As the start of the 2020-2021 school year approaches, the Issaquah School District continues to focus on safe and secure ways to reintroduce children to the classroom, in-person and/or virtually. And there are other options available for parents to consider.

The Issaquah School District offers alternative approaches to education, along with resources to learn more about options such as home-based instruction or at-home learning.

Home-Based Instruction, often referred to as home schooling, requires a completed Declaration of Intent for a child or children to receive home-based instruction in lieu of attendance or enrollment in a public school. This statement must be filed annually by September 15 or within two weeks of the beginning a trimester or semester in the Issaquah School District (ISD). This form should be submitted to the Teaching and Learning Services Department at the Issaquah Administration Center located at 5150 220th AVE SE, Issaquah, WA 98029. For more information about Home-Based Instruction please call 425-837-7078.

At Home Learning. “The Issaquah School District is committed to providing continuous learning opportunities, including new content, to our students, and to provide a framework for guidance for your teachers, specialists and certificated staff interacting with students. Although school campuses are temporarily closed, learning continues as we engage students with experiences that continue a planned learning program and help students to stay connected with teachers, certificated support staff, and classmates. These learning experiences offer authentic opportunities to focus on key concepts, knowledge growth, and skills development. The experiences emphasize interaction and creativity and involve a balance of on-screen and off-screen tasks that help connect previous learning in our classrooms to the essential new learnings.”

If you’re interested in learning more about homeschooling, The Washington Homeschool Organization (WHO) has more information below. Issaquah is in WHO Region 7.

https://washhomeschool.org/homeschooling/support-groups-co-ops/region-7/

The Washington Homeschool Organization (WHO) is a statewide, non-profit membership organization. Its mission is to serve the diverse interests of home-based instruction (the legal name for homeschooling) in Washington State. WHO is nonpartisan, nonsectarian, and non-discriminating in its views of homeschooling and participation in its activities. Specifically, the purposes of WHO are:
• To promote the interchange of information and support among homeschooling families and support groups throughout the state.
• To keep abreast of legislative developments in order to ensure independence of homeschoolers.
• To facilitate an informed statewide awareness of homeschooling.
• To assist parents who are considering homeschooling to make an informed choice and to offer resource information and support to those who have chosen the homeschooling option.
• To encourage educational growth for homeschooling parents by offering seminars, workshops, lectures, and at least one major convention a year.
• To assist homeschoolers and support groups in establishing communication with local school officials.
• To assist and support local homeschool groups and those wishing to form support groups by offering counseling, guidance, and information for organizing such groups.
• To provide assistance to credible research about homeschoolers and homeschooling results and/or outcomes.
• To uplift honest and sincere endeavors to promote homeschooling.