Homeschool benefits: West Shore School District
Since the 2023-24 school year, West Shore School District has let homeschooled residents take district academic courses for up to at least a quarter of the school day, join for-credit cocurricular activities such as band, and apply to Cumberland Perry Area Career and Technical Center on the same basis as enrolled students.
Who qualifies
Lives in the district
Policies 137.2 and 137.3 apply to home education students who are residents of West Shore School District.
Meets course or program prerequisites
Before a course, audition, or CTE application, you send the building principal written proof of eligibility, such as placement exam results, attendance records, or portfolio records of completed curriculum.
Attends the assigned building
Your child takes courses and cocurricular activities only at the school your address would be assigned to if enrolled.
Follows school rules and attendance
Your child follows district and center conduct rules, signs in and out, and attends the full class period unless an exception is granted.
What your child can get
The terms come from West Shore Board Policies 137.2 and 137.3, both adopted October 19, 2023.
- District academic courses for credit
- Up to at least 1/4 of the day
- Cocurricular activities such as band, orchestra, and JROTC
- Same basis as enrolled students
- Cumberland Perry Area Career and Technical Center
- Same basis as enrolled students
- Textbooks, devices, and course materials
- Loaned by the district
- Grades for each course
- Sent to you as supervisor
- Transportation
- Parents drive; existing bus if space
The policies do not set application deadlines, so ask the building principal when course requests and CTE applications are due for the coming year.
From applying to keeping it
- Before you apply
Choose courses or a program
Pick district courses, a cocurricular activity, or a Cumberland Perry Area Career and Technical Center program and check its prerequisites.
- Before the course starts
Send proof of eligibility
Give the building principal or designee the required documents and written proof that your child meets the prerequisites.
- Selection
Compete on equal terms
Your child competes for seats, auditions, and programs on the same basis as enrolled students, using criteria such as achievement, skills, and conduct.
- During the year
Borrow materials and attend
The district lends the textbooks, devices, and materials the course requires, and your child attends the full class period.
- After each course
Add grades to the portfolio
The district or the center sends you a grade for each course, and you keep it in your child's home education portfolio.
What it includes
Included
- District academic courses for credit
- Cocurricular activities, including band, orchestra, and JROTC
- Career and technical education at Cumberland Perry Area Career and Technical Center
- Loaned textbooks, devices, and course materials
Not included
- Courses at a building other than your assigned school
- Dedicated bus routes for homeschooled students
- Students who live outside the district
Who to contact
The main office handles questions from home education families and can route course and CTE requests to the right building.
717-938-9577 Student access to career and technical education
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Pennsylvania
You must file a notarized affidavit or unsworn declaration with the superintendent before starting and by August 1 in subsequent years. Include educational objectives and required health and immunization documentation or exemptions. Certify that the supervisor, adults living in the home, and persons with legal custody have no conviction for the listed statutory offenses in the preceding five years.
Pennsylvania sets these rules:
- Subjects: Teach in English the subjects required for elementary or secondary home education, including English, math, science, geography, history/civics, health, PE, art, music, and ongoing fire-safety instruction. Provide 180 days or 900 elementary/990 secondary hours annually.
- Testing: Include reading and math test results in the portfolio in grades 3, 5, and 8. Obtain an annual evaluation and submit the evaluator’s certification to the superintendent by June 30. The supervisor, parent or guardian may not administer an alternative approved standardized test.
- Records: Keep a portfolio with a reading-materials log, work samples, required test results, and the annual evaluation. Document the required instructional days or hours.
- Teachers: The supervisor must be the parent, guardian, or legal custodian with a high-school diploma or equivalent. The supervisor, adults living in the home, and persons with legal custody must meet the statutory five-year criminal-conviction condition.
Read the Pennsylvania homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Pennsylvania
Questions parents ask
- Which West Shore school does my child attend for courses?
- The school your address would be assigned to if your child were enrolled. Courses and cocurricular activities are offered only there.
- When are West Shore course requests due?
- The policies set no deadlines, so ask the building principal when course requests and CTE applications are due for the coming year.
- Who drives my child to school?
- You do. Your child may ride a district bus only when it is already running and has space after full-time students.
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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