, “A transcript or other credential provided by a public school program, private school program, homeschool program or HOPE scholarship program shall be accepted by a public school in this state as a record of a student’s previous academic performance for the purposes of placement and credit assignment.” [bold emphases added]

    Derek Lambert, Ed.D., of the WV Department of Education, explains, “We have told counties they are required to accept all work (k-8) and/or credits (9-12) from home school if the parent is able to produce a transcript or other educational record. The only caveat being if public schools do not offer a specific course, that course would not be transcribed but would remain part of their permanent record.”

    Since this law is new, Lambert has offered to help homeschoolers who experience difficulties. He can be reached at drlambert@k12.wv.us.

    CHEWV would like to hear from families who are affected by this law and have (or don’t have) success with re-entry to public school. Send a brief recap to chewv@chewv.org.

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  • The Future of Homeschooling:

    The Future of Homeschooling:

    A Falling or Rising Star?

    Is child abuse more prevalent in the homeschooling community? That is just one of several questions being addressed in a 7-week online conference entitled Post-Pandemic Future of Homeschooling, sponsored by the Harvard Kennedy School Taubman Center for State and Local Government. The event began on May 6th and will run through June 17th.

    Each week panelists discuss aspects of homeschooling proposed by the Harvard Kennedy School, including questions like “Is it time for a change to homeschool law?” and “Are homeschoolers socially isolated?”

    A year ago in the Arizona Law Review, Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Bartholet drew nationwide censure when she called for a presumptive ban on homeschooling and organized an anti-homeschooling summit at Harvard. This year’s conference is a bit different – “packaged a little bit more moderate” – according to Tim Lambert, President of the Texas Home School Coalition. Some of the invited panelists are well-regarded homeschool leaders like Brian Ray of NHERI and Mike Donnelly of HSLDA. Still, it is fairly clear that the organizers and many of the panelists, which change each week, are not home education proponents.

    Why does this conference matter? As Tara Bentley, Executive Director of the Indiana Association of Home Education explains, “This is an academic event to present ideas… If you value homeschooling, then you need to be aware of these agendas.”
    (Starting at 22:15 Day 1 Alliance Response)

    Homeschool Freedom, a project of the Alliance of which CHEWV is part, has hosted a panel response to each week’s conference day. We encourage you to watch all of the Alliance responses, each of which is about half an hour.

    The Week 3 Alliance response features Dr. Jay Wile, who was won over to homeschooling when he realized that the best students enrolled in his college courses were homeschoolers (33:40 Day 3). Several notable college statistics included in that Day 3 response not only encourage those who take the educational road less traveled but prove the overwhelming effectiveness of home instruction.

    Other noteworthy excerpts from the Alliance panel responses:

    • The new homeschoolers are overwhelmed and focused on “how do I do this?” so they take for granted that where homeschooling is today is where we’ve always been and will always be. But we have to be vigilant and our state organizations are really focused on that…
    Tim Lambert, Texas homeschool leader
    Day 1 Alliance Response, 24:28

    • When you see articles in the news about homeschooling, look at it with an analytical eye… Follow the worldview – where is that person coming from when they address the question?
    Pam Lucashu, Connecticut homeschool leader
    Day 1 Alliance Response, 26:55

    • It was asserted today that our view of homeschooling might be skewed by dropouts who are hiding under the guise of homeschooling…a lot of time students who are struggling in school are pushed out and encouraged to pursue other methods of education, often in environments where they have no actual support…
    Copper Webb, homeschool graduate and leader
    Day 3 Alliance Response, 19:59

    • Don’t miss the reply by Yvonne Bunn, Virginia homeschool leader, to Copper’s question. Bunn connects this public school tendency to an agenda to increase public school graduation rates.
    Day 3 Alliance Response, 20:59-21:44

    Ideas have consequences: these ideas and discussions are no different. What is talked about today seems natural and expected tomorrow. Assertions in the news and social media eventually find themselves embedded in legislation that affects all of us.

    CALL TO ACTION: Join CHEWV at any of 5 membership levels
    and help us defend WV freedoms!

    As with other trends in the culture which are attacking our parental and religious rights and other Constitutional liberties, it’s time to push back! A powerful way to do that is to support your state organization as we work to stay abreast of dangers to our freedom. For as little as $15 per year, we invite you to stand with CHEWV financially as we defend homeschooling freedom for all West Virginians.

  • Homeschooling Doubles in WV

    Homeschooling Doubles in WV

    Homeschooling in West Virginia has more than doubled this past year according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. In fact, West Virginia is one of nine states with double digit growth!

    Last spring, 5.4% of West Virginian households with school-aged children reported homeschooling. By October, that number had risen to 16.6% – an 11.2 point increase!

    Nationwide increase is an impressive 5.6% overall, with only two states showing negative growth. The report also clarified that these were households reporting “true homeschooling rather than virtual learning through a public or private school.”

    To better serve this influx of new homeschoolers, CHEWV has worked diligently to create new resources. Check out our new virtual course, curriculum ebook, and planning materials.

