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Advocates Say Co-Ops Benefit Home Schools
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Published: January 6, 2008
TAMPA - What about socialization?
That's the first question parents of home-schooled children often get asked, and these days the word "co-op" gets mentioned with increasing frequency.
In addition to church groups and organizations such as the Boy Scouts, parents are turning to co-ops to expand the classroom beyond their home and learn cooperatively without public school.
With an estimated 55,000 students home-schooled across Florida, the number of co-ops is expanding.
The types are diverse. Some teach a Christian curriculum or are geared for teen groups, while others are built on the simple adage that it takes a village.
Co-ops can be just a few families who meet to learn together using homemade course materials or larger groups that hire professional teachers and offer purchased curricula in rented facilities.
Each is formed to meet the needs of parents involved, said Kim Coley, director of District 5 of the Florida Parent-Educators Association.
"Just like home schooling, it depends on the input of the parents. I have known of some co-ops where the parents just drop off their kids. They need a break, to get some things done," Coley said. "Other families want outreach. Moms interact with other moms and kids with other kids. Other families want to take classes that the parents can't teach themselves."
Groups Serve Special Needs
Michelle Chow, director of Think Day in Lutz, began the co-op six years ago by inviting friends to her house for group learning. Her son has severe peanut allergies. Chow said there was no way to make sure he wouldn't come into contact with peanut residue brought home from preschool by his sister, so she began to home school both children and connected with other families with and without food allergies.
"People would ask me what I did with my kids all week. I was doing so many great things with other families in my house, which can only hold so many people," Chow said. "I approached a couple of my closer friends and we decided to get this started more publicly in 2006."
Think Day has strict rules on food items that are brought to the co-op, but many member families do not have food allergies and go for the classes.
The majority of co-ops in the Tampa Bay area are Christian-based. Some require a signed statement of faith for membership, but few refuse admission to nonbelievers, and focus on a Christian curriculum.
Virginia Latourrette of the Catholic support group JMJ North said they do not agree with requiring a declaration of faith for membership.
"Everyone from every faith can come and go," Latourrette said. "We do get together at noon and pray the Angelus and say grace at our meal. That is the only rule that we have."
Many Co-Ops Don't Succeed
Home school co-ops that are geared for teens - such as Tampa Area Homeschooled Teens and the Christian Home Educated Tampa Teens - are primarily social and connect teens for field trips, events and social time.
Many co-ops do not stand the test of time. Personality conflicts and the constantly teetering balance between affordability and limited space strain best intentions.
Kim Sichterman of Homeschoolers of Pinellas said that running a co-op is a thankless job, but she does it because her children love it.
"The hardest thing about co-ops is to get everyone to help. People think that magical fairies just come and set up co-op every week, and there is a lot of work that goes into it," Sichterman said.
Her co-op is secular and has been growing for 16 years. Sichterman said the success is a combination of great classes, great teachers and cool families.
Home-schoolers already meet county mandates and evaluation requirements, so co-ops are free from regulation and classes can range from $5 to $150 a class per semester, with a nominal yearly membership fee.
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