Distance Education Offered: Independence High School ..
David Maupin
Thank you for inquiring about our programs. Since l980 we have provided a
unique approach to education as an alternative to the traditional lock-step,
attendance-based curriculum found in mainstream systems.
Our educational philosophy is grounded in the belief that learning is an
ongoing, lifelong experience, and thus students deserve the freedom to make
choices, to put ideas into action, to grow and learn in their own way.
With an eye to each student's individual goals and needs in a learning
program, Alger Learning Center's teachers and staff assist students and
parents in identifying and defining those goals, and design learning
contracts to meet them, based on personal interests, background, and
aptitudes.
It is our objective to stimulate and inculcate Independent Learning,
including total support and encouragement for Unschooling. By
individualizing learning programs based on each student's learning gifts,
learning differences, or both, we seek to enable them to develop the tools
for a lifetime of independent learning, free of the shackles of a regimented
system.
We offer a variety of services, from distance learning programs to
homeschooling assistance, diagnostic testing and credit analysis, credit
retrieval, and high school completion and adult education programs. As a
state approved private school and non-public agency, we can work with public
school districts, accept dual schoolers, and issue Washington State approved
transcripts and high school diplomas. We are approved by the federal
government to work with non-immigrant alien students. We are not
attendance-based and we have no "school year"; students may enroll at
anytime, year around, and complete their work at a pace determined by their
learning contract.
Our fee schedule varies with the service(s) rendered. In Distance Learning
programs, we work with students and parents by email, fax, regular mail or
phone to facilitate course completion for home schoolers, frequent or long
term travelers, and others who need our state-approved assistance. The fee,
in most cases, is $75 per month, and there is a one-time
enrollment/registration fee of $25, which includes diagnostic testing.
Substantial discounts are offered for additional students from the same
family.
We would like to meet or speak individually with you to address your
specific situation and educational needs. Please feel free to call us at
(360) 595-2630 or toll free (U.S. only) at 1-800-595-2630 during normal
Learning Center hours (10 a.m. to 5 p.m., M-F, Pacific time zone), or reach
us by email, fax, or by visiting our web site.
Enrollment process & outline of distance learning program
We encourage interested families to contact us through the easiest means
available to them, whether that be our toll-free phone, fax, e-mail, regular
mail, or our developing website.
In many states, parents must file a "Notice of Intent" to homeschool; this
usually involves a single visit to the office of your local public school
district. Certain states require annual assessments, and we assist in this
where possible.
When you have completed and submitted an enrollment form along with the
one-time enrollment fee of $25, the process begins with an analysis of
diagnostic testing for basic skills. The diagnostic testing can be
accomplished in several ways: recent testing and/or a realistic appraisal of
skill/equivalence levels in reading and math by parents and student are
acceptable, or we can send you tests appropriate for your selfe-stimated
level, which can be administered by the parent(s) or student.
In addition to the information about your learning gifts and levels that the
testing provides, we also solicit as much input as possible from the parents
and student concerning other aspects of his/her learning styles or learning
differences. As part of the enrollment procedure, you will be asked to
complete a form providing pertinent information about the student's
educational background, health history, and known or perceived learning
differences. Please be candid and use a separate page if necessary, as such
information is frequently of great value in designing classes and suggesting
materials and resources.
Upon enrollment, parents and students will be assisted by Alger staff in
designing their own classes through a form we call the Learning Contract.
Although we encourage unstructured learning, and support freedom,
creativity, and spontaneity in education, as well as "Unschooling," our
unique Learning Contract combines structure, for the documentation process,
as well as flexibility for creative learning.
Students will be given a wide range of subject areas in the various required
and elective courses, and then presented with a variety of suggested
resources and materials. However, students are empowered and encouraged to
create and develop their own learning activities and resources; to add to or
refine their learning contracts as an ongoing process; and to engage in and
benefit from unplanned or spontaneous learning.
Our goal is simple: success in learning for all, with learning viewed as a
lifelong experience. We care that each individual student is learning, and
is happy with his/her learning style, not how that student is learning, as
determined by attendance, mandatory lock-step curriculum, and regimented
routine.
Learning Tools: a few examples of the types of learning activities and
resources typically utilized by ALC/IHS students are computer software and
the Internet, educational TV and videos, textbooks, paperbacks, books on
tape, the print and broadcast media, and experiential learning.
Students are encouraged to make use of community resources for learning.
Learning can take place in or be facilitated by community college and public
libraries, most with Internet access, by museums and galleries, by community
groups devoted to specific study, such as astronomy clubs, music and art
organizations, gyms, sports leagues, 4H, and many, many others.
We help and encourage global learners, students who are traveling the world
with family or in vocational pursuits. Some recent examples include a home
schooling family living in Egypt while studying the Nile, students studying
art and foreign languages in Spain and France, students working to combat
poverty through the "Amigos" program in Ecuador, a student visiting China.
Types of credits which can be earned while traveling include Geography,
World History, English, Art, and Foreign Languages, among others.
As mentioned earlier, we recognize Unschooling as a viable way of learning
and earning credits. Examples of students earning credits in nontraditional
ways include health credits earned by volunteering or working for medical
professionals, science credits from working with veterinarians, P.E. credits
for snowboarding, shop credits from home projects or apprenticeship, etc.
Once Learning Contracts have been designed, our staff will begin an ongoing
monitoring of the student's progress. Students will submit their work,
whether tests, reviews, responses to materials, or projects, for evaluation
as part of the agreed goals of the learning contract. When terms of the
learning contract have been met, the student is given a grade that is
entered on an official transcript. When the State of Washington requirement
of 19 credits is met, we can issue a Washington State-approved high school
diploma.
Tuition of $75 is due monthly, corresponding to the date of enrollment, and
tuition payment booklets may be obtained from the staff. Substantial
discounts are offered for additional students from the same family, and we
offer a 10% tuition discount for fees paid annually in advance. Withdrawal
Policy: We require two weeks notification prior to withdrawal. Parents or
guardians must obtain and complete a withdrawal form if the student is under
18.
Phone: 1-800-595-2630 during Regular Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Pacific Time,
M-F.
Email: Or...@nas.com
FAX: (360) 595-1141
Web site: http://www.independent-learning.com