JCS Pine Valley Home Study (TK-12)
About Our Home Study Program
Parents who wish to play a significant role in their student’s education may choose the home study program. JCS Pine Valley Home Study provides the most flexibility for students and parents, but also requires the greatest responsibility and self-direction. Students work primarily at home under the guidance of their parents to learn content and complete assignments created by credentialed teachers. Older students have weekly online check-ins with a mentor and monthly meetings with their teachers to turn in work, and receive new assignments. Support and tutoring along with access to classes are all available at varying levels based on the interest and the needs of our home study families.
Educational Facilitators
In the Home Study program the parent is the primary supervisor and support of the student’s education, however, students are provided with a California accredited teacher who meets with them once every 20 days. At JCS, we call these teachers Educational Facilitators or EFs. Students and parents meet with their EF once every 20 days for a minimum of one hour. Together they review assignments, discuss problems or areas of concern, and then plan the next month’s assignments. While students only meet in person with their EF once every 20 days, EFs are available regularly to remotely support both students and parents.
In addition to being supported by an EF, High School students are assigned to a credentialed subject area teacher for core subjects. Upon enrollment, an EF will meet with each family to determine supplemental items, activities, or materials that are educational in nature and needed to support learning, such as music lessons, athletics, etc., and these will be provided on a case-by-case basis. These JCS specialists are available to assist with the assignment and evaluation of work as well as consultation and tutoring throughout the semester. The JCS Home Study program offers many support resources to aid in the success of each student.
Some of the resources we currently offer include:
Field Trips
Our families have access to our resource center for pick up or home delivery of items. Take a look at the Resource web page for more information.
Winter Project: Project Week
Students pick a project from a favorite area of focus including Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Community Service, or Passion Project. Students then complete an in-depth project choosing one of many options from the project week website including an option to design their own project. Our project galleries showcasing the wonderful learning is a favorite annual event.
Home Study Frequently Asked Questions
Students learn at home under the supervision of a parent and the support of credentialed teachers and community partners.
Parents choose to home study for a number of reasons.
- For additional one on one support from a parent
- To work at a faster or more challenging pace
- For more flexibility to participate in extracurricular activities (club sports, acting, etc.)
- For social reasons such as extreme anxiety or past bullying experiences
- For health reasons including refusal to vaccinate
- For personal beliefs and values
We feel that this opportunity to see your children’s strengths and needs can lead your family into an educational journey of confidence and growth.
Parents and the Educational Facilitator (EF) together review the needs of the student and determine the assignments based on California standards. High school students receive assignments from subject area specialists.
While an EF is a tremendous help for families, ultimately the parent is the child’s parent-teacher. This includes providing a workspace that is conducive to learning, creating a routine for students, facilitating, and grading lessons.
Parents are provided answer keys and are responsible for grading work that is paper based. Some work is completed using technology and is often automatically graded. High School students have specific benchmark assignments that are turned into a teacher and graded.
JCS Pine Vally has worked hard to choose and adapt curriculum that can be used successfully in a home study environment. The EF will partner with the parent to select a grade-level curriculum that will help your child succeed.
While parent choice is given strong consideration when selecting curriculum, it must be secular (non-religious) and meet the Common Core Standards.
Resources can be ordered from the Resource Center and be sent to your home or be picked up at Pine Valley Academy.
Every child and family is different, but you should expect a student to spend at least four hours per day learning.
Because each student is different, a typical day may look different from one family to the next. Families find the flexibility to create a schedule that works best for them very appealing and allows them to explore unique interests through lessons, classes, and study trips.
Parent and student will continue to meet with their EF every learning period, approximately every 20 school days. EF will arrange a place where you can meet for your monthly meetings.
Yes. It is our desire to keep families with the same EF.
Students in grades 6-12 are welcome to take one or two classes at the academy.
At JCS Pine Valley, home study students can attend field trips and several all school events like our back to school celebration, fall festival, family nights, book fairs, and more. Middle/High school students can also participate in our coed intramural sports and 6th-grade camp. Our TK-5th home study students have the option of attending our Friday Learning Center classes. These half-day enrichment classes give students the opportunity to be in a classroom setting with students of similar ages.
JCS Pine Valley does not “offer funds” of any kind. The EF and parent work together to determine what is needed for a particular child’s education. The EF requests the additional lessons or tutoring with an explanation for authorization. Parents will then be provided with the information on which Educational Enrichment Partner has been vetted and approved for classes.
The EF is source of great support. They can provide guidance and additional resources to a parent. High school students also have access to subject area specialists.
Tutoring can be provided through our Community Partners and high school students can attend office hours with their subject area specialists.
We have an intervention process that identifies struggling students and provides additional support to help them accomplish grade level expectations.
It is essential to our authorizers that we demonstrate student growth. For the continuation of our charter and the need for our school to measure student progress, we ask all students in grades 3-11 to participate in State Testing.
- Students in grades K, complete a Kindergarten Inventory assessment.
- Students take a reading and math assessment in grades 1-6
- Students in grades 2-11, take a computerized assessment called MAP (Measures of Academic Progress).
The EF with the parent determines the grades for students in TK-8th. The EF and specialist determine grades for high school students.
Home study students are not required to be immunized; however, if a student wishes to attend the learning center, they must be fully immunized.
If there is room, a student can transfer to an academy. Some grade levels have a waitlist, so the student will be added to the waitlist.
Yes. If a student is diligent in learning and the parent works closely with the EF, we would expect a student to be prepared for the next grade level.