  • Where Are My CHEWV Test Scores?

    Where Are My CHEWV Test Scores?

    UPDATE 5/31/2021:

    Electronic scores have been released (via email) to parents of students who tested with CHEWV. County/Progress Reports will be coming in the mail within the next few days.

    If you tested with CHEWV but have not received your electronic score email, contact Becky at testing@chewv.org.

    Test Centers and private testers use paper tests that must be scored by machine or hand. To keep costs as low as possible, all CHEWV paper tests are scored together. This year, in an effort to please, we extended our testing window to include later date options. This means that the last of CHEWV’s paper tests (a record number of them) have been to our scoring service only a couple weeks. That time delay for sorting and scoring a large batch of tests is neither surprising nor unexpected. Scores should be released any time. And when they are, all test center and private families will receive an email from BJU Press Testing & Evaluation and will have immediate access to their official reports online.

    Conversely, online tests can be scored separately because the answers are – online. That would by be why online testers get their scores more quickly. While this might seem an advantage, there are pros and cons to both online and paper testing.

    All CHEWV County Reports (3rd, 5th, 8th, 11th) and Progress Reports will be processed at once. These will be mailed to parents in time to submit County Reports by June 30. Unlike the publisher score reports, these will be physically mailed. Parents should wait to receive these before submitting scores to the county for the four required grade levels.

    While we realize that many testing families are new to homeschooling, it was not so many years ago that online testing and even electronic scores were unavailable to homeschoolers. Then, all test scores were received in late May or early June. Next year we may return to an earlier testing window, but for this year, we were able to help many more new families who weren’t expecting to test so early in the year.

    CHEWV is pleased to provide a testing option that not only satisfies all the criteria of the WV law, but also gives parents assessment results that go beyond the law’s requirements. Used properly, test results can be one of many measures of a child’s progress. CHEWV’s multiple reports together provide parents with valuable insight.

    Finally, testing with CHEWV is a small but important way to help keep homeschooling free and legal. Group scores (without personal identifiers) help our legislative effort substantially. Thank you!

  • Legislative Update March 10, 2021

    Legislative Update March 10, 2021

    When families flourish, communities flourish. For families to flourish, parents must have the freedom to do what they believe before God to be best for their children.

    Homeschool-related bills progressing this year include vocational school enrollment as well as alternate college testing.

    CHEWV and HSLDA have worked diligently over the years to ensure that the homeschool exemption has not been modified or combined with other legislative efforts meant to improve the public school system. These efforts have enabled freedoms to be maintained for those of us who simply want to homeschool and do what we know to be best for our children.

    Legislative Overview of Homeschool-Related Bills

    HB 2529 – Prohibiting West Virginia institutions of higher education from discriminating against graduates of private, nonpublic or home schools by requiring them to submit to alternative testing.

    LEAD SPONSOR: Fast
    SPONSORS: Pack, L.

    Passed the House of Delegates and has been sent to the Senate.
    “State institutions of higher education may not require a person who has obtained a diploma or other appropriate credentialing from private, nonpublic, or home schooling, and who has acceptable test results on ACT, SAT or other tests recognized by the institution of higher education which would qualify the person for admission, to submit to alternate testing as a condition of admission.”

    HB2791 – Relating to enrollment and costs of homeschooled or private school students at vocational schools

    LEAD SPONSOR: Kessinger
    SPONSORS: Higginbotham, Kelly, J., Wamsley, Longanacre, Horst, Clark, Griffith, Kimble, Tully

    Passed the House of Delegates and has been sent to the Senate.
    County boards of education shall permit students who are homeschooled or attend private schools to enroll and take classes at the county’s vocational schools, if any are provided and as capacity allows, at no expense or cost greater than expenses or costs normally charged to public school students: Provided, That if a homeschool or private school student is not permitted to enroll in a county vocational school, the county shall notify the parent or guardian of the student in writing and a copy of the written notification shall also be sent to the West Virginia Department of Education.

    Other Educational Bills

    HB 2012 – Related to public charter schools

    LEAD SPONSOR: Smith
    SPONSORS: Clark, Kimble, Higginbotham, Wamsley, Espinosa

    Passed both Houses and has been sent to the Governor.
    House Bill 2012 would allow 10 charter schools to be approved in a three-year period in West Virginia. The legislation also lays the groundwork for two virtual charters that would each be allowed to enroll up to 5 percent of the state’s student population. Added together, that could potentially amount to 10 percent of public-school enrollment, roughly 26,000 students.

    HB 2013 – The Hope Scholarship

    LEAD SPONSOR: Ellington
    SPONSORS: Higginbotham, Summers, Hanna, Pinson, Wamsley, Kimble, Jeffries, D., Espinosa, Clark, Horst

    Passed the House of Delegates and has been sent to the Senate.
    House Bill 2013 provides funds to eligible recipients for personal education accounts (ESA’s) to be used for qualifying education expenses which all must be approved by a board of 9 individuals, including three parents. Up to $4,600 would be placed in an ESA account controlled by the State Treasurer to be used for approved educational expenses, such as for private schools, or other approved programs, such as tuition, textbooks, and other services. Funds are not given directly to parents but only to approved providers.

