What are the rules here in Alaska?

Every child between seven and 16 years of age shall attend school at the public school in the district in which the child resides during each school term unless a child is being educated in the child's home by a parent or legal guardian. Alaska offers a wide-range of educational choices for your child but you, as a parent, have been given the right to determine the level of independence that you maintain in your home.
--> View your homeschooling options
--> View Alaska Law
--> HSLDA's Legal Analysis of Alaska Law

I've never homeschooled before, where do I start??

As you prepare to begin homeschooling, there seems to be an overwhelming list of things that need to be done, including joining a support group, choosing curriculum, whether or not to join the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). What should you do first and why? What do you need to do to satisfy Alaska's laws?

Because you are free to choose the path that will benefit your child(ren), we recommend that you join a support group in your community so you don't have to forge new trails by yourself (See "Networks and Support" below). Talk to other homeschoolers and find out what works for them. Attend a homeschool conference somewhere. Every April in Alaska, Alaska Private and Home Educators Association (APHEA) hosts a Statewide Homeschool Convention with speakers, workshops and curriculum vendors.

Beginning Homeschooling is a service of the National Alliance of Christian Home Education Leadership (the Alliance). The purpose of the web site is to provide good information from real homeschoolers to those who are beginning homeschooling or considering homeschooling and to help them to link up with the Christian homeschool organization in their state.

The Texas Home School Coalition provides a good "how to start" site by Jessica Hulcy. However, typing "how to begin homeschooling" into any search engine will get many other results as well (support ERCHA by using GoodSearch.com and type "ERCHA" as your chosen charity).

Approach to learning. Children have different styles of learning (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) and one style may not fit all. Likewise, there are many approaches out there and you may even end up using more than one over the course of the next several years. ERCHA published a short brochure summarizing a few of the paths used by its membership: click here to download.

Curriculum. Your choices in this arena may very well outnumber the total number of homeschoolers! However, based on your chosen approach, talk with veteran homeschoolers, search the internet, join a dedicated YahooGroup and question homeschool supply store owners to discover useful tools with which to implement your plan. You can often find used curriculum for a fraction of the price through the the internet (craigslist, abebooks.com, etc) or a approach-specific YahooGroup. Many veterans have said that they began their journey with an all-in-one boxed curriculum, but ended up transitioning to using parts and pieces from several sources.

Military Corner

There are no additional military requirements to homeschool in Alaska. No one on base needs to be notified about your decision.

F.R.E.E. at Home
Ft. Richardson and Elmendorf Educators at Home is a Christian homeschool support group serving the military communities on and around Ft. Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base. Our goal is to coordinate resources, activities and offer support support and encouragement to All military homeschool families in our community. This is done through prayer, monthly support group meetings and a variety of social and educational activities for all age levels. We are in the process of planning the coming years calendar which includes a weekly co-op, field trips, a geography fair, and much more! If you want more information check out our website or contact Cheryl at FREEatHome-at-ymail-dot-com.

Elmendorf
There are many resources on base to help you homeschool and most organizations have heard of homeschoolers.

For more information on any service above, go to ElmendorfServices.com.

Ft. Richardson
Child and Youth Services provides a variety of activities for all ages.

Networks and Support

Local Support
ERCHA is a local support group in the Chugiak/Eagle River area. We offer encouragement, education, advice and fellowship for Christian families who have made the decision to educate their children at home. Also, we welcome inquiries from people who are thinking about beginning to home school. Since we want your children's education to be a positive experience for both parent and child, it is our goal is for you and your children to be successful.

Some ways we meet that goal are to provide field trips, support group meetings, various clubs and activities, an annual used book sale, a resource library, and a current monthly newsletter. We also alert members to pending legislation affecting their right to educate their children at home.

While the benefits of home education are many, some activities can only be done in a group (like soccer or public speaking). It is also our desire to provide a support system to assist parents and students in celebrating achievement and one that parents can depend upon to help them through the difficult times.

Statewide Support
The Alaska Private and Home Educators Association (APHEA) is a membership-based coalition of parents and others who have banded together for the furtherance of educational excellence through alternatives to the government-operated public schools. Provides a means to foster contact between home school groups in Alaska through publications and the presentation of seminars. It also fosters and protects a climate of non-interference for home education in Alaska by direct involvement in the political process by providing information on issues and candidates and by acting as a liaison between home education and the Alaska legislature.
--> Find out more about APHEA

National Legal Support
Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms. Through annual memberships, HSLDA is tens of thousands of families united in service together, providing a strong voice when and where needed.
--> Find out more about HSLDA

Cyberspace
There are several email lists available through Yahoo Groups.

While many groups are specific to a certain topic or area, there is one statewide group that has been around since 1996 called "akhomeschoolers". With over 300 members, it serves as a great resource and information exchange venue. Oftentimes, homeschoolers will join this for the combined wisdom and experience, plus another group more narrowly focused toward their specific needs.

For ERCHA Members, a Yahoo Group has been established as a tool to encourage communication and networking within our membership outside of our monthly meetings. It is also the primary notification system used by the board to announce events, classes and helpful information.

Homeschooling Helps

Methods
There are several ways to approach your education decision with no one being the "right" one. Here is a handy list of definitions that may assist your directional decision based on your own child's needs.

Links and Curriculum
We're in the process of compiling a list (by no means comprehensive) of "favorites" from our membership:
--> View links page
--> Deals and discounts from area businesses are also available to home educators.

ERCHA Library
We offer a lending library at each meeting. We currently have books, curriculum, videos, DVDs, CDs of other homeschool conventions. Browse at the meeting or check out to read at home. A list of our resources will soon be posted here.
Contact: Marsha G.

Assessment Tests
While independently homeschooled students are not required to take standardized tests, there are several resources to allow parents to test their children at home to identify areas of strength and weakness:

Homeschooling your high schooler

Mary T., provided some helpful information on homeschooling your high schooler. Also, our ERCHA library has for loan several related seminars on CD by nationally acclaimed speakers.  See our Library page for a list of programs.