What About College?

We believe that learning is a naturally enjoyable process, and our choice-based alternative-to-school is designed to maximize classroom engagement and learner autonomy. We develop empowered learners connected to their families and their world. We are glad your family will be part of our community. Here’s how to get started:

1. Learn About Village Home

Read through our website and explore our exciting slate of offerings. Schedule a tour (call 503-597-9100),  email (info@villagehome.org), or stop by the main campus during office hours to ask questions. We love to meet families who are homeshooling veterans as well as those exploring independent learning outside of traditional school for the first time.

Be sure to read What Makes Village Home to see if we are a good fit for your family. We welcome (mostly) homeschooling families who take various approaches to their childrens’ education. Even though we all may have different education styles,  VH families all agree that

(a) Every child is unique, and every child deserves an education that is tailored to them.

(b) The family unit is best suited to lead children on their optimal educational paths. Parents are welcome in the classroom anytime. We expect parents to be on campus if their children are not enrolled in a class. We do offer a two-day program where learners can be dropped off between 8:30 and 3:30.

(c) Learning is a natural, joyful process, and keeping the love of learning alive is the key component for developing a life-long learner. We believe that maximizing learner autonomy supports a love of learning.

Our community serves homeschoolers, charter schoolers, and even some private and public school students. We are designed for learners with academic, emotional, or behavioral challenges that preclude them from managing their own learning constructively in the classroom. Please see Who Are VH Learners for more information.

2. Browse Offerings

Look at our offerings and decide what you want to take. To view our classes and member activities, click here to view the Current Schedule. Some people take lots of classes, and some only take a few. Keep in mind we have three 10-week terms.   Most classes and activities are designed to run all year, in 3 terms of 10 weeks each. See calendar at www.villagehome.org for term dates. Learners enrolled in any particular class during a term are automatically pre-enrolled for the continuing term(s) in that year, but are not obligated to continue. Most learners continue in the same classes all year.  Each term, a few brand new classes will begin. Most classes accept mid-year enrollment.

Learn about Our Additional Services: In addition to weekly classes and member activities, we also offer one-on-one tutoring, field trips, events, standardized testing services, travel programs, and more. Learn more about our programs here.

Village Home learners successfully enter college in a variety of ways.

1. Apply as homeschoolers. In this case, students apply as non-traditional students without an accredited diploma.
   Some continue homeschooling through high school, and apply to college as a non-traditional applicant without a diploma (universities give clear instructions on how to apply as a homeschooler — check the universities you are interested in early in high school). Most universities require two years of foreign language, an SAT or ACT, and one or two SAT or AP subject tests for homeschool applicants. In addition, universities want to see a “portfolio” of work samples, and a record of work completed.  Most universities also want to see classes taken, including Village Home classes, so that it is demonstrated that the applicant has experience learning in a classroom setting.
2. Complete an Early College program, and apply as a freshman with a high school diploma. 
   Many VH learners attend publicly-funded dual-credit “early college” charter school programs and earn their high school diplomas while also earning college credit. Most VH learners start dual-credit programs when they are 16 (they are expected to place into Math 60 and Writing 121 at community college) to participate in most Early College Programs. Successful completion of Village Home’s math sequence from Pre-algebra through Algebra II prepares students to place at or above Math 60, and successful completion of Intermediate and High School Writing prepares students to place in Writing 121.  We recommend that learners transition to PCC while still remaining involved in their Village Home community.  There is time in a high school learner’s schedule at PCC to take a full-load at PCC while also being a part of classes and activities at Village Home.
3. Apply as a transfer student, with or without an Associate’s Degree.
   Some VH students take enough classes at community college to earn an associate’s degree (whether they earn the degree officially or not), and then apply to college as a transfer student.  Students applying as transfers generally do not have to submit an SAT or ACT test. Note, however, that there is less merit-based aid available to transfer students as compared with freshmen applicants.

More and more frequently, VH learners are opting to by-pass or delay college. Often, there passions lead them directly to a career path, or, they opt to take a “gap year” to explore the world and define their interests before plunging into the financial and academic commitment of college.

Choosing a path to a job or career is a very individual journey and process. Each person’s goal will vary, and every person’s path will be different.

