My family has been involved in several homeschool co-ops over the nine years we’ve homeschooled. Some of them weren’t the right fit, but on the whole they’ve really enhanced our homeschooling experience.
There are many benefits to joining a homeschool co-op:
- Social activities for both kids and parents
- Access to teachers who are passionate about a subject
- It builds your personal homeschool support system
- Kids learn to take direction from a different teacher who might have a different teaching style
- Some subjects and activities are just more fun in a group
On the other end, it can be a large, well-organized group that rents space and shares teaching duties Homeschooling cooperatives come in many different forms. They can be as simple as a couple of families taking turns teaching each other’s children a subject or two. Or they can be a large group that rents space and shares teaching duties.
At the other end of the spectrum, it can involve hiring a series of professional teachers to teach a variety of subjects in a church or community center.
Homeschool co-ops are a way for families to share the work of teaching their children with other families in a non-public school setting.
Sometimes we find a homeschool group that matches our style and goals right away, and other times we need to start our own homeschool co-op.
If you’re thinking about starting a homeschool co-op, it’s not as complicated as it may seem. I started one when my children were elementary school-aged, and it was really easy to do. I’ll walk you through the process and share examples from my own experience.
Where to Begin When Starting a Homeschool Co-Op
The first step to starting a homeschool cooperative is to check your state’s homeschool laws. Homeschool cooperatives may be subject to different rules and regulations than traditional homeschools, so it is important to understand your state’s laws before starting one.
For example, homeschool co-ops in Washington State are not considered private schools or daycares. In order to fall under homeschool law, homeschool parents are required to be on-site with their children. This is the historical precedence that has been set and accepted by the state to differentiate a homeschool co-op between private schools and daycares.
Your state homeschool organization can help you with understanding the legal rules regarding starting a co-op in your state.
Define Your Purpose and Use it As Your Mission Statement
What is the purpose of your homeschool co-op? What need are you looking to fill? Homeschool co-ops can vary greatly, depending on the needs of the families involved. The way they function will be based on the purpose they serve.
So what is your purpose?
Do you want to find other families who homeschool and share your religious beliefs?
Families who want to go on homeschool field trips together?
Do you want a variety of extra-curricular activities or perhaps a group of kids to do science classes with?
I recommend writing a co-op mission statement and using it as a guide.
If you plan to start a homeschool co-op for your teen, the purpose may be to have a group of peers for your child to socialize with, as well as to complete high school courses that work best in a group setting. Additionally, you may want other teens who uphold the same standards as your family.
Your mission statement, then, might look like this:
This co-op is a group of homeschooling families who believe that a combination of strong character traits, high spirituality, teamwork, and enriching academic instruction is important for their teen’s education.
The mission statement will also help you communicate what your co-op is all about to people who are not familiar with it. The mission statement will help you to define what you want from your co-op and communicate this to other homeschool families and people who are not familiar with your co-op. This will let others know if your co-op is a good fit for them.
Naming Your Homeschool Co-Op
A homeschool co-op’s name is usually the first thing people learn about it. If it has a good name, people interested in it will be able to tell right away if they should find out more about it.
A religious co-op would not be a good fit for someone who is looking for a secular homeschool co-op. An appropriately named co-op cuts down on the communications from families who might not be the best fit.
Here are some suggestions to think about when naming your co-op:
- Include location
- Specify religious or secular
- Indicate a particular homeschool philosophy
Some students find lectures helpful because they provide information in a linear manner. Some students find lectures helpful because the professors provide information in an organized way.
Frequency & Location
Once you have chosen the type of co-op you want to start, you need to decide how often you want to meet. The frequency of the meetings will depend on the type of co-op you have chosen. For example, if you have chosen to meet twice a week, then you will need to determine what days are best for the meeting.
The co-op may find that meeting up for park days once a week is the best option.
A field trip co-op may have a goals of two field trips a month, as opposed to having goals for specific days.
A co-op that meets for enrichment classes may decide to meet up more than once a week.
Finding a location for your homeschool co-op can often feel like you’re on a quest for the holy grail. It can be especially difficult to find a place to hold classes, as opposed to just meeting for park days or field trips. Through much trial and error, I’ve found that talking to churches – particularly ones where a co-op member has an affiliation – is a good place to start. And understand upfront, that you will need to be meticulous about leaving the rooms cleaner than you found them! Administrators tend to believe damage done was the fault of the outside group, rather than their own members.
Decide on a Format
Homeschool co-ops come in many different formats. A few questions to consider are:
- How many classes or activities do you want to offer?
- How often do you plan to meet?
- Will there be a mix of social activities and educational opportunities?
Ideally, you would meet often enough to accomplish your goal, as well as frequently enough for the children to start developing friendships. This might include park days every Monday and field trips every Friday.
You may only want to offer a few classes at your homeschool co-op. You might focus on essay writing, picture study, or some practical skills like how to use spreadsheet software. The number of classes you offer will dictate how often and how long to meet. I’ve found that once everyone makes the effort to get packed up and come to co-op, you may as well plan on staying for lunch and letting the kids have some social time. Our co-op even had quarterly pot-luck meals with each family bringing a dish to share, and letting the kids coordinate set up and clean up.
