Homeschool benefits: Williamsburg Community School District
Williamsburg Community School District offers homeschool families free curricular materials and textbooks, free Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) testing for the required grades 3, 5, and 8, and district academic courses up to 25% of a full-time schedule. Homeschooled students can also join co-curricular activities and career and technical education (CTE) programs.
Who qualifies
Files an affidavit or declaration
Submit a notarized affidavit or an unsworn declaration each year with educational objectives, health records, and immunization status. It is required for children ages 6-18.
Has a qualified supervisor
The parent supervising the program has a high school diploma or its equivalent and no disqualifying criminal convictions.
Meets course prerequisites
For academic courses, co-curricular activities, and CTE, your child meets the eligibility rules and prerequisites and follows all district rules.
What you can get
The terms come from Williamsburg Community School District's Homeschool Information page.
- Curricular materials and textbooks
- Free
- PSSA tests in grades 3, 5, and 8
- Free
- PSSA or Keystone sign-up
- Notify the office by Oct. 1
- District academic courses
- Up to 25% of a full-time schedule
- Co-curricular activities such as band and orchestra
- Open if eligible
- Career and technical education programs
- Open if eligible
The page does not list which textbooks are on hand or how long you keep them, so ask Lisa Murgas at the district office when you request materials.
From applying to keeping it
- Each year
File the affidavit
Submit the notarized affidavit or unsworn declaration with objectives, health records, and immunization status.
- After filing
Request materials
Call the district's homeschool contact to borrow curricular materials and textbooks for your child's grade.
- By October 1
Sign up for testing
In grades 3, 5, and 8, tell the school office by October 1 that your child will take the PSSA, or Keystone exams, to meet the testing requirement.
- During the year
Keep the portfolio
Keep samples of work, a reading list, a log of days or hours, and the test results for your evaluator.
- By June 30
Submit the evaluation
Send the district the qualified evaluator's report, based on an interview with your child and a portfolio review.
What it includes
Included
- Curricular materials and textbooks
- PSSA and Keystone testing at the district
- Co-curricular activities and CTE programs
Not included
- Academic course loads above 25% of a full-time schedule
- Testing sign-ups after October 1
Who to contact
Lisa Murgas is the district's homeschool contact for materials, testing, and course requests.
814-832-2125 Homeschool information page
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
- What goes in the portfolio Williamsburg reviews?
- Your evaluator reviews it along with an interview with your child.
- How long can we keep borrowed textbooks?
- The district does not say.
- What if we use a different test?
- You can choose a nationally normed test approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education instead of the free PSSA. Put the results in the portfolio for your evaluator.
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.
Find benefits for your ZIP code