Homeschoolers
We understand that many parents are interested in an alternative to public schooling, but may have various reasons for wanting to home-school their children at least part-time. You may feel that your child learns better in a one-on-one setting, but would still like for them to spend some time learning to work well in a group. We, too, believe that not all children fit into one mold, and thus encourage parents to seek out whatever combination of school, home, and other environments will best meet their child’s needs. In this way we want to work with parents to ensure that the child’s work at home and at school complement each other.
Our Role
We also understand that being solely responsible for your child’s education can be daunting, and so we hope that we can act as a resource for homeschooling parents. All children, regardless of the number of days that they attend, will be offered the same opportunities to collaborate with teachers, including four “Learning Dialogues” throughout the year, in which the parents and teachers work together to observe, document, and set new goals. Besides being an education resource, we want to encourage parents (homeschoolers and otherwise) to work together with each other through various support groups and committees as we all continue to learn from each other. See the Parents page for ideas about how parents can be involved.
Enrollment Options
The Patchwork School allows you to enroll your child for any number of days (half day or full day), and on any days that you choose, provided that we have space available. We do not intend to have any special “homeschooler” days, but instead feel that children will be able to understand that not everyone comes to our school every day. We have witnessed that even the very young become accustomed to the idea that some of their friends are at school on some days, and some are not. Please see the Enrollment page for more information on tution rates.
Legal Requirements
We want to help you understand your requirements under Colorado law, so we are providing information here from the Colorado Department of Education’s website. However, you should be sure to check the information for yourself in case of any recent changes:
If your child is under the age of seven, they are not required by the state to be enrolled in school full time, so you may choose to enroll them for any number of half or full days (or full-time), without being required to fulfill any additional homeschooling requirements.
If your child is seven or older, they are required by the state to be enrolled in school full time, so you may choose to enroll them at The Patchwork School full-time, or choose to 'homeschool' which can include any number of half or full days at our school. If you choose this latter option, you will also be responsible for all of the other requirements under Colorado homeschooling law.
