Homeschool benefits and savings in Dedham
Once Dedham Public Schools approves your Home School Plan, your homeschooled child can ask to join district classes or extracurricular activities, with the Superintendent's approval for each. Send written notice 14 days before your home program starts and renew it every year.
Who qualifies
Has an approved Home School Plan
Submit a Home School Plan for review. The Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning reviews and approves plans, and the School Committee must find the program meets minimum public school standards.
Lives in Dedham
Access is for children educated in a home-based program within the district, and the plan form certifies your child's place of residence.
Gets Superintendent approval
Home-based students may use public school activities of a curricular or extracurricular nature with the Superintendent's approval.
What access includes
These terms come from Dedham Public Schools' home schooling page and the home education rules it summarizes.
- District classes (curricular activities)
- Superintendent approval
- Clubs, teams, and other extracurriculars
- Superintendent approval
- Notice before starting
- 14 days
- Plan renewal
- Every year
The page does not list fees, schedules, or which activities have openings, so ask about the specific class or team before you build your year around it.
How to request access
- Before you start
Contact the district office
Email Janet Griffin, Executive Assistant, to begin the Home School Plan.
- 14 days before
Submit the plan
Certify on the district's form your child's name, age, residence, and hours of instruction, along with your curriculum, materials, and how you will measure progress.
- After approval
Ask about an activity
Request the class or activity you want, and the Superintendent decides whether your child can join.
- Each year
Renew your notice
Resubmit your notification every year your child is educated at home.
What it includes
Included
- District classes
- School extracurricular activities
Good to know
The Assistant Superintendent approves your plan
Dr. Heather Smith, the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, reviews and approves Dedham Home School Plans. Start by emailing Janet Griffin at the district office.
Who to contact about access
The district office starts the Home School Plan process and routes questions about plans and activity access.
jgriffin@dedham.k12.ma.us 781-310-1000 Home schooling page
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Massachusetts
Obtain approval of your home education plan from the resident district before instruction begins or withdrawing a child of compulsory school age. Renewal and reporting follow the district’s homeschool policy.
Massachusetts sets these rules:
- Subjects: The approved plan must provide instruction in the studies required by law, equal in thoroughness, efficiency, and progress to the local public schools. Districts review content, materials, instructional time, methods, and evaluation.
- Testing: Assessment methods and reporting follow the locally approved plan. Massachusetts does not impose one statewide annual standardized-test requirement.
- Records: Keep the progress evidence and reports required by your approved district plan; the state does not prescribe a single homeschool portfolio format.
- Teachers: State educator-licensing requirements for public schools do not apply to home instruction.
Read the Massachusetts homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Massachusetts
Questions parents ask
- What does Dedham look at in our Home School Plan?
- It considers your proposed curriculum and hours, your competency to teach, the textbooks and other materials you will use, and periodic standardized testing to confirm progress.
- Do we have to apply every year?
- Yes. You give written notice 14 days before the program is established and resubmit it each year your child is educated at home.
- Is there a fee for Dedham classes or activities?
- The page does not say. It lists no fees, schedules, or openings, so ask about the specific class or team before you build your year around it.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Local classes cover the subjects they offer. We teach the remaining subjects, so a local class can stay part of the year without becoming the whole curriculum.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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