Homeschool benefits and savings in Pickaway County
Pickaway County Library gives homeschool providers who live or work in Pickaway County a free Educator Card for borrowing teaching materials, with no overdue fines, plus topic collections that staff gather for you on request. Bring proof of your teaching status, such as a letter from your school district or superintendent, to apply.
Who qualifies
Lives or works in Pickaway County
The Educator Card is for preschool through 12th grade educators who live or work in Pickaway County.
Is a homeschool provider
The library names homeschool providers, along with teachers and day care providers, among the educators who can apply.
Shows proof of teaching status
Accepted proof is an approval letter from a school district or superintendent, a school district paycheck stub, a school badge or ID, or an Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) child care license.
Has a personal card in good standing
Your personal library account is linked to the Educator Card. Fines or replacement charges that block your personal card also block the Educator Card.
What the card gives you
The Educator Card follows the Full Access loan rules in Pickaway County Library's Registration, Loan Rules, and Reserves policy.
- Books
- 100 items for 21 days
- Audiobooks and music CDs
- 20 each for 21 days
- Movies and magazines
- 10 each for 7 days
- Renewals per item
- 3, unless reserved
- Reserves at one time
- Up to 100
- Overdue fines
- None
Long-overdue items are still billed to the Educator Card under Full Access rules, and the card is meant for education use, not personal borrowing.
How to get the card
- Before you go
Get a personal card
Any Ohio resident can register free with a photo ID and proof of current address, such as a utility bill or postmarked mail dated within 30 days.
- At the library
Ask for an Educator Card
Show your proof of teaching status at the Main Library in Circleville or the Floyd E. Younkin Branch in Ashville, and staff link the card to your personal account.
- When you need a topic
Request a teacher collection
Contact the library with your topic and allow at least two business days. Once notified, you have one week to pick up the collection.
- Each year
Renew the card
Educator Cards are issued for one-year periods, so plan to bring current proof when yours runs out.
What it includes
Included
- Books, audiobooks, movies, and music under Full Access rules
- Teacher collections gathered on request
- Borrowing without overdue fines
Not included
- Personal, non-school borrowing
- Charges for long-overdue items
Good to know
An acknowledgment letter may work
The library's list names an approval letter from a school district or superintendent, so bring the letter your superintendent sent for this school year and ask staff to confirm it counts.
Who to contact about the card
Main Library staff in Circleville answer questions about Educator Cards and take teacher collection requests.
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Ohio
You must notify the resident district superintendent within five calendar days after beginning home education, moving into a district, or withdrawing from school, and notify annually by August 30.
Ohio sets these rules:
- Subjects: Provide instruction in English language arts, mathematics, science, history, government, and social studies.
- Testing: Ohio's current home-education law does not require an annual standardized test or academic assessment filing.
- Records: Keep copies of each notice and the superintendent's acknowledgment; the state does not require a routine portfolio submission.
- Teachers: Ohio's current home-education statute does not impose the former diploma-or-supervision requirement.
Read the Ohio homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Ohio
Questions parents ask
- Can I use the Pickaway Educator Card for family reading?
- No. The card is for borrowing materials for classroom or education purposes, not individual use. Use your personal card for everything else.
- How do teacher collections work?
- Tell the library your topic and staff pull materials to supplement your teaching. Not every requested item may be available, depending on how popular the topic is.
- We live outside Pickaway County. Can we still borrow?
- Yes, on a personal card. Any Ohio resident can get a free personal card, but the Educator Card requires that you live or work in Pickaway County.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Books and library resources give your child something to explore. We turn their interests into coursework, so library discoveries can lead to deeper study at home.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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