This post is an EXTRA post — a ‘bonus’ one, you could say — and is part of the series of posts that I’ll be writing this week, as my response to Jen @ Conversion Diary’s 2nd Epic Blogging Challenge. To God be all the glory! 

Before you proceed, please take note that this is not meant to be a ‘full-blown’ post about independent homeschooling in the Philippines (sorry, I don’t have time for that now, but I’ll try to write a follow-up to this post soon!). Hopefully though, after reading this, you will have a clearer idea of what it means to be an ‘independent homeschooler.’

Independent vs DepEd-accredited homeschooling

Here in the Philippines, we can loosely classify homeschoolers in two groups: the independent ones and the ones enrolled with DepEd-accredited providers (like Bo Sanchez’s Catholic Filipino Academy, CCF’s The Master’s Academy, Peniel Academy and so on). Generally, if you are NOT enrolled with a local homeschool provider (meaning one based in the Philippines, affiliated with a local school and accredited or acknowledged by DepEd) then you are an independent homeschooler.

Different kinds of independent homeschoolers

To further classify independent homeschoolers, here are a few descriptions:

• The independent homeschoolers who are enrolled with foreign homeschool providers, usually based in the U.S. Examples of such providers are Kolbe Academy Home School (where our eldest is enrolled) and Seton, which are both Catholic and provide curricula and lesson plans to enrolled families. Kolbe, however, does not require you to use the books that they suggest in their curriculum. I think Seton does though, meaning if you enroll with Seton, you would also need to purchase books from them. (Please correct me if I’m wrong, dear Seton homeschoolers!) If you have some questions about Kolbe, you may want to take a look at Blessie Adlaon’s post here, where she answers some FAQs. 🙂

Screen shot of Kolbe’s website — you can enroll online using your credit card even if you’re based in the Philippines. :)

• Some independent homeschoolers I know are enrolled with Home Life Academy (HLA), which is an official private school in the U.S. that has, according to their website, this goal in mind: “to provide support, record keeping, and counseling, coming along side of you — the parent — in order to help Light the Fires of education in your children.” As far as I know, the local homeschoolers enrolled with HLA have the freedom to choose what books/curricula to use. Fellow homeschooling work-at-home mom Daisy enrolled her kids with LHA and you can take a peek at their homeschool adventures here.

Photo from Daisy’s blog http://thehomeschoolingwahm.wordpress.com

• There are also independent homeschoolers who are more into unschooling/child-led/interest-led learning. They are generally not enrolled anywhere. One such family is Alex’s — check out her blog posts about homeschooling here. Whenever I read her blog, I feel (1) envious {in a good way} of their ‘laid-back’ life in Davao, and (2) encouraged to keep on homeschooling even if I think that we are too `relaxed’ most days! Another family that bases their ‘lessons’ more on the children’s interests is Teresa’s, and you can read about her adventures homeschooling her two little boys (one of whom has been called ‘potentially gifted’) here.
• Some homeschoolers just purchase curricula from different providers and then use these to homeschool their children, which is what I believe most homeschoolers in the U.S. do. I think Winnie’s family does this and she writes about their homeschool days here.

Can independent homeschoolers get into local schools?

Before we answer this question, let’s answer another question related to it: Is homeschooling legal in the Philippines in the first place? According to the TMA website:

“Homeschooling is legal in the Philippines. The Philippines Constitution, Article XIV, Section 1(2) states that the country will “Establish and maintain a system of free public education in the elementary and high school levels. Without limiting the natural right of parents to rear their children…” Under the last phrase, “Without limiting the natural right of parents to rear their children,” religious groups, mission boards, and families can branch off from public education to create their own private education. But, the Constitution also provides under Section 4 (1) that “the State recognizes the complementary roles of public and private institutions in the education system and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all education institutions.”

Therefore, the Department of Education (DepEd) Memo no. 216 s. 1997 entitled “Home Education Program” states that if a homeschooled student wants to transfer into a conventional school, he or she must first be accredited by the DepEd.”

So, if you are an independent homeschooler — even if you have records from a U.S.-based provider — it is my understanding that your child(ren) would need to take the Philippine Validating Test or PVT before he/she can be enrolled in a local brick-and-mortar school.

Thanks to Google, I found a very useful bit of information about the PVT as it concerns homeschoolers . (Please take note that the post was published in 2012). — in 2013 — says it may be easier to go the ALS (Alternative Learning System) route.

Having said that, I do know homeschoolers whose kids were able to get into local, private brick-and-mortar schools without taking the PVT. These families had records from U.S.-based homeschool providers though.

It makes sense then that one of the best things to do would be to inquire at the school where you plan to enroll your homeschooled kids — ask them what their requirements are, etc. — because requirements for application and admission may differ from school to school. For example, according to their website, Assumption College San Lorenzo requires home study and homeschooled applicants to take the DepEd validating test or PVT.

How do I know if I should go the independent or DepEd-accredited route?

I can’t answer this outright because I believe this decision is entirely up to you. Perhaps you can try answering these questions though: What works best for your family? What’s keeping you from going the DepEd route? What are your future education plans for your kids and what are your future plans for the family in general (e.g. are you going to migrate to another country, are the kids going to go to local universities, etc.)?

Just as our family had our own reasons for enrolling our son with Kolbe, each homeschooling family has their own reasons for the homeschooling path/route that they chose/choose to take. Each year may also find a particular family going a different way, depending on their circumstances. (Which is the case for our own family — we’re currently discerning whether to take a different route next school year.)

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At the end of the day, whether you’re independently homeschooling or not, please do know that you are not alone. Homeschooling is tough as it is, and we all know just how challenging it can be. This may be even more evidently felt when you feel that you and your family are alone on this wacky, wild journey. Trust me — you’re not. We’re in this together. And God? Well, He’s got your back! (Thank God, He’s got mine too!) 🙂 Let’s let Him help us deal with our fears!

**Coming up next: A special Word-Filled Wednesdays post featuring encouraging Bible verses for homeschool moms (and dads!)

**Don’t miss the first two posts in my 7 in 7 series:

Homeschooling in the Philippines — Answers to some FAQs

The Week and Day That Was: A Peek at Our Homeschool Days