The Home Education option for families is available through Northern Lights Public Schools in partnership with our Learning Together Anywhere School for students in grades 1 to 9 and our Northern Lights Outreach schools for students in grades 10 to 12.
While we support the concept of students attending public schools, the circumstances of a student may call for an alternative educational option. In the past, parents and students have chosen a Home Education program for many, very different reasons.
- Students may have health issues, which prevent them from regular attendance.
- Students may need to leave with family members for an extended period of time for sports or employment.
- Students may want a particular program of studies not available in area schools.
- Students may find the structure of schooling difficult to cope with.
- Students may have been expelled or suspended from regular programming.
- Students may wish to follow an alternate curriculum focus.
Home Education is a parent-directed approach to educating a student in Grades 1 to 12 at home or elsewhere in which they are responsible for making all educational decisions.
Parents choosing Home Education have the primary responsibility for planning, managing, providing, evaluating, and supervising their children’s courses of study. They must develop a Home Education program that enables the student to achieve appropriate learning outcomes.
If a parent requests it, the associate board must provide assistance and advice to improve student learning.
The associate board must also arrange for certificated teachers employed by the associate board to conduct at least two formal evaluations of each student each school year.
These evaluations include a review of the student portfolio & recommendations to help students make improvements.
Together with the parents, the associate school board must ensure that each student meets the parents’ educational outcomes in accordance with the Home Education Regulation.
In order to receive their portion (50%) of the Home Education Grant, the parent must have been notified and been accepted by an associate board regarding the Home Education program by September 30.
More information about Home Education is available in the Alberta Parent Home Education Handbook.
If you are pursuing Home Education connected to NLPS, you will need to complete the Notification Form for Home Education Program Supervised by a School Authority
Before you complete the form, we recommend you speak to our school principals about what home education connected to NLPS looks like. Please contact our Learning Together Anywhere School (grades 1-9) or Northern Lights Outreach schools (grades 10-12) to discuss your options.
Families participating in Home Education connected to an NLPS school are eligible for reimbursement for some expenses. Please refer to the Standards for Home Education Reimbursement schedule for more information.
To claim your expenses, please follow the instructions in our Home Education Reimbursement Form. Please note, you will need to have a Google account to access this form.
This form is for parents who wish to transfer some or all of the unclaimed parental portion of the home education funding for their child to the associate school authority for educational use.