GUSD to assist home schoolers

Gary Moskowitz

Parents who educate their children at home will get a helping hand

from the Glendale Unified School District this fall.

The Verdugo Academy, which makes up most of the north campus

extension of Daily High School, will offer a new program for

home-schooled students beginning in September, called the Home

Independent Study Program.

The academy, formerly known as the Glendale Alternative School,

will provide parents who home-school their children with textbooks,

lesson plans and weekly consultations and student assessments with

credentialed Glendale teachers. The voluntary program will be free.

The curriculum that home-school students receive will be identical to

what is offered at Glendale schools.

Daily High Principal Gail Rosental, who will administer the

program, will host an informational meeting for parents interested in

the new program at 7 p.m. Thursday in the boardroom at district

headquarters, 223 N. Jackson St. The meeting is open to the public.

“Not every parent believes that the traditional school classroom

setting is the best thing for their child,” Rosental said. “We have

always said [to parents who educate their children at home] if you

need any special help, come in and talk to our teachers. Now, we are

officially providing a service that will fill that need and help

parents provide the best education they can to their children.”

At least a dozen parents have called Rosental in recent weeks to

express interest in the program, but none have enrolled yet. District

and state officials are collecting data to find area families who

home-school their children, but GUSD officials have not determined if

more parents are educating their children at home in Glendale.

The school district, which is in the process of cutting about $7

million from its 2003-04 operating budget, could benefit financially

from the home-school program by becoming eligible to collect state

Average Daily Attendance funds for each student enrolled in the

program, Rosental said. The district, based on Gov. Gray Davis’ May

revision of the state budget, expects to receive $4,600 per student

annually in such funds, officials said. The district this year

received about $4,660.

The program is open to students who live in Los Angeles County and

its neighboring counties. Parents can enroll their children in the

program at any time during the traditional calendar school year.

Students who enroll in the home-school program also will have access

to certain extracurricular activities, like Math Field Day or music

and arts programs, said Alice Petrossian, assistant superintendent

for educational services. Students would obtain a high school diploma

and walk the stage at the Daily High and Verdugo Academy graduation

ceremonies.