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Vital Academy is a faith-based group. All of our co-op classes are taught from a Christian perspective. Your students may read the Bible and pray in any of their classes. This will not apply to some classes, but there are some that you can expect this each Friday. We are representatives of Christ not only in our homes, at events, and elsewhere; but also at Co-op. All parents will be held to Christ-like standards in and out of the classroom and expected to represent Christ in their tones, words, and actions with students as well as other parents while on campus, and at all other events and activities as well. 

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YES! You can choose our GROUP ONLY option and then homeschool through the county or another umbrella school. You are then a part of our community and able to participate as much as you like. You can also choose our umbrella option and while you're automatically added to our support group, you are not required to participate in any events or activities we offer. 

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TheHomeschoolMom

Celebrate Simple

FPEA

HSLDA

Florida Statutes

Confessions of a Homeschooler

Florida High School Athletics Association

Vital Academy Facebook Page

Outschool 

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Vital Academy's co-op is parent-led; a CO-OPerative effort by everyone involved to offer enrichment classes to all of our students. It takes a strong commitment on your part to join our co-op. Every parent is required to volunteer as either a helper or teacher in order for your students to participate in any classes we offer. The classes we are able to offer depend completely on what the parents are willing to teach. Examples of past classes include Ballet, Karate, STEM, Munchable Math, Spanish, Digital Photography, Volleyball, Medieval Times and so much more. Class offerings change with each semester, depending on what our parents would like to teach.

Classes are held at Vital Church in Oviedo for 8 weeks in the Fall and 8 weeks in the Spring. We meet on Friday mornings during the semester.  Our classes are one hour long, and at this time we offer two hours of classes to choose from. We ask that any family who participates in Co-op to sign up for both hours of classes to help with the organization process.

In addition to parents serving as a teacher or a helper (you will never be required to teach, but please do keep in mind the more parents who teach = the more classes we can offer to our students), parents will be placed on a rotation to be the "back up helper" 1-2 times per semester as well as assigned to an area to clean up after co-op is over. All of this information will be finalized after registration closes and given to those participating in co-op. Keep an eye out on the calendar for registration to open. 

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Our co-op is only open to current members of Vital Academy. You must be a member of our group or our umbrella in order for your family to join co-op. Every member of Vital Academy is not a part of our co-op; it is up to each family if they’d like to join or not. There is an $8 fee once a year (included in your annual family fee each year) per parent involved. This covers our required yearly background check.  After the required background check fee, there is a $10 per student per class fee that covers the entire semester for class supplies. This fee is given to the teachers as their budget for the semester and to cover some fees. Our teachers are not paid above this budget, it is a volunteer role. 

INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR CO-OP? AFTER you've joined Vital Academy (requested membership, paid the $70 and received an email confirming you're approved), you can let us know you're interested in joining our co-op at the following link: https://www.homeschool-life.com/2650/iform/69028

*There are no refunds once background checks are submitted OR within 3 weeks of semester's start date
 

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In addition to serving as either a helper or teacher during the entire semester, parents are also put on our backup helper rotation as well as our cleaning schedule. Each of us are to make sure our assigned area of the church is clean before leaving for the day. With everyone involved, cleaning should take a maximum of 10 minutes after class each Friday. You should only need to serve 1-2 times the entire semester for our back up helper rotation, but we do ask that you be available to serve both hours of co-op on your scheduled day. Days that you are not scheduled on the rotation, you are only required to serve the one hour.

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Your first step is to become a member of Vital Academy. You'll need to click on REQUEST MEMBERSHIP on the home page. Once you've joined and are approved, you'll be able to see a list of available classes in our members only section, "CLASS REGISTRATION".

IMPORTANT!!! The co-op is limited due to space restraints. Just because you become a member of Vital Academy does NOT guarantee your family a spot in the co-op. When spots become available, current members have the option to join the co-op. 

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It is important that all families with high school students interested in Vital Academy understand that we are NOT accredited. Vital Academy recommends you either register with their county or with an accredited non-traditional private school when they begin high school. We do not provide transcript services. Colleges typically equate transcript validation with an accredited private school.

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There are additional requirements as a private school student  versus a homeschooled student through your county. It is easier to get approved for Bright Futures when your student is registered with the county as a homeschool for their 11th and 12th grade year. The only requirements for a county homeschooler are BF required test scores and volunteer hours. For 11th and 12th grade students registered under an umbrella school, BF requirements change. In addition to BF required test scores and volunteer hours, these students would also be required to take certain classes and maintain a certain GPA. Visit Brightfutures.com for more information. Because of this, Vital Academy recommends all high school students, especially 11th and 12th grade students interested in receiving the Bright Futures scholarship, to register with your county as a homeschool student. 

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Homeschool students in 6-12th grade can participate in dual enrollment FOR FREE and potentially have those college courses count as a high school credit. HOWEVER, if your student is under our umbrella, your student is considered a non-traditional private school student. While he/she can still dual enroll, you would have to pay for books for their college courses. There are requirements, you can find more information about dual enrollment here:http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5421/urlt/DualEnrollmentFAQ.pdf

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At this time, we are unable to provide transcript services. It is the parent's responsibility to keep up with credits needed and earned, create a transcript and be sure it is in alignment with Bright Futures and Florida high school requirements. The parent IS able to submit a completed transcript to academy@vitalorlando.com for us to transfer all info provided to our transcript form. HOWEVER, each parent needs to understand that we cannot provide direction or suggestions on how accurate or complete the transcript is. Also, the parent needs to remember that Vital Academy is not accredited. That may not come into play at any point, but should it come up with colleges or Bright Futures, we cannot validate this transcript since we are not accredited. 

