Charter or PSA?

If you are thinking about homeschooling, but you don't know if you should go it alone or get help from a charter, then listen to this episode where I will discuss the differences between the two and why you might choose one over the other. 

Transcript

Welcome to Homeschool Horizons! I’m Yvette, your host! Today I’ve decided to talk about why we homeschool moms sometimes choose a charter vs PSA and vice versa. 

So, if you have been listening to my podcasts you know that I have been with a charter for 6 years now.  And I was actually without one for 1 whole year. I would say that I personally never consciously decided that I would be with a charter instead of filing a PSA. I fell into it when I attended a Homeschool Conference back when my oldest son was 5 yrs old. As I continued being in the charter, I would meet other moms who were not with a charter because they had filed a PSA. 

So why choose one over the other?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, that I chose to stay with the charter because of the money! That money helps me out immensely. I am able to enroll my sons in classes that I cannot afford to pay out of my own pocket. I also really enjoy having access to all of the vendors that sign up with that charter. 

I have heard other moms talk about the fact that they like that their child will be state tested with the charter. For me, that is something that I could do without. I don’t find it necessary for my boys to be tested. However, we do it because it is one of the requirements of the charter. A charter also provides many services such as IEP’s. Once a child is tested through the IEP process, he/she can receive any services that they need through the charter. 

I had an IEP done for one of my son’s when he was 7 yrs old and it helped us a lot. He tested negative for all of the major learning disabilities, but they offered him help anyway because they could tell that he had trouble following directions (he was my child that thought he could teach me how to do everything and it was a huge barrier to my teaching him and him learning), but my charter came in and offered a teacher that would work with him with his writing once a week via Zoom. This happened to also be during covid. So once a week, he would be in the Zoom meeting with her, and I would listen, because I was curious as to how she was gonna get him to listen to her tell him what he needed to do. I ended up learning a lot myself. It helped me learn how to talk to him whenever I was presenting information or direction on how to do whatever assignment he was doing. It made a huge difference in my teaching style with him and he learned how to follow directions way better than he ever had. It was a huge win/win for us both.  

So there are many reasons like those I have talked as to why I really do like charters, but there are many people that choose do homeschool on their own without a charter. I mean some states don’t even offer charters. Or you may be in a country that doesn’t offer any type of assistance if you want to homeschool. I know that here in the U.S., there are also states that do offer free or very low-cost classes and activities for homeschoolers. 

Our state requires that if you are not going to be with a charter, then you must file a PSA which is the Private School Affidavit. Filing a PSA means that you are going to homeschool on your own, without any assistance or interference from the state. People choose this option for many reasons. Some do not want anything to do with anything that is connected to the government. If you want to use a completely religious curriculum, you have the freedom to do so. If you want to unschool, you can! If you want to travel the world with your child while you homeschool them, you can! In fact, here is a list I found on homeschool planning.com by a blogger named Jenn that covers many of the homeschooling styles out there that you can do when you file that PSA. The list is long! You can read that on your own, because I will have it at the bottom of this transcript.  There are just so many different ways to homeschool and when you aren’t with a charter, you have the option to try any of those different ways until you find the right fit for your family. 

The bottom line is that homeschooling without a charter gives you complete freedom. But I want to add that if you decide to use a charter, that doesn’t mean you lose all of your freedom. You can still choose to homeschool in many of the ways spelled out in the list below. The main difference is that you do have to submit samples of your child’s assignments when you’re with a charter. And those assignments have to meet the standard requirements of that charter. For that reason, you would not be able to use some of the homeschooling methods on the list as submissions. But you could still use those methods and simply not submit those particular assignments. 

I hope I haven’t confused you too much! I know it’s a lot of information and it is very overwhelming at the beginning of your journey.  I want to reassure you that either way, whether you decide to file a PSA and homeschool on your own or you decide to sign up with a charter you are still making the best decision for you child, when you decide to homeschool them. It has been the best decision I have ever made! Believe me, since making that decision 7 years ago, there have been many days when I have thought about sending them to public school! Those are the hard days that we all have as homeschool moms. But, overall, I know I made the right decision and I keep making that decision year after year because I know it’s the right fit for my sons. 

Now, once you’ve made your decision, then what? When I decided to homeschool my sons through a charter, then I had to decide what curriculum I was going to use. 

I will share that with you next week on Episode 7!  Remember to tune in and follow me! Thank you so much for your support in listening to my podcast. Have a wonderful week! Talk you soon!

1.Charlotte Mason homeschool style

2.Classical homeschooling method

3.Traditional/School at home 

4.Eclectic style of homeschooling

5.Literature-based homeschooling method

6.Online Schooling

7.Unschooling

8.Hybrid/University Model

9.Montessori style of homeschool

10.Unit Study homeschool method

11. Project-based homeschooling

12. Gameschool

13. Relaxed type of homeschooling

14. Waldorf homeschool style

15. Roadschooling

16. Worldschooling

17.DIY curriculum approach

And a bonus Deschooling