Homeschooling

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted The Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. Article 26: Right to Education states in Part 3, “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.”

In Ontario, there are some legal requirements that have been put in place to ensure all children receive a satisfactory education. Though your relationship with your local board will be different than if your child were attending a funded school, you will still have some interaction with them. By following some basic guidelines, you can have a positive relationship with your local board.

In Ontario, home educators must submit a letter of intent to their local school board in order to homeschool their children. A letter of intent provides basic statistical information about the homeschooled student, as well as the contact information of the family. Submitting this form is only a legal requirement if your student has attended a funded school before being homeschooled. However, even if it’s not a legal requirement for your situation, it is a courtesy. Be sure to keep a copy of these forms in your records for reference. You may also wish to send a copy of the letter to the local school’s principal to ensure it is communicated to all necessary parties. This letter of intent should be sent to the local school board each year

You have the right to homeschool in Ontario. However, provincial school boards also have the duty of ensuring that every child in their jurisdiction receives their right to an education. These conflicting rights and duties can result in challenges for families who choose to homeschool. Therefore, it is best to ensure you have the legal protection you need by being a member of a recognized homeschool legal support group. There are multiple legal support groups for you to choose from: the Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents, the Ontario Christian Home Educators’ Connection, and the Home School Legal Defence Association of Canada

There are many different ways to approach education, so never be afraid to use a variety of styles and take note of the ones that work best for your student. Different approaches allow students to build knowledge in different ways. Remember to record what you teach, the methods you use, how successful you felt the experience was, and which processes work best for you and your family. Document as much as you can about your student’s progress and your approaches to best support your developing practice.

Ontario homeschooling families may refer to the Ontario curriculum documents. These documents are utilized in publicly funded schools in Ontario where students build concepts and learn skills that prepare them for secondary school. VES courses align with the Ontario curriculum and can easily be used with other content resources to build out a homeschool curriculum.

The structure and activities you do each day are up to you. You can move as quickly or as slowly as you like through concepts or skills depending on how your student progresses. You get to design and present the knowledge that is important to you and your learner each day.

Virtual Elementary School (VES) is an online course provider in the core areas of elementary courses. Our safe, online learning environment supports learners through engaging content aligned with the Ontario curriculum, while helping them to develop 21st century skills. VES courses can easily be used with other content resources to build out your homeschool curriculum.

Each VES course includes the following:

• Detailed course outline
• In-depth lesson content
• Practice activities
• Assessment tools
• Tools to track student achievement

VES also offers the option for you to have qualified teacher support in our facilitated courses. Your teacher will be responsible for the following:

• Answering content-based questions
• Marking activities and assignments
• Providing detailed feedback on coursework
• Submitting a progress report, midterm report, final report, and certificate of completion

If you have any questions about selecting VES as your homeschooling resource, please contact us.