High School Options

High school experiences vary between individuals here at Village Home. Before 9th grade, homeschooling is straightforward; there are no “credits”, no “diploma” related decisions until 9th grade. Over the years, we have noticed there are three primary ways learners work their way through the high school years.

Regardless of your approach to the high school years, we offer a program to help teens navigate this time, and to assist with education-related decisions. See our CHOICES program for more details.

Homeschool or Unschool?

Some learners choose to continue their independent learning path at Village Home and in the community, and bypass high school official paths with a diploma at the end.

Homeschoolers who are about 18 may attend colleges and universities, hack their own college education, travel (gap year), enter community college (including alternative community colleges such as Wayfinding), enter professional training programs (note: some REQUIRE a GED or diploma), or pursue their career interests.

If you are interested in applying to college as a homeschooler or unschooler, we recommend researching admission information in the 9th grade year to find out what the requirements are for admission for homeschoolers at colleges you may be interested in attending. Most universities include this information on their website. For homeschool applicants, there is typically a requirement to take the SAT or ACT, at least one subject test, and two years of for-credit foreign language. In addition, homeschool applicants will be asked to summarize their learning in a portfolio format, including their Village Home classes, self-study classes, classes taken at the community college, and internships.

Dual Credit PCC Programs

Some VH high school learners stay at Village Home until they enroll in one of the dual-credit charter school programs when they are 16 years-old to earn high school and college credit. (Enrolling in PCC courses prior to age 16 is possible, but not typical.)

Most VH students continue to take classes at Village Home while also taking classes at PCC. It is easy to fit at least 3-4 VH classes/week into a typical PCC schedule, and we have noticed that students who remain grounded in their community at Village Home are experiencing better outcomes in their dual-credit programs at PCC.

Students in a dual-credit program typically earn their high school diploma in 203 years (not 4), and also earn college credits that are guaranteed to transfer to Oregon State Universities, and often also transfer to many other private and public universities. Learners may also have the option to earn a high school diploma and an associate’s degree simultaneously.

These programs require students to place at a certain level on  the Compass Test Entrance Exam at PCC at a particular level. See Baker Early College, and Summit Learning Academy  for details. Additional dual-credit programs include Gateway to College, which is managed directly by PCC, and district-based programs, which tend to more narrowly define participation as compared to the charter-based programs.

We host an information session each spring for families interested in applying to these dual-credit options.

Enroll in Public or Private High School

Some homeschoolers or independent learners want a diploma and prefer a traditional path to that end. Enrolling in a traditional public or private high school is a very defined path to a diploma. As such, it is easiest to enter this path during the 9th grade year, although students may enter their neighborhood school at other junctures.

What About College?