Home Education Newsletter

The purpose of this newsletter is to share information with our home education family and provide resources and information you might need throughout the year. Please let us know if there is something you would like to see included in our fall newsletter. You can also visit the CCPS Home Education website anytime for current information.

The number of students in the home education program fluctuates throughout the year, but Collier County currently has 2,884 students participating in home education.

During the 2022-2023 school year, over 154,000 students in the state of Florida participated in Home Education. Find more information and resources at the Florida Department of Education's Home Education website.

Optimist Club of Naples Annual Spelling Bee Information

• The Spelling Bee is open to students in grades 6 – 8
• Date: Early March 2024 (final date will be provided later this fall)
• Time: 6:00 pm
• Location: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Administrative Center

If you are interested in more information regarding how students qualify and participate, please contact Nicole Paller @ pallen@collierschools.com

Students participating in Home Education can also take advantage of Dual Enrollment programs at FSW and FGCU. This means your child can earn college credit before completing high school.

Additional information, including eligibility requirements and contact information can be found at the links below.

• FSW - Florida Southwestern State College
• FGCU - Florida Gulf Coast University

You can access your child's state assessment results by logging into the Family Portal

For your child's access code please call the home education office.

For Parents - Ensure your child:

• Takes the practice tests on the FLDOE website
• Gets a good night's sleep
• Eats a good breakfast
• Arrives at the test site on time (or earlier!)
• Is dressed in layers for chilly classrooms

For Students:

• Read questions thoroughly
• Examine every answer choice
• Look for clue words
• Get a good night's rest
• Relax and take a breath if you get stuck

• Find additional information on the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) website
• Take a practice test ahead of time
• For elementary students, parents need to have ID to present at the front office
• Pencils, paper and calculators (if allowed) will be provided by the school
• Test security is high - leave cell phones and smart watches at home!

Home education students may participate in interscholastic extracurricular student activities in accordance with the provisions of F.S. 1006.15. Contact your zoned school's Activities Office for requirements. Find contact information for every school on the CCPS website.

Is your annual evaluation date coming up? If you are unsure of your home education "anniversary date," please email us and we will send you the information.

Annual evaluations can be emailed to: homeed@collierschools.com.

If you need an evaluator, please contact our office at the above email for a list of certified teachers.

All students returning to a Collier County Public School must go through centralized registration. The link for registration is https://www.collierschools.com/registration

Moved, completed your home education program, or going back to in-person school? Please complete the Termination of Home Education Program so we can remove you from our roster and notifications.

Additional resources:

• Completion affidavit template (not a diploma)
• GED information
• Requirements for a CCPS diploma and graduation

If you would prefer your child be enrolled in a full-time virtual program, the enrollment periods are currently open for the two programs below:

• eCollier Virtual Academy (window for spring semester closes December 4th)
• Florida Virtual School Full Time (window for spring semester closes November 9)

For high school students, remember that they will only receive a high school diploma if they are enrolled in a full-time brick and mortar or virtual school for at least the 2nd semester of their senior year and have met all other graduation requirements.

There are an infinite number of resources online to support Home Education programs, but we wanted to highlight a few of our recent favorites. If you have any suggestions or want to share your own favorites, please let us know! https://forms.office.com/r/8XdXZFdgvL

• Khan Academy - A website that offers short lessons in the form of videos for math, science and reading. They also an app called "Khan Academy Kids" that is geared for readers under 7 years old.
• Art for Kids Hub - A website and YouTube channel with guided art lessons for children
• Merlin Bird ID - A smartphone app that lets you identify birds by their calls
• EdHelper - A website that has printable worksheets
• CPALMS - An online toolbox of information, vetted resources, and interactive tools that helps educators effectively implement teaching standards. It is the state of Florida's official source for standards information and course descriptions.
• Kiwico - Educational and STEM projects
• PBS Kids - Eurriculum-based media
• ACCUPLACER - Free practice tests for Accuplacer, which helps colleges assess student readiness

The Florida Parent-Educators Association (FPEA) exists solely to serve homeschooling families in Florida. It executes that mission through support for the legal right to homeschool, local school board education and interaction, support group networking, a state convention, local conferences and events, informative communications, and individual encouragement. Find more information here - http://fpea.com/

In accordance with FS 1002.41, 1003.21, 1003.26, the District must monitor the appropriate enrollment of Home Education students for the purposes of compliance with attendance; including monitoring patterns of student non-attendance of which it becomes aware.

The committee will be comprised of the District’s contact person for Home Education and two parents who have been home educators for 3 or more years. The committee will review the portfolio of the student who has exhibited a pattern of non-attendance.

If you are interested in and are available to participate in the Home Education Portfolio Review Committee, please complete the application found on the link below.

Home Education Portfolio Review Committee Application - https://forms.office.com/r/ewux34yscJ

January 2023

May 2023

Email: HomeEd@collierschools.com
Website: www.collierschools.com/homeeducation
Location: 5775 Osceola Trail, Naples, FL, USA
Phone: 239-377-0522