Join HCHA '20/21
Fill out the form below and click the Continue button at the bottom.
What is HCHA? Membership in Henderson County Homeschool Association (HCHA) is a community of homeschooling families working together to provide resources and opportunities to enrich and complement your homeschooling journey. We offer access to lots of "extras" for your family during the school years.
What are the benefits of membership?
• A volunteer Board of Directors meets monthly to ensure there is a wide variety of activities offered to our members- academic and social activities, seasonal events, field trips, teen events, mom's events, dad's events, family events, and more. The members of our association volunteer in various ways to make these events happen- some Coordinate, some Volunteer to help, so you can participate in these great events. Attending these activities is not required, they are opportunities. Some require small fees to participate, many do not.
• Members have access to the website containing a plethora of information about homeschooling. The website also includes forums, an activity calendar and a member directory.
• We have a lending library or Resource Room, which provides free loans of homeschool curricula to our members for the school year.
• Our association facilitates Enrichment Classes twice a year (Fall & Spring). These are 8-week sessions of classes taught by volunteer parents. Classes are for all ages (tots through teens), and are held on Friday mornings. There are three, hour-long classes, running from 9:00 -12:15. Assistants are needed to provide support and safety in all classes. When it is time for registration to open, there will be lots of info posted.
Who Can Join? HCHA members must either be homeschooling one child or seriously considering homeschooling within the year. Also, parents who have graduated students, and no longer have children at home to homeschool, are welcome to join as Alumni, because we value their wisdom and experience.
Am I obligated to do anything once I join? You are not required to attend any events or activities- HCHA is a buffet of choices that you choose from, according to what suits your family. Each family is asked to volunteer in some way at one event of their choosing during the school year. There are a variety of ways to be helpful at an event. We have found that participating in events is the best way to get to know people and make connections, so we encourage you to get involved! If you choose to participate in the Fall or Spring Enrichment Classes, you will be asked to help in some way as it only works through parental volunteering.
How long does my membership last? Membership runs from July to July, regardless of the date joining. All members will be asked to renew in July of each year. Those that choose not to complete the renewal process are deleted from the system.
What is the Membership fee for? HCHA uses membership funds to provide the various events throughout the school year, performing background checks for members of the Board and Enrichment class teachers, securing insurance, fees for use of facilities, supplies and more. We feel our membership fee is reasonable for the service we provide, however, we do have a limited number of scholarships available for families in need, and single parents. (Scholarships need to be pre-approved and applications can be found on the website's homepage.)
Is HCHA an umbrella school? We are not an umbrella school, as we provide no oversight at all of your homeschool choices. We do not require certain curriculum, methods of teaching, or keep grades or transcripts. (We do have wise people who can offer advice and information)
Is HCHA a Co-Op? That might depend on your definition of Co-Op. If it just means "Co-operative" of families, well, then yes. We all cooperate together to assist one another in creating a full, homeschool journey. But more commonly, people use the term "Co-Op" to mean a group of families that come together on a specified day of the week, to share the load of teaching each others' kids certain subjects, and we do not all do that. Some of our members have joined together to form co-ops. These are not in competition with HCHA, they are just groups that serve the needs of those homeschool families. We do offer our 8-week Enrichment Classes on a large scale, using volunteer parent teachers. Participating in EC is optional, has additional fees (beyond regular membership fee) and is a co-op style of classes, where parents do the teaching, and all parents are expected to help somehow.
What do I have to do to Join? To complete the membership process you will need to fill out the application/member profile containing a medical release, pay the membership invoice that will be sent to you, and after approval, select an event at which you can volunteer from our website calendar.
Please review the HCHA Handbook at the TERMS OF SERVICE link below.