News & Events

Getting Started Homeschooling

Posted: December 5, 2019

Saturday, January 11, 2020, 10:30 am - noon

Whether you are actively considering home education or are just curious about how it is done, you are invited to attend Getting Started Homeschooling. The free program will be held in the Fels Community Room of the Pearle L. Crawford Library, 40 Schofield Ave, Dudley, MA on Saturday, January 11, 10:30 am – noon (snow date January 25, 2020).

Topics to be covered include an overview of homeschooling, getting started, methods, resources, and homeschooling support. Informational handouts will be available and there will be time for questions and discussion.

The program will be presented by Sophia Sayigh. Sophia is a co-founder of Advocates for Home Education in Massachusetts, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable educational organization that gathers and disseminates information about homeschooling in Massachusetts through education, advocacy, and events. She is also the author of a fictional book featuring homeschoolers, Unschoolers.

Admission is free, but preregistration is suggested. Preregister here.

Space is limited and spots are allotted on a first come, first served basis.

Please respect AHEM’s mission to empower individuals through education by not soliciting for your business at this event.

Giving Thanks

Posted: November 21, 2019

In this season of giving thanks, we want to take the time to thank all of YOU who have helped AHEM over the past year. Read more.

AHEM GOES TO THE MASC/MASS JOINT CONFERENCE

Posted: November 14, 2019

his year AHEM tabled at the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) and Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS) joint conference, where school committee members network with peers and learn from sessions and exhibitors. MASC is a nonprofit that provides a range of services to Massachusetts school committees. AHEM became aware of their policy manual service about 10 years ago. In addition to storing school policies on their website, they provide sample policies to school committees. Read more.

THE VALUE OF HOMESCHOOLING

Posted: November 7, 2019

We live in a culture that often doesn’t value what matters most. How many times have I been to a party and when people ask what I do they are less than impressed with the answer when I say I’m a homeschooling mother? Read more.

AHEM Named 2019 Top-Rated Nonprofit

Award based on Outstanding Online Reviews

Posted: October 31, 2019

AHEM has been honored with a Top-Rated Awards of 2019 from GreatNonprofits! We appreciate all of your contributions! Read more.

AHEM Networking Forum

Posted: October 24, 2019

Let's make stuff happen. Join!

AHEM listened and heard the challenges independent family-based homeschooling families face these days. Elists have fizzled, Facebook is an unreliable source for finding out about events, many groups seem splintered or private. Where do you fit in? Is it worth going to the park if you’re not sure anyone else will show up? How can you meet other homeschoolers who live nearby? You are not alone. This is a refrain we have heard a lot in our talks with Massachusetts homeschoolers. In an attempt to harness the power of technology in service of connection, the AHEM Networking Forum and Calendar were created to facilitate families in different parts of Massachusetts to meet in person repeatedly and get to know each other. To read more about how it works, and to potentially join, go take a look!

How to Help Your Child Succeed at School

The title in the Smarter Living section of The New York Times caught my eye. Hmph. If schools are supposedly for the benefit of children, why do parents need to help their kids succeed? Read more.

Legislative Update

Posted: October 7, 2019

Our Massachusetts Legislature began its 191st session on January 2, 2019. Below is a summary of bills filed this session that AHEM is following. At this time no action needs to be taken on any of these bills. Read more.

What Does Your Approval Letter Look Like?

Posted: August 8, 2019

Here are some examples of actual letters received by homeschoolers from their school district after submitting an education plan: Read more.

Student Charlie Cards 2019/20

August 1, 2019

The MBTA issues student fare media to middle school and high school aged homeschoolers for use on the MBTA system. In August, they will be issuing student Charlie Cards for the 2019-2020 Academic School Year. Read more.

AHEM’s Policy and Practice Data Analysis - July 2019

Posted: July 11, 2019

For over fifteen years, AHEM has been collecting information from homeschoolers about official town policy (including the policies themselves), and about how interfacing with school officials works in practice in towns in Massachusetts, according to homeschoolers. Read more.

Back by popular demand: Sample Progress Report

Posted: June 27, 2019

You asked, we listened. Here's a sample progress report that has been accepted in Massachusetts. Read more.

Evaluating Evaluation: Progress Reports

Posted: June 13, 2019

In Massachusetts, homeschooling parents, as the teachers of their children, are responsible for evaluating their progress. CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHARLES & others, 399 Mass. 324 (1987) clearly outlines three forms of evaluation: “Other means of evaluating the progress of the children may be substituted for the formal testing process, such as periodic progress reports or dated work samples, subject to the approval of the parents.” (Charles at 340) Parents may choose one of them to fulfill their responsibility. Read more.

Student "M7" Charlie Cards for Homeschoolers

Posted: June 6, 2019

Summer Monthly Paper Passes M7, good for July and/or August only, can be ordered using this form. The deadline for requesting summer passes is July 1, 2019. Read more.

Announcing AHEM Networking Forum

Posted: May 23, 2019

AHEM listened and heard the challenges independent family-based homeschooling families face these days. Elists have fizzled, Facebook is an unreliable source for finding out about events, many groups seem splintered or private. Where do you fit in? Is it worth going to the park if you’re not sure anyone else will show up? How can you meet other homeschoolers who live nearby? You are not alone. Read more.

Outreach!

Posted: May 2, 2019

Remember when you were considering homeschooling but you weren’t sure where to find information about it? AHEM’s Considering Homeschooling brochure cuts to the chase with information on deciding to homeschool and getting started homeschooling in Massachusetts. Read more.

POPCORN AND PAGE TURNERS: RUNNING A TEEN BOOK GROUP

Posted: April 11, 2019

When my son, Fred, was 13, we decided to start a book group to read adult literature. I had never led a book group before—just had read a lot as a fiction lover—but was excited to give it a try. Read more.

Are Homeschoolers Entitled to Participate in Public School Classes and Activities?

Posted April 11, 2019

At some point in their homeschooling experience, for varied and personal reasons, families may seek out classes, extracurricular activities, or athletic programs offered by their local school district. One might assume that a homeschooling family paying property taxes in their town would be entitled to gain full access to public school offerings, but it’s not quite that simple. Read more.

Bespoke Homeschooling Without Breaking the Bank

Posted February 21, 2019

You’ve made the leap, cut the cord, taken the plunge—however you put it—you’ve pulled your kid out of school, or made the decision not to send them at all. Often this decision means the family budget also takes a hit, as one or both parents adjust their schedules and/or work hours to spend more time with the children. It could even mean one parent leaving the workforce for a time. Read more.

Legislative Update

Posted February 7, 2019

The Massachusetts Legislature began its 191st session on January 2, 2019. The various bills that AHEM tracked in the 190th session, regarding changes to the compulsory attendance age and other educational issues, have either died or been set aside for further study in the new session. Read more.

Unschooling as a Feminist Act

Posted January 3, 2019

When I was a young mother, I wore a t-shirt with the words: “The hand that rocks the cradle rocks the boat.” The phrase put a spin on a 19th century poem entitled “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the World” by American poet William Ross Wallace. I understood at the time that becoming a mother was increasing my desire to create change in the world, although I didn’t know where that would lead me. I had already realized that, as the feminist movement espoused, the personal is political. I had already challenged a few assumptions about how life was supposed to work—including rejecting both the style in which I’d been parenting and the institution of school as an effective vehicle for education. Read more.