Homeschooloers Hammer on Vo
Tech Door
by Howard Richman
Nineteen-year-old
Tim Lefnefki of MacDonald PA was a public school 11th-grader attending Western
Area Career Vocation Technical School to learn auto mechanics. Like other students at the Vo Tech, he spent
the other half of his school day at a public high school. (Vo Tech students normally attend the other
half-day at a public or private school.)
Tim had been
classified as LD (learning disabled).
His mother, Linda, hoping to bring up his academic skills, began to
homeschool him in October, 1996, with the understanding that Tim could continue
his auto mechanics classes at the public Vo Tech.
At first
everything went smoothly. But then in January Linda was told that Tim could no
longer attend the Vo Tech. She called
me and I urged her not to let the matter drop.
She then arranged a meeting with her assistant school superintendent
who, in turn, arranged a meeting between Linda and the school's psychologist to
put together a new educational plan for Tim.
As a result of these meetings, Tim is being allowed to continue at the
Vo Tech while Linda continues to homeschool him the other half day at home.
Linda is just
one of several mothers who are homeschooling half days and sending their high
school students the other half-days to public Vo Tech schools to learn a
trade. While some of these parents have
received initial rebuffs from the local school district or Vo Tech, no conflict
over homeschool access to Vo Tech schools has yet reached the courts or even
been appealed to the State Board of Education.
If a conflict
does go to court, it is likely that the homeschoolers would win. I can't find anything in the law which could
even be construed to exclude homeschoolers.
In general, the wording of the law appears to open Vo Tech schools to
part-time attendance by all residents.
Many private school students are already attending public vocational schools
half-time with their Vo Tech fees paid by their local public school
districts.
So, if you try
to enroll your homeschooled student at a Vo Tech but get refused, don't let the
matter drop. Be persistent and keep us
abreast of what you are doing. You may
not even have to go to the expense of going to court. One alternative could be to file an appeal with the State Board
of Education (Peter Garland, Chairperson, State Board of Education, 333 Market
St, Harrisburg PA 17126-0333.)
I once attended
a lecture by Paul Stevens, a lawyer from the Curtin and Heefner firm which
often represents school districts in court.
He urged school districts to let homeschoolers enroll in Vo Tech
programs. He argued that the chance of
a school district losing such a case in court was about 50-50, and that a
ruling against the districts could open public schools to homeschoolers in many
other ways as well. In general, he
urged that school districts let homeschoolers participate in any activities
that are already open to private school students.
Felicia Wallin's Experience
I know of
several homeschoolers who have had very positive experiences at local Vo
Techs. Felicia Wallin, who graduated
with a PHAA diploma in 1996, attended Warren County Career Center to study drafting
during her junior and senior years.
During her
junior year her class projects included taking apart machinery and drawing the
plans that would be necessary for making them.
One of her projects was a vice, another was a guitar tuner, and a third
was a one-pound vent such as is used on gas tanks of tanker trucks. For each project she drew the assembled
object and its constituent parts. Other
homeschoolers were amazed when she shared her drafting projects at a
homeschoolers' project fair.
Her Vo Tech
instructor was very pleased with her work.
He singled her out to receive a certificate of achievement for her
"enthusiastic efforts and accomplishments in the drafting/CAD
program." She was one of the only two students given awards by her teacher
that year.
Three weeks
into her senior year, the Vo Tech chose her, as one of their top students, to
participate in a co-op job from Betts Industries (makers of mostly parts for
tanker trucks) where she made various drawings using Autocad Release 12 on the
computer. She worked at Betts
throughout the year from 8 to 2 each day, and made $8 per hour while receiving
her Vo Tech grades from her boss at Betts.
Her grades from Betts were always quite high ranging from 96% to
100%.
As a result of
her success she received many honors
including a Pennsylvania Skills
Certificate from the PA Department of Education and an Outstanding Co-op Student of the Year award from her Vo Tech.