    The success of homeschooling in West Virginia and throughout the country, has demonstrated the educational and societal benefits of parents who invest in their children. God’s model for society is the one that works best! We should be thankful that there are those in public office that understand this.

    Since we are only halfway through the session, let us remain vigilant and pray for state legislators as they seek to protect our freedoms. Click here for legislative resources to assist you in both understanding legislation and contacting your state representatives.

  • Fine Arts Goes Virtual!

    Fine Arts Goes Virtual!

    Registration for 4th-9th Grade Still Open

    The annual WVCEA Fine Arts Festivals are being held virtually this year. Senior High registration is now closed; however, Elementary and Junior High students (grades 4-9) still have the opportunity to register. With the exception of a few categories, all events are still open for participation. Listed below are those that will NOT be available this year:

    BIBLE-quizzing, memory, sword drill
    MUSIC-band, youth choir
    SPEECH-extemporaneous, debate
    TESTING-spelling bee, science fairs

    Check out all the event opportunities here.

    Address questions to Kim Johnson at finearts@chewv.org.

     

  • Homeschool Funding

    Homeschool Funding

    Where the Definition of “Fair” Gets Blurry

    Last legislative season, legislators wisely made a distinction between state-funded ESA students and homeschoolers. If such legislation is introduced this session, we trust the same will happen. While that may seem like a small detail, it isn’t at all. It’s what is necessary to protect WV homeschooling freedom as we know it now.

    You see, funding for homeschoolers via vouchers or ESAs have been a controversial possibility in state legislatures across the country, including WV, for more than a decade. Lively discussion, both yea and nay, has permeated news shows, articles, blogs, and even CHEWV board meetings.

    Since we all pay taxes, what’s not to like about state funding? Isn’t it only fair to get back some of the money we paid in?

    What has been learned in most states where homeschool funding of any sort has been implemented is that eventually Christian homeschooling is squeezed out. In fact, one study showed that state funding ultimately decreased the number of private homeschoolers overall, leaving those that were left with less clout.

    State homeschool money is also tied (at least eventually) to the separation of church and state – meaning the absence of Christian curriculum. Based on the experience of several other states to date, many homeschool leaders have called state funding a “slippery slope” to regulation and loss of freedom. The Alliance (of state homeschool groups like CHEWV) has dubbed it a Trojan Horse.

    California homeschool leaders warn:

    We have watched for the last 15 or so years as [state funding] opened up for homeschoolers. In the beginning, they offered money and total freedom to use it as you wished. Little by little, year by year, the rules became more stringent and parents lost more and more control. This is the inevitable result of taking government money. “He who pays the piper, calls the tune.”

    CHEWV has defined homeschooling as home-based, privately funded, and parent-directed. When privately funded, parents have full choice. If we are educating in a private setting with private funds, perhaps it’s not “fair” to call for more regulation. Whether it’s fair to regulate students receiving state funds is another issue altogether.

    While CHEWV does not stand against ESAs, we are gratified that WV legislators have been willing to separate private homeschoolers from ESA students. This protects the great strides we have made to keep private homeschooling legal and free, while still providing choice to parents.

    It’s important that legislators (and indeed the public) not consider private homeschoolers in the same mix as publicly-funded students – who might also school at home. When and if they ever do studies on publicly-funded students, they need to realize that these are not private homeschoolers.

    As the 2021 WV Legislative Session begins, consider and pray about homeschool-related bills, stay abreast of the discussion, and remain involved in the WV legislative process.

    Defending freedom, serving families…together

  • State DOE Issues Assessment Guidance

    State DOE Issues Assessment Guidance

    Dr. Derek Lambert of the WV Department of Education has provided the latest state guidance, released in December, related to this year’s homeschool assessments. We urge you to remember that the state DOE functions simply as guidance, not authority, to the counties.  

    Home School Testing Guidance December 2020

    As always, if you have assessment questions, please feel free to contact testing@chewv.org.

  • Free Thanksgiving Unit Study!

    Free Thanksgiving Unit Study!

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    CHEWV is pleased to offer our new 21-page Thanksgiving Unit Study – just in time to celebrate this holiday season.  Including songs of the season, recommended reading, crafts, and more, we hope your family builds traditions for years to come. 

    Click here to get your copy now!

    Click here to download the Scripture posters that accompany the unit study.

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  • Concord University Classes for Homeschoolers

    Concord University Classes for Homeschoolers

    Concord University invites homeschoolers in Mercer and Raleigh Counties to take college-level coursework this coming spring semester to receive either high school and/or college credit.

     A Zoom meeting will be held on Monday, November 16, 2021, with representatives from Concord University who will explain the college program and answer any questions. Course registration is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

    Click here for details about the Zoom meeting as well as class offerings.