PORT HADLOCK — A program that offers supplemental instruction to home-school students is intended to bridge the gap between what parents can provide and what students need.
“We teach things here that are hard to teach at home,” said Karen Brennan, director of the Olympic Peninsula Home Connection.
“Home-school students get instruction in math, social studies, science and language. We offer instruction in areas that the parents can’t provide.”
These topics include art, ballet, music, theater, journalism and physical education.
About 100 students
About 100 students are involved in the program, equally divided at two venues: one in Port Hadlock at the Irondale Community Church, 681 Irondale Road, and another in Port Angeles at the Fairview Bible Church, 385 O’Brien Road.
The program is administered by the Crescent School District, which manages curriculum, finance and state requirements.
Waiting list
As part of the public school system, the program is free, although there is a waiting list.
“We want to keep enrollment down,” said Principal Dave Bingham.
“If we were to go over 100 students, we’d need to hire extra staff.”
The program employees include two full-time teachers, Brennan and Carla Powell, who shuttle between Port Angeles each Tuesday and Port Hadlock on Wednesdays.
They are assisted by about nine part-time instructors in each location as well as parents who volunteer to assume a variety of tasks.
Some instructors travel between the two campuses. Each has instructors exclusive to that location.
“We have a partnership with the parents,” Brennan said. “They are highly involved in everything we do here. They help to set the schedule, they show up early and help us set up and stay late to help us clean up.”
Parent and teacher
One parent involved in the school is Quilcene resident Franco Bertucci, who teaches a sequence of journalism, chess, guitar, band and theater each Wednesday in Port Hadlock.
Bertucci, who plays guitar in the band Locust Street Taxi, said that when the previous guitar teacher left, he was asked to fill in and agreed “because I was driving my kids here and back anyway.”
“These kids are open and energetic and ready to try things,” Bertucci said.
Brennan Powell, whose two children have switched between home schooling and the Chimacum School District, said the advantage of home instruction is its flexibility and accommodation of the students’ needs and interests.
“These kids make choices for themselves, which gives them ownership of their education,” she said.
The program provides instruction from preschool to eighth grade, so this particular class will need to either attend local public schools or continue their education at home.
This is more difficult for the older kids, Bingham said, adding that the program used to go up to 12th grade but was cut back because of the need for a larger staff and a more complex curriculum.
“We found that it was very difficult to meet all the state requirements for a high school diploma,” he said.
Setting goals
Bingham said that each student must meet with a staff member to set up educational goals, with regular meetings throughout the year to ensure progress is on track.
“If someone is not making progress, this will be addressed,” he said.
As the curriculum is state-funded, the parent/teacher is not allowed to blend in religious content with the daily instruction, adding “those subjects need to be addressed after school hours.”
Aside from instruction in Port Angeles and Port Hadlock, a Thursday field trip is open to all students each week, Brennan said. Programming is not offered in the summer.
The school provides a safe place and community, along with independence, Brennan said.
“People in public schools think they know 10 times more than the home-schoolers, but it’s not really true,” said eighth-grader Blake Dalton, 14. “They just learn different things.”
For more information, contact Brennan at karenlpbrennan@yahoo.com or 360-774-0242.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
