FAQs

 New Horizons Home School & Academy is a homeschooling, full-service provider established in 1995. 

 Not exactly. NHHSA is much more traditional than that. We use textbooks and customized monthly programs to deliver curriculum assignments students will need for their particular grade level. Very few of our classes are online, but even those can be accessed on your schedule, not ours. No need to be logged into virtual classes for hours on end. 

Students are expected to turn in completed assignments once per month. We do the grading.  We keep the transcripts for you. 

Yes, of course!  We have that covered.  Your child needs help? We provide it one-on-one virtually or in the classroom during regular class hours. 

 Of course!  Homeschooled students normally test above average on the SAT and ACT tests that universities consider for admissions, and many colleges actively recruit homeschooled graduates.  We have found very few online, private colleges that do not accept homeschooled graduates but for each these there are hundreds more that do.  Even Ivy League Universities accept homeschooled students.   

 This is a common myth we hear from concerned parents all the time. The reality is just the opposite: with the right parental involvement and guidance, homeschooled students typically have MORE, not less, opportunities to network, make friends, join a club, or take up a new hobby or sport. Dr. Martin-Chang has remarked that homeschoolers, "belonged to a lot of groups ... It seemed like their days were longer, they had more time to take violin, and go to skiing lessons. There was not this huge chunk of the day that was busy at school." 

 Indeed, in all 50 states, as well as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Laws regarding a home-based education in the U.S. do vary from state to state, however, with some states being friendlier to home schoolers than others (which may subject you to a certain degree of regulation). Not sure what the laws are in your state? Get a hold of us, we'd be happy to advise you.   

 Better than a public school can! Think about it. The current factory model of education that public schools adhere to segregates children according to age and ability, limits interactions to recess periods and extracurricular activities, saddles students with unnecessary pressures, regulates all of their activities for 8+ hours a day, and bases assessments of student progress on densely accumulated knowledge, most of which will become forgotten or rendered useless in the job market. Homeschoolers have more freedom to pursue their own interests, passions and hobbies and, in the process, to develop the "real world" skills they're going to need later in life.   

It used to be primarily to provide religious or moral instruction, but that has changed as home schooling continues to explode in the U.S. and abroad. Now, some of the most common reasons parents home school include:

• To provide a customized/individualized curriculum.
  
• ​To avoid the ills plaguing many public schools today: violence, verbal harassment, bullying, drugs and alcohol abuse, and illicit sexual relations between students and teachers. 
  
• ​To impart a particular set of values.
  
• To implement teaching methods other than those used in public schools.
  
• ​To enhance family relationships. 
  
• ​To improve academic ability, individuality, and critical thinking skills. 

There are a number of reasons why families choose homeschooling over the public education system, but chief among them is this:  It works!​  The home-educated typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public schooled students on standardized academic achievement tests. And there's more.

• Homeschooled students are also typically above average on measures of social, emotional and psychological development. Research measures include peer interaction, self-concept, leadership skills, family cohesion, participation in community service, and self-esteem.​
• A decade ago, homeschooling may have seemed like a cutting-edge practice, but the truth is that today homeschooling borders on being a mainstream practice in the United States where there are about 2.1 million home educated students, with these numbers rapidly growing.
• ​A 2011 study conducted by Sandra Martin-Chang of Concordia University found that in 5 out of 7 test areas (word identification, phonic decoding, science, social science, and humanities) structured home schoolers were at least one grade level ahead of public schoolers - and in some cases, up to 5 grade levels ahead.