FAQs

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Starting your homeschooling adventure can be exhilarating, freeing, and terrifying all at the same time! Suddenly you are completely responsible to be sure that all of your child's educational needs are being met. While this might seem an overwhelming task, it is not as complicated as it sounds! When beginning, here are some good starting points. 

TESTING

Each year, at Branch, we offer year-end testing, paid for by the parents. We use the CAT test, which is usually $25 per year. We use the untimed, paper test. You can use the online version if you send in a laptop. The testing day will usually happen in April. You can find information about more testing options here.

DRIVERS ED 

What about drivers ed? Your student can sign up through the pubic high school that your child would be assigned to. It will be around $65 per student. Just contact your high school for more information. You can also opt for private lessons, which takes a lot less time, but is much more expensive. You will need to order a driving certificate through the North Carolina Department of Non-Public Education. You will need to sign in to your homeschool account to order the certificate here. Once your child has completed the driving portion of drivers ed, they will need to give this certificate to the instructor for them to sign. They will need this to apply for the driver's permit at the DMV. Branch is unrelated to this process, it is completed as your homeschool as the school

SPORTS

What options are there for sports? For younger students, you can play for the YMCA, different city leagues, church leagues, and more. For middle and high school students, there are several options. Several private schools allow home school students to play on their teams. Covenant Classical is one of those schools, but there may be more! You just need to call around. There are home school leagues in our area, also. This page has listings for many different leagues. 

HIGH SCHOOL CREDITS AND GRADUATION

Many parents have questions about how to home school through high school. As the home school parent, your journey will look different from others. Some families choose the traditional route of 4 years of high school and then graduation. Some choose to do 2 years of high school followed by 2 years of dual enrollment, or some combination of both. Some students prefer to finish some classes through our co-op, rather than taking them at the college, but take the rest of the classes at the community college. Dual enrollment offers 2 pathways. One offers the opportunity to earn a 2-year degree while still in high school. The other allows your student to earn a certificate in the field of their choice. Both are amazing opportunities, but I personally suggest a career-based path. The main reason for this is because kids of that age frequently change their minds. This path will allow them hands-on experience to decide if this path is right for them or not. In the end, they will have a certificate to go into the workforce, or they can choose to continue on with college. Some of the classes we offer qualify for college credit if you take the CLEP test after finishing the course.

Electives are another credit that many people are confused about. There are many to choose from, between languages, PE, health, and more. Some homeschooling families use everyday experiences that will count towards this credit. For example, cooking recipes together or care of the household chores may be counted as home economics and a credit given by the homeschooling family. But, other families want to be more official in adding those credits, for example, following a curriculum or taking a class. Either way is perfectly acceptable. By offering many choices on Thursdays, you will be able to manage what electives you feel are important in regards to your student. 

In the end, we will provide you with a high school transcript for your child, which you can add to if you need to. 

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Each day, we start with worship. This will last for approximately 30 minutes.

Kindergarten through 5th grade stays on the same schedule with each other, so that students can move up or down as needed, (ex: every class has math at 9 am, etc.).

From 7th grade and up, students rotate between classes/teachers. We have math teachers, English teachers, etc. The classes for this age group will be about 50-55 minutes per day. Students are given the opportunity to have a snack at 10 am. The older grades work through this snack time and do not take a break.

Lunch will be staggered with different start and end times, followed by recess. Each age group will have 1 hour for lunch and recess. 

The day runs from 8:15-2:45

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Branch is a drop off program. You will have to pick a job to complete for the year, and during registration you can pick the one that best fits your family. You may work at the co-op, and we do need more teachers! This is not a requirement. On Monday through Wednesday, we will teach the kids and give assignments for Thursday and Friday. Those are required and need to be turned in on Monday.  You will have to help your child complete these, you are the teacher on Thursday and Friday, but they should have what they need to complete the work. Most of the high school teachers also provide lots of notes to help the student on those days. They can sign up for Thursday classes and there will be homework opportunities on that day!

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At Concord

Students may arrive at 7:50 am for the regular co-op day. We will open at 7:00am, only if you notify us that you need before hours care. Pickup ends at 2:55. If you need care after this time, we will be available until 5:00pm. Before and after hours care needs to be arranged 1 week in advance, and is $5 per hour per student. This needs to be paid, in cash, to the adult in charge of before and after hours care. 
 

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Teacher contact information can be found here here

School contact information can be found here here

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Our goal for co-op is to have a fun-filled learning experience. We are a close-knit group that does a lot of life together! We will have things that we have to work through together, and we want to honor God in all that we do. We will not tolerate gossiping, bullying, or complaining. We expect this from the parents, also!  We want to teach them about mutual honor and respect. We ask that you, as the parents, help us teach the kids to turn problems over to the Lord first, and then work it through with the person, in love. If this does not work, we ask that you bring the problem to leadership. Remember, we can’t deal with issues that we don’t know about! Help us help you! This is a learning process for all of us, and we appreciate your willingness to walk with us through this. 

We have a zero-tolerance for bullying, name-calling, and physical altercations. We also do not tolerate students disrupting the learning environment. It is possible that you will be called to pick up your student if one of these situations arises. If a student brings or participates in an activity that includes, but not limited to, cigarettes/vaping, alcohol, or drug activity, they will be expelled. These activities are completely unacceptable. 

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Each grade has a curriculum fee, yearly, at the beginning of the year. This is a non-refundable fee. You can find the fees when you click on "Class Registration" from the home page. 

There is a once a year nonrefundable registration fee, per family, $500. In order to hold your spot in the co-op, you will need to pay the registration fee and 25% percent of your student's curriculum fees. On July 1st, the rest of the book fees are due

Membership fees 

1st student

$3300 per year, broken up into 10 equal payments

$3100 per year, paid by August 1st

Each additional student in the family

$2800 per year, broken up into 10 equal payments

$2600 per year, paid by August 1st

THESE FEES ARE NON REFUNDABLE

We have an all day Thursday option, that will give students a chance to work on their homework, as well as sign up for extracurricular classes. All class fees are determined by the individual instructor, and will be paid directly to them. 

Lunch is $5 per lunch ordered.  There is also a whole year option to purchase lunches, and the cost is $450 per person at the Concord location. Once you sign up for lunches, there are no refunds or transfers to other days. Because we have to purchase the food ahead of time, payment is required upon sign up.

There will be field trips throughout the year, and additional fees will be the responsiblity of each family, if you desire to go.

We do have fund raising opportunities throughout the school year, and some of those can be applied to some of these fees

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You can pay the homeschool life website, zelle to branchhighschool@gmail.com or by check, payable to Branch Christian Academy and mailed to PO Box 2043, Concord, NC 28026. Once school begins, monthly fees can also be paid by cash or check at the school.