PA HOMESCHOOL EVALUATIONS

We provide PA homeschool evaluations through an unschooling lens. We support families who are leaning into child-led learning practices, those who are already living unschooled lives, and those who are considering a transition towards more child-led + unschooling practices in their homeschooling. All of our evaluators are former/current educators and unschooling parents. Our evaluations are virtual so we can support any family across the state!

 

Our evaluation process is grounded in the following beliefs:

• The most valuable learning experiences are directed by the young person and supported by their community (family is community!).

• Authentic learning looks a whole lot of different ways depending on the young person, their interests and passions, and the life and experiences they are living.

• Life is interdisciplinary and not always neatly organized into subjects.

• Self-reflection practices that guide future intentions outweigh having an outsider come in to evaluate "how well" someone is learning and growing.

• Unschoolers can simply meet PA homeschool legal requirements, and we are here to help!

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The Process

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Prior to the Eval meeting, families will submit a digital portfolio for each of their young people. The portfolio should include:

• Attendance showing 180 days (a calendar with days checked off)

• Reading log (a sampling of books, magazines, podcasts, youtube videos, curriculum and other media used for learning)

• About 10 learning samples (pictures with descriptions!)

• Standardized test score for young people in grades 3, 5, and 8.

 

During the Eval Meeting, young people and their caregiver will meet with an unschool-supportive evaluator with some of the following intentions:

• Introduce and get to know each other a bit

• Look at the portfolio together and talk about different experiences; young people can share as much or as little as they feel comfortable

• Some guided reflection on what went well, what was challenging, favorite experiences, etc.

• Support in setting one new intention for the next homeschool year.

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This Year's Add-On Invitation: Families will have the opportunity to add on a 30-minute unschooling consulting session with their evaluator. Fee $0-50.

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This time can be used to:

• Unpack worries and fears around unschooling

• Better understand unschooling practices and discuss how they could be better implemented in your family

• Reflect on practices that are working well

• Learn new tools and practices to support unschooling

• Outline some clear intentions and practices for the new year

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After the unschooling consultation, we'll send an email recapping what we discussed and share more resources, tools, readings and more to support your unschooling transition and journey.

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After the EVal meeting, we'll send your evaluation letter via email within 24 hours, and you'll submit it to your school district by June 30th (deadline) to officially close your homeschool year. (The beginning of the year paperwork is then due to your district by August 1!)

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2022-23 Sliding Scale* Pricing

Elementary: $0-$60*

(meeting + evaluation letter)

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Secondary: $0-$75*

(meeting + evaluation letter + transcript support)

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Graduation/Evaluator Signed Diploma: $0-$100* 

(meeting + transcript/portfolio review + evaluation letter + signed diploma)

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PHAA: $0-$175*

(meeting + transcript creation + narrative evaluation letter + follow up support)

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*Accessibility is super important to us.

 Accessibility is super important to us! Our payment system doesn't allow a sliding scale, so we have coupon codes this year, hoping that families with more will pay more, thus enabling us to offer free and lower cost opportunities for those who need them.

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• SLIDE100 (free service): for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. 25 spots.

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• SLIDE60 (60% off service): For those who're low income, no savings, have minimal expendable income each month, and who couldn't otherwise afford the service without this option.

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• SLIDE30 (30% off service): For those who are low to mid-income, with some money in savings and/or financial support from family; has some expendable income each month.

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• Full price (no coupon code use): For those who're mid- to high- income/stably employed, with savings and/or financial safety net; can afford to take vacations and make other large purchases with relative ease.

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• Donation Invitation: for those who're upper class and/or have benefited from intergenerational wealth. If you care about helping to make our services more accessible to lower income families, please consider making a donation to our equity fund on PayPal (hello@thedandelionproject.us) or Venmo (@TheDandelionProject). 

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((Sliding scale language inspired by Margeaux Feldman at www.margeauxfeldman.com))

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Don't hesitate to reach out in the meantime at homeschool@thedandelionproject.us!