Any market for a small private/ home school group ???

I actually have had the same idea. My background is in individualized education from birth through 3rd grade with special education consulting through 7th grade. I am also certified in gifted education. My husband and I are planning on moving to STX. The home school/center based education combination works so well for children, I would love to be involved in that approach on STX.

I would love to know if there is a market for educational consulting and testing.

Tecara

I hope that one of the home schoolers will respond to you, because it is my understanding that home schooling isn't exactly kosher and that you have to fly under the radar a bit. If I am not mistaken, this has to do with the federal money given for students enrolled and the local government's need for whatever money they can get from the feds.

Hello All,

I promise I am not trying to deter you from moving to the virgin islands and having a school. This is my opinion from two years of recent experience in this whole schooling issue. It is very hard to home-school on island, very very hard, some would say (me) impossible. However with your skills in this area, maybe it could happen. I just want you to know what you are up against.

First you are up against the whole moving to island with kids issue. After you make it thru the move, which will tax your patience and will be physically exhausting (with kids), you will find very little help in the homeschooling area. I would highly recommend buying all your supplies (including an air conditioner and dehumidifier for one room) for homeschooling on the mainland. Even if you are having home school materials shipped since mail is an issue on island as well. You need an air conditioner not just to keep a cool head for homeschooling, but to keep papers and books dry to be able to write on. The humidity does strange things. Pens will just leak out ink at the worst times and writing with pencil with sweaty hands will tear the paper and smear pages. It is very difficult for the kids to concentrate if they are hot, sweaty, etc. You can open windows, but you have to carefully arrange papers to not fly around the room, that is if you have a breeze.

Besides the climate for paperwork, home schooling will be very lonely as the only people I found that did home-school were continentals (mainlanders) and people who live aboard boats. Usually we didn't have money for any extras - like getting together to help each other out. Trying to set up meetings didn't happen since no one had the space for more people and there are very few parks, let alone a place that we could bring all our stuff. That being said, I did find a home-school group on Water Island, however getting the kids there every week was tough and hauling things over there was tough. It would have worked for us if we lived on Water Island or if we had a boat. Of course a lot of things would have been better if we had a boat, but we couldn't afford one nor the expense of keeping one.

Getting permission from the government to home-school was easier than doing other things with the government, but the letter you signed said that they could come by at any time to check that the kids were being schooled to their standards. I could never find out what standards they were talking about and whether or not they would actually visit, but eventually just flew under radar as they were adamant that my kids be enrolled in public school. You have to really hold your ground about homeschooling as many are not aware of the laws protecting home schoolers and I found that the education department really did strive to get every child enrolled in public school. Although I don't feel they educate very well in public school, but they do try.

Eventually, I gave up on homeschooling and enrolled them in public school. The first year was tough. It was really hard to just get a schedule for the school year. Actually I never did, but I think they have that somewhat available now. I showed up to school with my kids a couple of times to find that the school was closed that day. You just learn to ask around, although even locals get confused on what days they would have off since they did it school by school. You just learned to ask the teacher about the following week and when they had days off. Get to know the teacher well! I think Transfer Day was the only time that I showed up to school and no one else did. Apparently everyone knows about Transfer Day, except for the mainlanders. 🙂

Anyway, I just touched on a few things that are difficult on island with schooling and I don't know what you want to hear about. Ask me anything. I tried it all. We decided to leave island for many reasons, but a lot had to do with the kids' education and money. My husband still works with the business on island and we will visit often, but I don't think we will live there again until we retire. 🙂

Good luck,
Teresa

I'd be happy to put in my 2 cents as a homeschooling parent. I would also appreciate any additional comments from anyone who might know more specific details regarding East Ender's comments. I've done extensive research on homeschooling in the VI before moving here from Texas. The information I was able to find amounted to just about nothing. What I was able to conclude was that, just like elsewhere in the states, the school districts would rather have your child/children in their schools for the federal money but that it is perfectly legal to homeschool.

It's always been my understanding that the "under the radar" theory comes from the many homeschool advocacy groups drumming it into the homeschool parent's head that they are not in any way even supposed to have to talk to the school officials about what they are doing. I haven't really understood that theory as long as you are taking your child's schooling seriously.

The only specific comments I was able to find regarding homeschooling in the VI was that you need to be prepared for an unannounced visit annually from the someone at the school district wanting to see your curriculum and to prove that you really are doing it and taking it seriously. I've also heard that no one I've ever met has had this happen. Texas homeschooling regulations are minimal compared to many other states and the VI seems to be comparable.

