Home-school graduates do get diplomas

Published 10:41 am Thursday, June 7, 2018

Dear Editor,

We are writing regarding the article “Fort Logan’s Final Graduating Class Says Goodbye” published in the May 31, 2018 edition of the Interior Journal.

We would like to congratulate each of the students. They can be very proud of their accomplishments.

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We would like to address some references in the article that concern home-schooling. Miss Smith, a student speaker, is quoted as stating, “After finishing my home-schooling, I was informed that they could only offer me a transcript after I had worked for years to get a diploma…I sat in the office at the Board crying.” She goes on to say, “Fort Logan was able to give me the opportunity to still get a diploma so I was able to further my career.”

We do not know about this young lady’s situation, but her statements give a false impression about homeschooling. In Kentucky, home schools are private schools. Home-school graduates do not need to seek transcripts or diplomas from the state. The parent/teacher prepares the student’s transcript based on coursework completed and issues the high-school diploma accordingly. Most colleges and universities actively recruit home-school graduates.

We have been involved in home-schooling for more than 21 years – as parents/teachers, support group leaders, and now as mentors to new home-schooling families. Our children are college-educated adults who graduated from our family’s home school. We signed their high-school diplomas and constructed their high-school transcripts based on the coursework they had completed in our home school. To enter college, they only needed to complete the college’s admissions application, submit a transcript of completed high school level courses, and have ACT results sent to their colleges of choice.

To learn more about home-schooling requirements in Kentucky, visit www.chek.org, Christian Home Educators of Kentucky, a statewide homeschooling informational organization. Visit www.hslda.org, Home School Legal Defense Association, to find out about their endeavors to defend the constitutional rights of parents to direct their children’s education. Visit www.nheri.org, National Home Education Research Institute, to learn about the extensive research and facts they have compiled concerning home-schooling.

The Christian Home Education Network will be hosting a home-school information meeting at the Lincoln County Public Library on July 12, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. Anyone interested in learning more about home-schooling their children is welcome to attend.

Richard & Larissa Tomlin
Hustonville