Thank you for visiting Burlington's Welcome Homeschool Group website.
This site is designed for those who are members of our group or would be interested in joining.
The Welcome Home School Group is a group of home schooling families in Alamance and surrounding counties who have joined together to offer help and encouragement to each other. The group was started in 1996 by the Lane, Morrisey, Allen and Tucker Families. Even though Alamance County already had a home school support group; these families preferred to be part of a group that allowed all home schoolers to join regardless of their religious beliefs. Hence the beginning of the WELCOME Homeschool group. From just 4 families the group has grown to over 50 families.
We are a Christian led group which is open to families from all races and religions. The group is intended to enhance the Homeschool life and be a place where mothers are nurtured in their home schooling. While the leadership is Christian based, this is not a requirement for membership, in order that we might have the opportunity to reach out and WELCOME all home schoolers. We offer field trips, ministry opportunities, moms evening meetings, athletic events, parties and numerous other events. If you would like more information please contact Melanie Lowe at melanie@carolinacornerstone.com.
Home schooling is a wonderful educational opportunity. The laws in North Carolina are not restrictive and there is a reasonably friendly atmosphere toward home schooling. To learn more check out the North Carolina Division of Non Public Education: http://www.ncdnpe.org/hhh103.asp
Home School Requirements,
North Carolina law defines a home school as a non-public school in which the student receives academic instruction from his/her parent, legal guardian, or a member of the household in which the student resides. Two household schools are permitted. The home school academic instructional setting must always meet the home school legal definition of G.S. 115C-563(a) and is limited to students from no more than two households. Academic instructional settings involving students from three or more households must satisfy instead the conventional non-public school requirements. Also, see Professional Educators' Role in Home Schools.
The North Carolina Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) is authorized by state law to receive home school notices of intent to begin initial operation and to terminate operation, and to annually inspect the school's student attendance and nationally standardized achievement test result records. Operators of home schools should anticipate a meeting with a DNPE representative.
Requirements
Parents/guardians residing in North Carolina and desiring, in lieu of conventional school attendance, to home school their children who are at least age 7 but not yet age 16 must:
- Hold at least a high school diploma or its equivalent;
- Send to DNPE a Notice of Intent to Operate a School. The notice must include the name and address of the school along with the name of the school's owner and chief administrator;
- Elect to operate under either Part 1 or Part 2 of Article 39 of the North Carolina General Statutes as a religious or as a non-religious school;
- Operate the school "on a regular schedule, excluding reasonable holidays and vacations, during at least nine calendar months of the year';
- Maintain at the school disease immunization and annual attendance records for each student;
- Have a nationally standardized achievement test administered annually to each student. The test must involve the subject areas of English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. Records of the test results must be retained at the school for at least one year and made available to DNPE when requested. Also, see testing FAQS;
- Notify DNPE when the school is no longer in operation.
Another great resource is http://nche.com. This is the state home school organization that offers an annual conference and graduation ceremonies.
Alamance County offers many opportunities for all the home school families in the area. A few of those include:
Eta Zeta National Home School Honor Society.
Veritas – weekly enrichment classes on Wednesday
Classical Conversations –
Home School Band –
Home School Basketball Teams
Home School Spelling Bee
Used Curriculum Sale