And after all this babble, YES I think the idea of small private homeschool groups would be wonderful. From the many concerns I've heard voiced on this forum about education I think you would be able to stir up quite a bit of interest. Ironically, I've been seriously considering the exact same thing on STJ for next year. My (only) child is one of those who does better in a small group and used to participate part-time in Texas in a similar program with 7 other kids.

Anyone else have any info to share?

Okay, I'll add a couple more thoughts. I was typing earlier before Teresa's thoughts were posted.

I admit, I took a different approach to my posting. I was trying to be positive but I absolutely completely agree with Teresa too. I find that I have to take the positive view in order to keep myself going. We are here and don't have an option to leave since we bought a business and have to find a way to stay and make it work.

Yes, the moving with kids part is extremely stressful. It will drive you crazy trying to do this without A/C. It does get very lonely. Even though STJ is a smaller community it's difficult to find and get together with other homeschoolers. That's partly why I think a group would be a nicer way to do it.

I get all my homeschool resources, guidance and materials from the internet. If you can plan ahead, Rainbow Resources is a good source for some materials because they will ship for free to the VI, but it does take a long time. I usually use them to place orders during the summer when I know I can wait awhile.

Wonderful Feedback!!,

This is why I appreciate this forum so much .

Teresa, I am very sorry to learn that it didn't work for you...I read your posts several years ago, starting from before you made the transition and l was really rooting for your family's success. I appreciate your experience and learned a great deal from your posts.

Tecara, I'd love to hear your vision....

I have several questions and comments..

1) First off, I my idea was to choose either a) facilitating a home school group, or b) starting a small private school. I am assuming that there may be people on the island that would enjoy the small class setting and be willing to pay a reduced private school fee for the benefit of extra resources. Yes I know that I would have to bring most materials with me. My vision is for a small private school using my home school model (hands-on-learning, environmental immersion, weekly field trips, literature based learning, accelerated academics, heavy cultural enrichment

2) In regards to the humidity, I have a environment question, my school years were lived in Nassau, Bahamas, I attended Queens College where there was no air conditioning except in the library. Does anyone know if the humidity is much higher in VI than in the Bahamas???

3) I am aware that the business side of such a school would be frustratingly slow, unnecessarily painful and full of red tape, (I've lived in the Caribbean before), but can it be done??? Legally??? I am clueless to the steps of becoming licensed as a private institution. The school that I taught at in California had a very small budget to work with, but the quality of care and passion and focus gave excellent results...

4) Can someone born in VI tell me if there is a market for such a private school among locals on STJ, STX, STT...?? The school I worked at was multi-cultural, and for many of the kids it was their first time having quality teachers that actually "liked them".

California isn't the easiest place to home-school, so my experience was that it was easier to enroll my kids in a "private academy", that was an umbrella institution for homeschooling families. On paper my kids were private schooled, but all students were taught by their parents in the home, and the academy was our accountability source. If we made the decision to come and then home-school, I'd probably use the same process.

Kelly Thank you for the Rainbow Resource, you may want to take a look at Sonlight Curriculum they have an excellent home school program.

Chesarea,

Sonlight is actually one I have placed high on my list but have never tried out. I've wanted to talk to someone who used it to get more feedback. I tend to create my own program utilizing portions of several different programs and am very guilty of over stocking my own books and reference materials. That's mostly what I tend to use Rainbow for, the extra stuff. They are great for those extra things like specialty writing paper, spelling tablets, craft supplies, etc. as well as many different individual books and programs.

Which island were you considering moving to?

If you find out any specifics on the legality issue regarding creating a private institution, please post.

Thanks.

Kelly,

I will share any info,

My husband and I did a short pre-move visit 3 years ago to STT, it was in November and the fog was so thick that we couldn't see much of the island, so we plan to return, hopefully w/ kids to get their views as well. I have friends with family on STX and they are pointing us there, but I am also interested in viewing STJ, although the real estate costs look daunting. Both STT and STX seem nice for different reasons, the votes still out.

Sonlight wooed me for years before I actually bit, and I've loved it ever since. My kids were originally in public school and I'd sonlight them during their vacations, when we home schooled exclusively sonlight was perfect for us. My only complaint was that I had to supplement language arts, theirs was good but boring, so I spiced it up. Also originally I bought 2 complete cores because I thought it would be better, but in th long run the 1 core was flexible enough and I simply added appropriate math and writing materials. It is an accelerated program...my kids loved it!!

Teresa,
I want to share a word of encouragement, My parents moved us to the Bahamas when I was 11 years old. I thought it a bit dull compared to CA. (My dad was from Nassau), unfortunately the marriage broke up and we returned some years later, but those years shaped me permanently. My world view is broader and my tastes are broader. It has been a plus to my life and my children's lives. My mom always says that the best thing that came out of it her marriage was introducing her kids to the Caribbean!! I've taken my husband and kids to many islands and I even tried Africa and Europe once. None of that may have happened had I not been exposed early. I think you'll see great blessings from your experience in the years , and as you can see I still have the taste for the Caribbean......

