Parent-Directed (Home Education) Program

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Home Education

Home education is a parent-directed approach to education for grades K-12 where parents are responsible for the planning, implementation, and assessment of their child's learning.

NorthStar Academy supports families who provide home education for their children by providing them with a supportive facilitator, resource funds, and access to a variety of learning experiences. 

Our staff is here to work with parents to customize their program and meet their children’s specific needs. If families want to talk or are looking for teaching resources, NorthStar’s teachers and administrative staff are available to help. 

Call us to talk with one of our home education specialists about your needs.

Benefits of registering with NorthStar Academy:

  • Caring staff who believe in homeschooling
  • A supportive and dynamic community
  • Funding available to purchase resources (guidelines provided)
  • Educational Supports including: 
    • Activity Days and Learning Clusters
    • Access to online learning subscriptions
    • Access to standardized assessments
    • Learning Supports consultation

Registration

To register you will need to create an account in SchoolEngage and fill out the Home Education Registration (includes PARENT DIRECTED instruction) 2024-2025 Grades K-12 form along with required documentation including:

  • A copy of the child’s birth certificate
  • Home Education Program Plan

We must receive your home school application by noon on Thursday, September 26, 2024, to qualify for funding.

Please contact our registrar at office@nsaschool.ca for more information about how to register for the home education program.

Register Now  Contact Us

The Home Education Journey

In a Home Education program, parents are in charge of their child's educational program. When you register, you will need to include your program plan. We are always here to help you, but you can also choose find some supportive resources to guide your planning process.

Step 1: Review the Alberta Education Home Education Handbook for tips on how to establish learning goals, choose learning activities and resources, and plan for assessment.

Step 2: Complete your Home Education Program Plan. If you need support with creating your home ed plan, please identify so by checking the appropriate box on your notification form. A support staff will connect with you. 

Step 3: Follow this link to our Registration Page and follow the provided registration instructions.  You will want to choose the Home Education Registration (includes PARENT DIRECTED instruction) 2024-25 Grade K-12 program.

Step 4: Connect with your facilitator. Upon acceptance, you will be notified and assigned a facilitator who will be available once school starts in September. They can help you formulate learning goals, choose resources and decide on learning activities and assessments. They are available for on-going advice and recommendations as needed. Facilitators will also meet with you at least 2 times in the school year to review and report on your child’s progress.   

Step 5: Establish a school routine that fits your family’s values and goals and a portfolio/gradebook system to present to your facilitator upon progress visits. 

Step 6: Set up a Fall Progress Visit. Your facilitator will initiate a plan for progress visits where they will review the child’s portfolio and gradebook and offer encouragement and recommendations. You will be provided with a progress report that will be included in your child’s school file. 

Step 7: Later in the year, you will set up a Spring Progress Visit. Once again, your facilitator will review the portfolio and gradebook and write up a progress report. It is also a good time to begin discussing with your facilitator your home ed plan for next year based on any recommendations from the current year’s progress.  

Step 8: Register early for the following school year so you can get early acceptance and access to your resource funds.

Funding and Reimbursements

NorthStar Academy makes funding available each year for students who are in the Home Education Program. These amounts are administered by guidelines set out by Alberta Education in the Alberta Education Home Education Regulations Act.

A parent must use the funding for costs incurred by the student for programs of study, instructional materials or other resources related to the home education program and provide the school with receipts showing how the funding was spent. They must not use the funding as a form of personal remuneration or to pay for travel costs or other expenses usually required to be paid by a parent of a student who is enrolled in a brick and mortar school.

NSA goes to great lengths to make sure the needs of our families are being met. Funding is available after October 15th of the academic year. Access to funds earlier than October 15th is through Purchase Orders (POs) only. You must be registered with NorthStar Academy by September 29th in order to have access to funding. 

Please contact Michelle Best (michelle.best@nsaschool.ca) for more information.

Educational Supports for Home Education

NorthStar offers our home education families exceptional educational supports and resources. As a part of the NorthStar family, in addition to your funding, you will have access to:

  • Certified teachers who value home education
  • Suggested resource lists and grade-level packages
  • Activity Days held across the province
  • Learning Clusters - a great way to meet new friends and try new things
  • Access to online learning subscriptions
  • Access to standardized assessments
  • Learning Supports consultation
  • Supportive Parent Community in our virtual Parent Cafe

Please contact Angela Paine (angela.paine@nsaschool.ca) if you have any questions about educational supports for your home education program.

Reimbursement Form

Click the button to download the reimbursement form as a PDF

Reimbursement Form

Home Education Plan Template

Home Education and Shared Responsibility registrations require a completed Home Ed plan for your child’s upcoming school year, for the parent-directed courses, prior to acceptance. Below is an optional template that you can use.  Please contact your facilitator for support completing the form.

Home Education Plan Template

Funding 101

Funding 101 - Home Ed Funding Presentation

"Funding 101" recording

Did you miss our informative session on "Funding 101" designed to offer valuable insights on funding options tailored specifically for your home education journey? Whether you had questions such as, "How do I submit my home ed receipts to claim my funding?" or "What is an allowable expense?", this session offered practical answers.

The session featured our in-house financing expert, Michelle Best. With over 12 years of dedicated service at NSA, Michelle has assisted over 2000 families with Home Ed financing questions, covering topics like claims, use, access, and reimbursements. Additionally, Michelle has successfully homeschooled her own four children in Canada and abroad.

Recording Available! If you missed the live session or wish to revisit the details, recordings are available. Please contact the office to obtain your copy. 

NorthStar Landing (Supervisor Resources for Home Education)

NorthStar Landing is a webpage specifically designed for our Home Education supervisors.  Here you can find:

  • Parent Directed Resources
    • The Evaluation Process
    • Keeping Portfolios
    • Education Plan
    • Approaches to Home Ed
    • Homeschool Handbook
    • Funding
  • Learning Resources
    • Reading
    • Writing and Spelling
    • Math
    • Science
    • Social Studies/History
    • Bible
    • Physical Education and Wellness
    • Fine Arts
    • French
  • Learning Supports
  • Community Connections
    • Activity Days
    • Learning Clusters
    • Learning Huddles

This feature will be available in the Fall of 2024

School Notice

Registration Deadline is Sept 26th at noon

Registration for Kindergarten to Grade 9 and all High School Semester 1 and full year courses closes at noon on September 26th. Grade 10-12 students who want to register for semester 2 can call our office.

Registration