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Home Education in Iowa

Be sure to submit the "Competent Private Instruction" (CPI) forms by the first day of school in your school district or within 14 days of removing your child from school. The Network of Iowa Home Educators has more guidelines and information to help you get started.


NOTE: The information provided is a guideline. It is important for all parents to understand the statutes, procedures, policies, and/or guidelines in their home state and do what is necessary to comply with them. Find out the law in your state.



Home Education Resources and Support Groups

Families have been educating their children at home for years.  You don't need to start from scratch! 

Start with our Home Education Resources where you'll find links to curriculum, materials, teaching methods, answers to common questions about home education, step-by-step suggestions and creative options, and links to national organizations. Our goal is to share some of the best and most popular materials and resources.

You are not alone! There are many home education support groups in your area who have suggestions for teaching individual subjects, outlines of teaching methods, special needs links, activities, events, and much, much more. 

We also have links below to the major home education organization in Iowa.  You can find more support groups at their website.

 



Private Schools

Use the National Center for Education Statistics to find a private school in your area - just enter your city!  This useful database has many ways to search, provides stats such as grade levels of schools, student population, contact info for schools.



Laws and Standards

For the best understanding on the law and how to read it, we recommend National Home Education Legal Defense (NHELD). Once you read their site, you'll know why they are your vanguards of true legal freedom.  Here is an excerpt from NHELD:

 

Parents educate their children for a variety of reasons in a variety of ways. However, there is one thing that is crucial for all parents, the need to be free so that they are able to educate in the manner in which they choose in the best interest of their children. Together, we can and must retain this freedom; without freedom, there is only one choice: government schooling. That is not acceptable.

 

We also have links to the laws regarding education (from the NICHE website) and educational standards (from Developing Educational Standards)



If you feel that your group is not properly represented below - or if you know of a group that should be listed in one of our categories - or if you find a broken link - please let us know.  Thank you!


    
ORGANIZATIONS

You may want to start with the main home education organization in your state.

Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators

P.O. Box 158, Dexter, IA 50070
Phone: (515) 830-1614 or (800) 723-0438
Email: info@the-niche.org


Statewide homeschool organization. We welcome homeschool families from any perspective, but we promote home education from a Christian perspective. Annual conference and curriculum fair held in June. Monthly newsletter available with annual membership.

 



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E-GROUPS, CHAT GROUPS, POSTING GROUPS, PHONE SUPPORT


Central Iowa Christian Home Educators

Email:  CentralIowaHomeEducators-owner@yahoogroups.com

CICHE exists to encourage home schooling families to develop academic and spiritual excellence by: Providing group activities; prayer intercession; and information and resources for current and prospective home school families. $25 annual dues.

Area:  Marshalltown

 

Heritage Home Educators

Email:  HeritageHomeEducators-owner@yahoogroups.com

Devoted to communication between active members, this is not an open email loop. To find out how you can be actively involved, or if you are new to the area and are looking for a home school support group, you may contact the moderator of this site.

Area:  Knoxville

 

Homes with Heart and CM

Contact:  Cathy

Email:  thefourfruehs@msn.com

Homeschooling mothers encouraging one another and supporting each other through monthly meetings, and who use Charlotte Mason methods in their homeschooling. Unfortunately, this is a restricted group. It is intended as a means of communication between active group members. The requirement to join this email list is to attend two monthly meetings. If you would like to attend our meetings, please email for more information.

Area:  Des Moines, Central Iowa

 

Homeschool-Iowa

Email:  homeschool-Iowa-owner@yahoogroups.com

This page is for discussion of topics related to homeschooling in Iowa. Posting of events, organizations and homeschool websites are welcome. If you are looking for other homeschoolers to use as a support network, you have come to the right place. We do tend to get chatty sometimes and off topic. Please play nice and respect others, no flaming!!

 

Homeschooling Under God's Supervision (HUGS)

Contact:  Jeannie Kottra, (515) 963-1028

Email: hugshomeschooling@gmail.com

A Christian support group for homeschoolers that offers monthly art class, field trips, connections to gym class, lunch n' lit program, tae kwon do and much more. Statement of Faith required. Membership is $15 per year.

Area:  Ankeny and surrounding communities

 

IDEA-The Relaxed, Eclectic Unschoolers

(Iowans Dedicated to Educational Alternatives)

Email:  IDEA-2-owner@yahoogroups.com

Egroup: IDEA-The Relazed, Eclectic Unschoolers
IDEA is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization dedicated to providing information, support and encouragement to pursue life-long learning outside the school environment. This group recognizes that Learning is an internal process that thrives when people are free to explore life on their own terms, this philosophy is often called unschooling. Realizing that families come for support from various backgrounds and levels of homeschooling, IDEA has no official political or religious orientation and does not endorse any one resource.

 

Iowa Unschoolers

Email:  IAUnschoolers-owner@yahoogroups.com

Our purpose is to support parents who wish to discover and apply unschooling principles to their children's whole life. Whole-life or radical unschooling encompasses, at its core, an atmosphere of trust, freedom, joy and deep respect for who a child is. We embrace unschooling as a mindful lifestyle as well as a philosophy of natural learning. This list takes unschooling beyond academics and explores its principles of respect and individual freedom as they apply to our children's entire lives. This list is for providing information and resources for Iowans who want to practice peaceful parenting and radical unschooling.

 

Metro Home Educators

Contact: Kristi McCrary, (319) 433-0656

Email: kristimc@mchsi.com

MHE offers field trips, monthly social gatherings for moms, a 4-H club, group rate tickets for shows to the Black Hawk Children's Theater, and the Kaleidoscope series through UNI.  We also offer co-op courses for P.E., Choir, and a variety of other courses; and C.O.R.E. classes for grades 4-7. $15 annual membership fee.

Area:  Blackhawk and neighboring counties

 

Quad City Area Secular Homeschoolers

Email:  QCA_Secular_Homeschoolers-owner@yahoogroups.com

Primarily geared toward families who are homeschooling for reasons other than religion and who are looking for an alternative to religious homeschool groups. The email group was created to facilitate networking, event planning, and friendships between homeschooling families. Those of all faiths are encouraged to join and enjoy getting to know other local homeschoolers. Activity announcements, homeschooling related questions/stories/advice, event planning and supportive emails are all appropriate for the group. The QCA Secular Homeschoolers group is not limited to any one form/method of homeschooling.

 

T.E.E.C.H.-Iowa

(To Encourage and Educate our Children at Home)

Email:  teech_iowa-owner@yahoogroups.com

Egroup:  We are a Christian, but non-denominational, group. All homeschoolers in the area are invited and encouraged to attend activities. We have a low, annual family membership fee. The focus of our group is two-fold: to support the homeschooling parents (both mom and dad) and to provide interaction with other kids in group situations.

Area:  SE Iowa, centered around Louisa County


 

 



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Education Resources
Last updated November 20, 2009

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