GETTING STARTED

Informational "Coffee"

Periodically a "offee is offered to introduce interested people to home schooling.  If you are interested in when the next one will be, please email Tomi Fay Forbes at tomifay@yahoo.com. 

"Nuts and Bolts"

Wisconsin has an excellent homeschooling law which offers great latitude. A family may begin homeschooling at any time during the school year, and may return a student to school at any time during the year. There is a simple form which must be completed and submitted to the DPI - the Department of Public Instruction. In Wisconsin, homeschoolers are "private schools" under the auspices of the DPI, we are not accountable to the local public school district.

If you wish to obtain the homeschooling form, PI-1206, please call 1-888-245-2732 ext. 1 or 608-266-5761. The form will be mailed to you - it is a three part, write-through form which cannot be downloaded from a website. You will receive the form in several days. If you call during the summer, you will not receive the form until August, when all of the forms are mailed for the school year. If you received a form last year, you should automatically receive a form again in August.

When you mail the form to DPI, it is advisable to include a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) so DPI can send you a confirmation of receipt of the form.

The form includes the terms of agreement:

• The program of educational instruction is provided by the child's parent or guardian or a person designated by the parent or guardian.
• The primary purpose of the program is to provide a private or religious-based education
• The program is privately controlled
• The program provides at least 875 hours of instruction a year*
• The program provides a sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and health.
• The program is not operated or instituted for the purpose of avoiding or circumventing the compulsory school attendance requirement.

*Don't panic! The instruction can include: direct teaching by mom or dad; reading books; workbooks and exercise sheets; hands-on experiments and observations; field trips; computer work; educational games, etc. Remember - you are developing a whole person, not just academics.

If your child is less than 6 years old as of September 1st of this school year:, You do not need to submit a form.

If your child is 6 or older and you were not using a public school last year:: Fill out the form and mail it so it is received by October 15th of this school year. On October 15th of each year the public and private schools turn in the number of enrolled students to the DPI. We are a private school - we turn in our information on the same day. It is advised not to mail it prior to October 1st.

If your child is 6 or older and you were using a public school last year: You will fill out the form as above, but you should also write a letter to the school district superintendent or principal of the school your child would attend, notifying them of your decision to homeschool. This is a simple courtesy which will avoid problems. An example of a letter is found on this website.

If the school year is already underway: Contact DPI for the form. Fill out the form and mail it to the DPI along with a SASE. When you receive the confirmation that DPI has the form, you may withdraw your student from school. If you withdraw a student before DPI receives the form, the student is legally truant. Please write a letter to the building principal or superintendent, informing them of your decision and that you have submitted the form. It is the considerate thing to do.

If you decide to stop homeschooling and return your student to public school: You may return a student at any point. However, the school has the right to test the student to determine class placement based on academic abilities.

The DPI form requests the information DPI needs for school census - which is the family name, number of students, male or female, and grade level. On October 15th of each year the school districts and private schools turn this information into the DPI. If your local school district approaches you with a mailing or direct contact asking for more information, you need not and should not provide it. Fill in the school district form with the family name, gender and grade level of each student (not their names) and inform them you have submitted the proper form to the DPI. If you have further questions, please contact your WPA Representative, Tomi Fay Forbes, at tomifay@yahoo.com or 262-377-5984.

Copies of the form: It is advisable to make one or several copies of the DPI form before you submit it. The original form is white - the form you keep is pink and a write-through so difficult to copy clearly. You will want a good copy to:

• Keep in your purse or glove compartment of the car as the form will get you "teacher" discounts at book stores, science stores, educational toy stores, museums, craft stores, office supply stores, and many other places which deem their services to be educational.
• If you have older students who are out and about without you during the day, it is a good idea to give them a copy of the form (for convenience you can shrink the form down to a smaller size on a reducing copier machine.) If the student is stopped for any reason for possible truancy, the form will show the student is legally a homeschooler.
• Keep copies of the letter of receipt from the DPI. In some cases, colleges or the military may want to see these forms to confirm the student has been homeschooled.

Now, take a deep breath and enjoy the adventure!