Homeschool

Homeschool allows parents or guardians to provide education to their children themselves. This can be done with supervision from a school board or without.

What are the Two Main Types of Homeschooling in Edmonton?

Differences

With supervision from school authority:

Recieves funding from a school authority
Resources can be provided from a school or from grant money
Evaluations from the government are a part of this program (in addition to Diploma Exams)

Without supervision from school authority

Does not recieve funding from a school authority
Must gather resources alone
No evaluations from the government (except for the Diploma Exams, which must be completed to graduate with an Alberta High School Diploma)

What should you know about Homeschooling?

With Supervision from a School Authority

The parent is fully responsible for coming up with a program for their child/student that will fulfill the outcomes of Alberta Education and will prepare the student for the Alberta High School Diploma exams. Students will be formally evaluated by school authorities twice a year who will make suggestions for improvement.
The school authority can be public or private, it is up to the parent and the school to decide.

This form must be submitted to the school: Home Education Notification Form - Program Supervised by School Authority

Parents/guardians are eligible to be funded by the Government of Alberta. Total funding will be split 50/50 between the school and the home (each party receives 50% of the grant money). This will allow for more resources to be provided by the school to the home.

Deadlines to declare homeschooling are usually before September 30. After that, Parents/guardians may not be eligible for funding. See more details here: Home education | Alberta.ca

Without Supervision from a School Authority

Parents/guardians must inform the Minister of Education along with this form: Home Education Notification Form - Program Not Supervised by School Authority
The parent/guardian is fully responsible for coming up with a program for their child/student that will fulfill the outcomes of Alberta Education and will prepare the student for the Alberta High School Diploma exams.

For a more in-depth responsibilities guide, check out: Home Education Handbook

Benefits

Parent/guardian has full control of the students quality of education
This can be helpful if the student has unique needs
Customized classes (by the parent/guardian) can create a more engaging and focused environment for the student

Drawbacks

If the parent/guardian does not have formal training in education, it can be a difficult to meet the Alberta graduation or grade requirements, especially at the high school level for all the subjects
Students tend to experience less social interactions than they would encounter in a standard school environment
It can be difficult to offer the student the same amount of electives at the same standard as in official schools, as the parent/guardian does not have access to the same help and resources