Homeschool Links of Interest

Homeschooling through High School

As a homeschool family, you decide not only which classes your children will take in order to fulfill state graduation requirements, but grade and assign credit as well.  

• Michigan Guidelines for homeschooling
• Michigan Merit Curriculum

What does your student need to graduate?

State of MI Homeschool graduation FAQs

Generally speaking, 1 credit = 1 year of coursework/class time.  Some high schools grant 1 credit for one semester of a college level class, some do not.  For example, you are required to have 4 credits of Math, which normally equals 4 years of Math - you can see that they stipulate that a student has to show that they have taken math in their senior year. The foreign language 2 year requirement doesn't apply until the graduating class of 2016.  Many schools will allow foreign language taken in 8th grade to count if it was a high school level class, plus one year during their high school career.

There are a number of great resources for making your own transcript, but here is a recommended resource:

• Setting the Records Straight by Lee Binz, copyright 2010, available on Amazon and elsewhere.

This is a template Bethel College has generated for Homeschoolers enrolling in their programs. It is an Excel document and if you load it as such, it will do the calculations for you.

Transcript template - click on the Bethel Template which will bring up an Excel template

College resource links

(not supported or provided by the Partnership):

Arizona State University Online - Parents may find this  useful to home schooled students who wish to pursue a college education. Since ASU Online offers hundreds of accredited online degree programs, transitioning to college from a home school environment is easy and natural.

Additional educational resources

Business/Math/Economics:

• Rider University
• TestingMom.com

Can homeschool or private school students participate in competitive public school sports?
No. Disqualification from competitive sports is a decision made by the MHSAA, not the districts.  Decisions regarding choir and band are up to the district since they are considered elective classes.  Gym class is an elective.  Homeschool students are allowed to take any elective a school offers in their resident district.  Sports are not an elective, they are an after-school offering that parents pay for in part.  Public school competitive sports cannot be an option for homeschoolers unless the student is taking 4 daily classes at their resident school building, which qualifies them to be counted by the school enough to satisfy MHSAA requirements.  Alternative education students (those full time through the Virtual Academy and Discovery Academy) are also disqualified from school competitive sports. 

Fun camps and other things to do during summer.....

• GBSRD - Greater Berrien Springs Rec Dept - Offers a host of sports opportunities
• Citadel Dance and Music Center - 925-1099, private lessons and Summer Strings Group Classes
• Jaier Soccer Camp
• Bridgman Aquatic Center - swimming (free to Bridgman/Lake Twp residents)
• Bridgman Sport Camps - (also offered by many of the neighboring communities)
• Five Pines Daycamp 

Library summer reading programs are great too!!

Bridgeman Library

Lincoln Township Library