Homeschool benefits and savings in Holbrook
If you homeschool in Holbrook, you can ask the district to include your child in its annual achievement test battery, usually given each spring. The results can serve as the progress evidence you report on the Homeschool Evaluation due June 30. Other options include public school classes and services.
Holbrook annual achievement-test battery access
Who qualifies
Has an approved home program
File the Notice of Intent before you start, with your curriculum, weekly hours per subject, and assessment plan, then meet the Superintendent and Director of Curriculum.
Lives in Holbrook
The policy covers children in the Holbrook Public Schools district between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays.
Parent requests the testing
The district includes home-taught children in the annual test battery at the request of the home educator.
What the testing gives you
These terms come from the Holbrook Public Schools home school policy (IHBG), amended November 15, 2023, and its forms.
- Seat in the district's annual achievement test battery
- On request
- Usual testing season
- Spring
- Evaluation due to the Curriculum Director
- June 30
- Other accepted progress evidence
- Logs, portfolios, work samples
The policy does not name the test or say whether there is a fee, so ask the Curriculum Director both questions when you request a spot.
How to get your child tested
- Before you start
File the Notice of Intent
Send the Notice of Intent to Bridget Baker, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, and schedule the meeting with the Superintendent and Director of Curriculum.
- Before spring
Request testing
Tell the district you want your child included in the annual achievement test battery.
- Spring
Your child takes the test
The district usually gives its achievement test battery in the spring of each school year.
- By June 30
Submit the Homeschool Evaluation
Report what your child mastered and how you evaluated it, and sign that 900 to 990 hours of instruction were provided.
- Each year
Renew your notice
Send an updated Notice of Intent if your home program continues the next year.
What it includes
Included
- Standardized results you can use as progress evidence
Who to contact about testing
Curriculum Director Stefanie DeRosa receives Homeschool Evaluations and is the Superintendent's designee for home school programs.
sderosa@holbrook.k12.ma.us 781-767-1226 Home school page
Holbrook Public Schools homeschool extracurricular participation
Who qualifies
Has an approved home program
File the Notice of Intent to Pursue a Home School Program before you start and meet with the Superintendent and Director of Curriculum. The home school policy covers children ages 6 to 16.
Keeps annual forms current
Submit the Homeschool Evaluation by June 30 and an updated Notice of Intent each year the program continues.
Principal approves
The school principal must approve your child's participation in the activity.
Meets state and local rules
Participation follows local and state policies for the program, such as MIAA regulations for athletics.
What access includes
- School extracurricular activities
- Principal approval
- Interscholastic athletics
- Under MIAA rules
- Required instruction each year
- 900-990 hours
- Homeschool Evaluation
- Due June 30
The policy does not mention activity fees or try-out rules, so ask the principal or athletic office about both for the specific activity.
How to request access
- Before you start
File the Notice of Intent
Send the form to Bridget Baker, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, at bbaker@holbrook.k12.ma.us.
- Before the season
Ask the principal
Request approval for the specific club or team from the principal of the school that runs it.
- During the activity
Follow program rules
Your child participates under the same local and state rules, including MIAA regulations for sports.
- By June 30
Submit the Homeschool Evaluation
Keep your program in good standing so your child stays eligible the next year.
What it includes
Included
- School clubs and activities
- Interscholastic athletics under MIAA rules
Who to contact about access
The Superintendent's office receives home school notices and can direct activity requests to the right principal.
bbaker@holbrook.k12.ma.us 781-767-1226 Home school 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
- Do we have to use a standardized test to show progress to Holbrook?
- No. The policy also accepts daily logs, journals, progress reports, portfolios, and dated work samples.
- When does Holbrook give its achievement tests?
- Usually in the spring of each school year. Ask for the exact dates when you make your request.
- Who decides whether my child can join a Holbrook school activity?
- The principal of the school running the activity approves participation for students in a home school program.
- Do we need an approved Holbrook home school program first?
- Yes. The policy applies to students being educated in a home school program within the district, which starts with the Notice of Intent and a meeting with the Superintendent and Director of Curriculum.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Put eligible education funds toward a curriculum that teaches the courses and grades the work. Check the program’s purchasing rules before paying.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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