A Sampling of Village Home Alumni Bios

Ben Dominguez

Ben was involved at Village for four years, in Choices, classes and Destination Imagination. An avid filmmaker, he wove film production into learning whenever possible, and even got to help film Class Dismissed. He volunteered at OMSI, studied digital music production, math and Spanish, and kept making his videos. Through Village he got involved with Revolution Parkour and became their official videographer.

Ben’s first professional album is released under the name Oregonmi. He’s been hired as Media Meister for LearnTech Labs in the Bay Area. He’s responsible for all media; video, photography and much of the company’s internet presence. Ben has worked several years as a TA with Digital Media Academy in filmmaking, special effects, electronic music production, and robotics.

Learning outside the classroom has allowed Ben to develop his ideal mix of mentors and experiences.  At Village, Ben felt great happiness and encouragement to be fully himself. He maintains a love of learning and insatiable curiosity that lead him daily to new explorations, deeper levels of understanding in all he pursues, and unbounded opportunity.

The Fitzgerald Girls

Tayt Fitzgerald attended Village Home for 7 years and especially loved martial arts, robotics, and art classes.  She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Portland State University at the age of 19, majoring in English.  She is attending Lewis and Clark Law school with an emphasis in animal and environmental law.

Younger sister Tesca also attended Village Home for 7 years and really liked robotics, foreign language, and martial arts. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Portland State University – alongside her sister – at the age of 16, and majored in computer science. She received a fully funded offer to attend Georgia Tech as a Ph.D. candidate to study artificial intelligence and humanoid robotics. Watch the link below to see the work Tesca Fitzgerald is doing:

The youngest Fitzgerald, Tylise, attended Village Home for 8 years.  Her passions were art, science, and robotics. After competing in robotics for 8 years as a robot designer, she started college is studying mechanical engineering.

Zach Meskell

Zach Meskell attended Village Home for 4 years, and participated in Mock Trial, Destination Imagination, and the Drama program, alongside numerous community and volunteer activities. He has since graduated from Pacific University, Summa Cum Laude, at the age of 18, and is now working in Boston as a paralegal to prepare for law school, while he also continues to perform in improvisational theater.  When possible, he reconnects with his friends & teammates from his VH days.

David Thomas

After leaving elementary school, David Thomas attended Village Home for 6 years through his middle and high school years. Village Home provided the whole family with a wonderful community, and interesting and varied classes taught by passionate teachers. David most enjoyed the experience and camaraderie of being on robotics and Destination Imagination teams throughout his time at Village Home. At 16 he began to transition from Village Home classes to taking classes at Portland Community College. He took all his core freshman courses at PCC and was able to transfer as a sophomore to Portland State University to study Computer Engineering. His passion is music–playing guitar, bass, keyboards, and any other instrument that strikes his fancy–and he plays in a band that performs shows around Portland.

Claren Walker

Claren Walker grew up at Village Home. Although her mom, the founder of Village Home, originally had great ideas for schooling her at home, she ended up getting all of her education at Village Home. Without any homework, and with all of the freedom she experienced in Village Home classes, she wondered if she was “learning everything”, but apparently she should not have worried. With the foundation she got in Village Home classes, Claren started augmenting her Village Home classes with Portland Community College classes when she was 16. Even though she had never been in an environment with grade accountability, she earned a 4.0 in her PCC college-level classes, as well as an excellent score on her SAT.  Claren remained active in the Village Home community as a member of  the Village Home state-championship Mock Trial team, a member of the Model United Nations group, and continued her involvement in the VH drama program while taking calsses at PCC.  At age 18, Claren entered the University of Oregon honors program on a full-ride, Presidential scholarship.

Ben Wood

Ben started attending Village Home at age 8 and completed his time there at age 18. During his time at Village Home he was a Student Representative on the Board of Directors, an Ambassador for the Model United Nations Team, and a Captain of the Mock Trial Team. Ben has stayed involved with the Village Home community; he has worked as an assistant coach for the Mock Trial team, which won the Oregon State Championship and competed at the national championship in Raleigh, NC. Ben also has been attending Portland Community College, where he hopes to finish all prerequisites before transferring to a 4 year university. Additionally, he has been working and saving his money for travel to Europe and possibly South America. Ben Wood enjoyed his time at Village Home tremendously as it gave him opportunities he wouldn’t have had in a traditional homeschool environment, and, more importantly, it allowed him to meet some of his closest friends whom he still sees today.