Hi Kelly -

I'm just curious why you don't just put your child in the private school there (Gift Hill)? Was the decision to homeschool a financial decision or do you have a negative impression of this school? Based on SAT scores, it seems the school puts out a pretty good product. Thanks very much.

Hello All,

Chesarae - thank you for the encouragement!

Humidity question - I think it is 100% humidity everywhere in the Caribbean. 🙂 Completely un researched of course. The problem with STT is that many or most areas of the island do not get the good breezes. You have to be facing the North or atop a hill to get the breezes and if you are lucky enough to get them, you are in good shape. You have less mosquitoes (they blow away???), less intense heat, and it tends to make it a bit drier. A friend of mine lived on top of a hill facing both North and South overlooking Bolongo and Buck Island. I would be dripping sweat down the hill from him and drive up there to swim in the pool. I would then be freezing (relatively) getting out of the pool with the breezes from the North. So anyway, other than letting me tell a story, the Bahamas are flat islands and probably get more breezes or some movement of air and feel drier?

If you search the Internet on legalities of home-schooling, you will find that Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I. require you to file with the Dept. of Education that you are homeschooling. Also, to note, I have one of those papers. You simply filled in your name, address, phone, and signed it. You are supposed to file this every school year. It is one page. They also have a paper to fill out if you want to start a school. It doesn't seem like much to fill out. I suggest using a tax preparer during tax time. It is the same form as a federal tax form. It is just filed to the U.S.V.I. and you get your return from the local government. You can claim your school income as a home based business and from what I understand you do not need a business license. The only thing that is hard is finding the Dept. of Education building and if they give you a hard time about home-schooling, you can walk or go to the Board of Education building and get the form there. They are about a block apart. I can give you directions for STT, but having a local help you will save time and frustration. My tax preparer is near there as well. 🙂

If you are researching home school materials, they will almost always send you a free catalog and a preview of testing or materials. Some actually will give you a high school diploma and you can attend a graduation ceremony. Home schooling is huge in the states and you can join all kinds of Internet support groups even from the islands. I would actually suggest finding a good website or support group and use them to get a home school group started. Then you have a greater possibility of exchanging curriculum and getting more use of the materials for your money. I found that a full years supplies could run from $400 to upwards of $1000. Still cheaper than private school, but I consider an air conditioned room a must. And that can make your electric bill really high.

Anyway, if I still lived on island, I was going to fight to get a half priced or all tuition scholarship from the private schools. Public wasn't horrible yet, but the older the kids got, the more problems I expected. When we originally moved to island we thought we had enough money for private school in the case that homeschooling didn't work out. What we found is that our 'extra' money went for a lot of unexpected expenses that the island seems to suck out of you.

For some reason my posts are getting long. I hope this helps. Good luck all!

Teresa

Puffer-

It's a combination answer-

We had already started homeschooling in the states the year before moving and it seemed to be working for us, for the time being.

We like the flexibility of being able to go back and forth to the states whenever we need to.

Yes, cost was an issue too. We bought and started back up a previously existing business and new that finances were going to be tight for at least a few years before we got settled.

I have heard things about the politics and related issues at St. John School (Gift Hill) but we are still planning on it a little later. My son is only in 4th grade this year. He's been somewhat sheltered by previously attending a small private school in the states and his personality would have him overwhelmed right now even if it was in the budget. He is changing and has changed a lot over the last year and a half though. It may turn out to be sooner rather than later that we decide to try the school out.

Hope that answers your questions. Are you affiliated with the school or just curious?

Kelly -

Thanks for that. We have a 4 yr old that we plan on putting in school there so I am happy to hear that you would consider it for your own child. (I'm not affiliated with the school in any way). I would be interested in hearing about "the politics and related issues" at the school if you are comfortable talking about it. Also would be interested to hear what business you took over.

Puffer,

To tell you the truth, I don't remember any specifics on the issues with the school. I'll ask my husband (I'm sure he remembers) and let you know. At the time I didn't think about it too much since I wasn't ready to send my son there yet anyway.

What area of the island do live?

We bought St. John Dive Adventures in Coral Bay.

-Kelly

Kelly -

Wow, what a fun business! I hope it treats you well. We are still stateside, strongly considering coming down this summer for a year to try it out. There were a number of issues that I wanted to get a better grip on first and education for our child was at the top of the list. So thanks very much for your input. It seems an agreeable long term housing rental could be a bit of a hurdle as well.