School Board Registration Types

What is...

Traditional/Basic Homeschooling?

Traditional or basic homeschooling is when your child’s entire program falls under the Home Education regulations. This means that the program is set up by you and that the facilitator’s job is just to make sure your child is getting some sort of education. You get to decide the content of your child’s subjects, how evaluations will take place, etc. You also are guaranteed at least 50% of the government’s funding to the school board for home educated students.

Despite some existing confusion on the matter, you can still follow the Alberta Program of Studies (APS) and be a traditional/basic homeschooler. It simply means that the APS is your child’s program plan for the year, but it is still all up to you how the program is met, how evaluations are done, etc. If you are planning on following the APS, the school boards may try to encourage you to go blended or fully provided (see below)—do this only if you want to; it is not by any means a requirement.

Families who choose this option usually have a desire to just do things as they see fit and want the flexibility that traditional home education offers.

Blended Homeschooling?

Blended homeschooling is when a portion (usually at least 50%) of your program falls under the home education regulations and the other portion under the regular schooling section of the School Act. Technically, the board is responsible for part of your program (which is definitely APS, therefore you are expected to meet the outcomes) and you are responsible, through the home education regulations, for the rest. How this is played out depends a lot on the board with some boards allowing you to meet the outcomes as you see fit and other boards sending out assignments. Regardless of board, there is usually a greater amount of accountability required on your part.

Registering as blended means more funds—your program only consists of some home education, in the government’s eyes, so a portion of your program funding would come from home education funding and the other portion would be from ‘regular’ school funding. Some families choose this option for the extra funding and/or because of the extra support and guidance that blended provides.

Fully Provided/Aligned Homeschooling?

Fully provided or aligned is another type of homeschooling whose format depends on the board. Essentially, you do not fall anywhere under the home education regulations and how you work things out with the board for your home program depends on the board, and at times, the facilitator. You are expected to meet all requirements for the Alberta Program of Studies. None of your funding comes from the government’s home education funding but from the regular funding assigned for students registered in schools. As with blended, some families choose this option for the extra funding or extra support.

Online Homeschooling?

Online programs such as LearnNet, St. Andrews and St. Gabriel Cyber school do not fall under the home education regulations and are similar to fully provided, but with even greater accountability required. The student is given specific work to do by his/her teacher within a certain time limit. The parents’ job is to help the student in any way necessary to get the work done, and it is expected that all of it be done. However, it is the teacher on the other side of the online schooling which does all the correcting and grading. It is, essentially, correspondence through the computer. For boards offering funding, since this doesn’t fall under home education regulations, any funding offered is from regular school funding.

By D.D. 2005