In August Granite State Home Educators interviewed NH Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut twice about home-based learning communities, including homeschool pods and microschools.
It is a growing variation of homeschooling for many families, particularly for those seeking in-person educational and social opportunities. It also has wide appeal for new homeschoolers who want a more structured and group learning environment.
We published some background information about homeschool pods and how it fits into existing home education law and statutes in our What’s Old is New Again article.
There are several good articles about homeschool pods available here, here, and here.
We recorded both discussions with Commissioner Edelblut and they are available on our website as well as below.
We covered a lot of information with the Commissioner; here are a few of the highlighted topics. Watch the video for details.
- Commissioner Edelblut explained home education law, RSA 193-A, and clarified the parents’ responsibility to “provide” for the child’s learning in a homeschool program, particularly as it applies to home-based learning communities.
- The Commissioner distinguish between the three types of education available to NH families: public (district and charters), private, and home education.
- He also explained that homeschoolers may participate in curricular and co-curricular programs available at their local public schools, if they are running this term, on the same terms and conditions as full-time students.
- We talked about homeschool co-ops that operate in the state currently.
- There are no state-recognized certifications for tutors.
- It is consistent with existing home ed law for families to have family members, friends, or someone else supervise children in the parent’s absence.
- We discussed the NH Department of Health and Human Service requirements as they apply to home-based learning communities and remote learning centers.
We are very appreciative of Commissioner Edelblut’s time and support to homeschoolers across the state.
To help NH homeschool families connect to each other and educational providers, GSHE formed a new Facebook group called GSHE Homeschool Pod Connections. Please join us there to find like-minded people to self-organize a home-based learning community. Our primary Facebook support group for homeschoolers is called Granite State Home Educators where we have over 3,600 members from around the state.
If you are looking for information about how to start homeschooling, please look at our Where to Begin page which explains the simple requirements. We also have several videos available that also cover the wide range of resources available to customize a learning program and other concerns to homeschooling families.
By Michelle Levell
