My wife and I have decided to homeschool our elder sons for middle school.  I homeschooled them during the last five weeks of summer vacation as an experiment, and we’re all happy with the results.  I’ll blog my rationale for homeschooling later.  For now, here’s the attendance contract.

Caplan Family School Permanent Attendance Contract

  1. The Caplan Family School (henceforth CFS) exists for the benefit of its students.  Its goals are to help students create an intellectually stimulating childhood and a promising adult career for themselves.
  2. To achieve these goals, the CFS curriculum is comprised of (a) material students are likely to use in the future, and (b) material students find interesting in the present.  “Material students are likely to find useful in the future” includes material students are likely to use in future grades.  Exposing students to diverse samples of potentially interesting material counts as useful.
  3. Bryan Caplan and Corina Caplan are the directors of CFS.  Bryan Caplan is its head teacher.  Directors have equal and final say over all CFS decisions, but the head teacher is responsible for all day-to-day CFS affairs.  Directors may select other teachers to assist the head teacher.
  4. All CFS teachers promise to competently and entertainingly teach the curriculum, treating all students with kindness and respect at all times.  The head teacher will be responsible for all legal and external test deadlines.
  5. CFS is a special school for highly motivated students with exemplary behavior.  Students promise to work hard on the assigned material every school day without complaint, and to treat their teachers with kindness and respect at all times.
  6. Students are entitled to politely suggest ways to improve CFS, but may not question directors’ final decisions during school or commuting time.
  7. Every CFS parent and student retains the right to unilaterally end attendance, but agrees to give one week advance notice of this decision.  Students who leave CFS will begin public school the first school day after their CFS attendance concludes.  CFS students who move to public school are expected to have an optimistic, can-do attitude toward their studies.
  8. The regular CFS school year begins on September 8, 2015 and continues year-round.  Vacation time will be set on a case-by-case basis.
  9. CFS students should expect to graduate at the end of 8th grade.  Students will attend a conventional high school so they can build strong transcripts for college admission.  The head teacher and students will both work to ensure a smooth transition to high school, but the head teacher is responsible for all legal and bureaucratic issues.