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I have posted LOTS of info below directly from fpea.com. To summarize, if you choose to homeschool through your county, you need to turn in your letter of intent to your county’s homeschool office. You will then need to keep a portfolio throughout the year and have an evaluation done at the end of your school year. Be sure to keep this portfolio for 2 years. They may request to see it, giving you a 15 day notice. If you choose to homeschool through an umbrella school, you do NOT submit a letter of intent to your county’s homeschool office. If you homeschooled through the county previously and choose to go with an umbrella for the next school year, you need to terminate your homeschool program. You will then need to follow the guidelines that umbrella school sets forth. I can only give you Vital Academy’s guidelines – each umbrella school is different. We are a non-traditional private school registered with the Florida Department of Education (school code 7165). This does NOT mean we are accredited with FL DOE. We are not accredited and at this time have no plans of becoming accredited. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS please see additional info in our FAQ section. To be covered under our umbrella you will need to register as an umbrella student then submit the following:

1. Birth Certificate
2. Shot Records or Exemption Form
3. School Entry Physical Exam (dated within one year)
4. Vital Academy’s Registration Form (online)

You will then need to report attendance on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis. You will need to report 180 days of school within a 12 month period. It’s VERY IMPORTANT that you understand that even though we are a ‘private’ school, you are still completely responsible for your child’s education. You are their teacher, and you are required to make sure your child receives a proper education.

Directly from FPEA:

Home education, as defined by Florida law, is “sequentially progressive instruction of a student directed by his or her parent or guardian in order to satisfy the requirements of Statute 1003.21 and 1002.41.” The law is broad, giving parents quite a bit of freedom to direct their child’s education. Children of all ages are home-educated across the state, and many are entering college straight from their courses of study at home.

Home education is one of five ways to satisfy Florida’s compulsory attendance law. Statute 1003.01 (13) gives parents the choice of achieving regular school attendance through one of these provisions:

• Public school
• Parochial, religious or denominational school
• Private school
• Home-education program
• Private tutoring program

Four of these options are in the private sector — ultimately parents choose the setting, curriculum, opportunities and educational experiences. In all cases, a child turning 6 before February 1 of the school year is subject to compulsory attendance and must attend school regularly the entire term.

Home-Education Program: Florida Statute 1002.41

Under this statute, parents who choose to teach and direct the education of their own children at home must notify their district school superintendent and meet all requirements of this law. The child must show educational progress each year. Students registered with the school district are, by law, home education students. The parent must keep a portfolio rather than records of instructional hours or days of attendance each year.

Private Schools: Florida Statute 1003.23 (2) ***THIS OPTION IS WHAT VITAL ACADEMY IS IF YOU CHOOSE OUR UMBRELLA COVERING***

Parents may choose to register their children in a private school (parochial, religious, denominational or nontraditional). The school is responsible for keeping attendance records and enrollment registers.Students registered in one of these schools are, by law, private school students, not home education students.

Private Tutoring Program: Florida Statute 1002.43

Parents may choose to hire a private tutor to educate their children. The law requires a tutor to hold a Florida certificate in the grades and subjects in which instruction is given.

Note: To clarify the status of any legal information, contact your FPEA District Director or local homeschool group leader.

How Do I Comply with Homeschool Law?

The parent is not required to be a certified teacher or have any educational qualifications. As the parent, you are the primary instructor for, and supervisor of, your child’s education. Supplementary instruction through other activities is permissible and encouraged, including extracurricular athletic or music activities, Florida Virtual School, part-time enrollment at a public or private school, or dual enrollment in a college or university.

People often ask if it is legal to teach other people’s children. If someone else becomes a child’s primary instructor and directs the child’s education whether in the home or not, and if the instruction takes place daily and consistently, then the instructor must hold a valid Florida teaching certificate in the subjects and grades being taught. Legally, this type of teaching falls under private tutoring (see page 25). However, this does not preclude someone with primary responsibility for the child from home-educating the child. The definition of “parent” in Statute 1000.21(5) “is either or both parents of a student, any guardian of a student, or any person in a parental relationship to a student, or any person exercising supervisory authority over a student in place of the parent.”

Is Kindergarten Mandatory?

Kindergarten is mandatory only if you will be enrolling your child in a public school for first grade. Placement is determined by the principal, and even if you have documented kindergarten and turned in an evaluation, the principal still can decide to have your child repeat kindergarten.

Unless a parent is absolutely sure the child will be home educated in first grade, the safest route is to register your child with the county for kindergarten. You would then be required by law to turn in an evaluation for that year.

Some school districts will not allow a child to be registered for kindergarten for home education. Check with your school district regarding what process might be used if the child was not home educated for kindergarten and was to be enrolled in a public school for first grade. The school, for example, might assess the child after a month or two and move the child into first grade.

If a child is registered for kindergarten, the school would require proof that your child has satisfactorily completed a kindergarten program, so an evaluation would need to be submitted to the school district. Some private schools may also require this. Entry into any grade beyond first will not require proof of kindergarten but may require demonstration of minimum skills for the grade entered.

FL Statutes for homeschooling through the county: http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2017/1002.41

FL Statutes for homeschooling under an umbrella covering (private school): http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2017/1002.42

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No, Vital Academy is registered with the Florida Department of Education as a non-traditional private school. Our school code is 7165, listed as Vital Academy. However, this does NOT mean we are accredited.