Choose Homeschool Co-op Teachers
There are pretty much two options in terms of co-op teachers:
- Parents of co-op students
- Hire a teacher
The parents who are part of the homeschool co-op are the obvious choice for teaching. They are already involved with the group and are usually willing to teach a class for free, especially if their children are also taking a class for free.
Sometimes you have a parent in your co-op who has a lot of professional experience in the subject they are teaching. This is a win-win because they usually charge less than other teachers, and their children are also benefiting from the co-op.
Leadership & Organizational Structure for Your Homeschool Co-Op
Although this may not seem important at first, it’s actually a good idea to have a plan for how you want your co-op to be run.
It’s important to consider who will be making decisions for the organization, whether there will be a board that makes decisions, and how those positions will be filled. It’s also important to think about how long people will hold those positions.
Many cooperatives want to avoid any centralized leadership. They didn’t want any one person or group to be “in charge.” While this may sound good in theory, it doesn’t work well in practice. Nothing ever gets done because no decision can be made without the consent of the entire group. These co-ops don’t usually last very long.
The leadership of a homeschool co-op is important for its success. A strong leadership will result in a successful co-op while a weak leadership will more likely lead to its failure.
It’s a good idea to have a President at the very least. As your co-op grows, you will need to fill more roles. Having the structure in place from the beginning will reduce the amount of pain and instability associated with growth.
Set a Price
The cost of your homeschool co-op is determined by the expenses.
Possible co-op expenses include:
- Location costs (+ insurance if required)
- Teacher fees
- Supplies
- Meetup fee
Make sure that the homeschool co-op fairly shares the costs.
It is easy to set a price for a small homeschool co-op that only has a few families. However, it is more difficult to set a price for a large co-op where students are choosing different classes.
I strongly suggest that, if you are hiring teachers, you have families pay the teachers directly.
If your homeschool co-op plans to use the Meetup service, you will need to charge members a small fee to cover the approximately $100 annual cost.
From experience, I’ve found that it’s easier to ask each family to contribute particular, specific supplies, rather than money, for individual classes. Do your best to keep the burden fair on all families so that the teacher doesn’t end up paying for everything.
Agree on Homeschool Co-op Rules
It is important for families who are part of a homeschool co-op to agree on some rules from the start. This will help the co-op run smoothly.
Think about:
- Can parents leave during class or do they need to stay?
- What happens if there are behavior problems?
- How much notice is needed to cancel a class?
- How will inclement weather be handled?
- Who is ultimately in charge of the co-op?
- What is the refund policy?
Some of these issues can be prevented by thinking through them beforehand.
A drop-off co-op is an entirely different animal from one with parents present. Understand that some kids will not be picked-up on time and set a policy for how to handle this situation ahead of when it happens (because it absolutely will happen). Discussing ahead of time will help mitigate the panic of the person left waiting with the child of chronically late parents, and it will let those parents know what consequences there will be for showing up late. In general, for kids too young to drive themselves, I strongly recommend that each person attending have a parent or responsible person on-site the entire day.
Set a Schedule
Choose a location, select teachers, and plan classes, then set a schedule for at least a semester in advance to avoid last-minute scheduling conflicts.
Sit down with a calendar and mark off the dates for co-op classes. Make a note of any holidays so there is no need to reschedule those classes at a later date. Share the dates with all of the homeschool families so they can plan ahead.
It is a bit more work to set up the schedule for a large co-op, as there are more classes. I recommend using a service like Meetup to do this, as it lets teachers add their classes to the calendar, which can be viewed by parents from their computer or phone.
Field trips and park days are a great way to socialize if one of your homeschool co-op goals is to do so. Remember to schedule some in advance, as some require planning ahead of time.
Inviting Members to Join Your Homeschool Co-op
Now that you have an idea of what you want your homeschool co-op to look like, you need to start finding people to join it.
Word of Mouth
Invite your friends and acquaintances who might be interested in joining your co-op. Use word of mouth to generate buzz and interest about your co-op.
Co-Op Website & Social Media
Having a website and Facebook page that is dedicated to your homeschool group makes it easier for others to find it. This is especially important if you want to attract new families. Many people use Google or Facebook to search for homeschool co-ops in their area, so make sure your co-op is visible to them.
FB Groups
You should look at the Facebook pages that are dedicated to homeschoolers in your area. If the Facebook page is for a homeschool community, make sure that it does not belong to a specific co-op already. Also, check the group rules to make sure that it is okay to post.
State Homeschool Organizations
The best way to find out if there are any homeschool co-ops in your state is to check the website of the state’s homeschool organization. They should have a list of all the active co-ops in the state. If not, you can email the organization contact and ask them to list your co-op.
Local Bulletin Boards
You can promote your co-op by advertising on your community center or library’s bulletin board. Put up a flyer with your co-op information to get people interested.
Kick-Off Your Co-Op With Success!
After you have everything set up, start your co-op! The first year will probably have some struggles, but if you follow these steps you will have a solid base.
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