After
graduation, Betts Industries offered her a job as a drafting CAD operator, and
she works there to this day.
Andrea Bell's Experience
Andrea Bell
began to take Cosmetology classes at Seneca Highlands Area Vocational-Technical
school during the 1993-94 school year, her sophomore year. She attended classes every afternoon from
12:30 to 3:15 and scored very well on tests.
The next year she expanded to two separate cosmetology courses mornings and afternoons five days a week. In addition to this full schedule she continued her academic work at home with English, math and history courses. She had one of those years with no free time for herself.
At the end of
the year she was ranked first in her classes (based upon attendance, grades,
and practical work). She had also attained
the 1250 hours of practical work required in order to take the state
cosmetology license exam.
In a letter of
recommendation the supervisor of the cosmetology program, Nancy Nichols, wrote,
"As an instructor it is always a pleasure to have a student like Andrea
because she is such a good example and has a positive influence on the other
students."
At the end of
her junior year, Andrea took and passed the state cosmetology license
exam. Then she enrolled at Pensacola
Christian College as an early admission student. Now she is using her cosmetology skills to work her way through
college.
Bad Experiences
Not every
homeschooler's experience at Vo Tech schools has been positive. I have heard negative reports from many homeschoolers
about lack of discipline, teachers who don't care, drugs, poor attitudes by
students, and so on. The peer group at
the average Vo Tech school may actually be worse than the peer group at the
average public high school! Many
homeschoolers have been looking in other directions for vocational or technical
training.
Learning Construction at Home
Some
homeschoolers have learned their vocational skills from their parents. For example, Jeremy Brubaker (PHAA class of
1991) did his high school academic work with his mother in the morning and then
joined his father for afternoons in apprenticeship with Jim Brubaker
Construction where he learned the carpentry trade. At the PHAA graduation ceremony he gave a slide presentation in
which he showed a house taking shape as he and his father framed it in. Since graduation he has joined his father in
the construction business. He has even
been training high-school-age employees on the job.
Learning Cabinet Making at Home
John Michael
Yoder, a twelfth grader in Lancaster County, has been doing many vocational
projects all through high school. He
learns both from his father and from neighbors who are master craftsman. He especially excels with woodworking
skills. Last year he made many
beautiful projects which I saw when I did his evaluation.
I was
especially impressed by a beautiful small chest that he made for his sister
which involved splicing walnut and oak to give a very attractive zebra
effect. This chest required precise
sawing and planning to get the precision required.
I was also
impressed by the kitchen cabinets that he and his father made starting from
scratch. They shaped the wood for each
cabinet, and put together the cabinets beautifully. Every door fit perfectly.
The appearance of his family’s remodeled kitchen is quite
beautiful.
Learning Auto Mechanics
by Correspondence
During his 11th
and 12th grade years Steve Gehman (PHAA Class of 1992) worked through the
automotive course of International Correspondence School (ICS, 800-233-4191) in
Scranton. He completed the 15 units and
two weeks of on-campus resident training (ICS resident training usually takes
place at State College) where he got hands-on experience under the direction of
a skilled mechanic.
At the same
time he often applied his new skills at home.
For example, during eleventh grade he successfully replaced the timing
belt and water pump on his mother's car.
During twelfth grade he replaced three transmissions, installed dual
exhaust, replaced a starter, welded shock mounts, replaced cam and lifters, and
welded his own bumper from scratch.
Soon after
graduation Steve supplemented his income by buying used cars, fixing them up,
and then reselling them for a profit. A
few years later he was able to get a job as a maintenance technician.
The automotive
course at ICS currently costs $589. ICS
also offers courses in many other fields including catering, gourmet cooking,
drafting, bookkeeping, home health aid, and private investigation. On-campus portions of their courses usually
take place at Penn State.
I expect that
homeschoolers will continue to pursue vocational-technical training both at
home and through half-time enrollment in public Vo Tech schools. When you find an option that works well for
your family, let us know so that we can tell others about it.