For those of you that use Oak Meadows be aware that you still need to file the Declaration of Intent, and
you still need to Qualify to home-educate. Some parents using Oak Meadows have been confused about there status. If you are
using Oak Meadows and have not filed your Declaration of Intent you are considered truant by the state, please file as soon
as you can to avoid any Becca Bill problems. Those of you wanting your credits to transfer they may not have your credits
accepted. The State Board of Education confirms that public schools do not have to accept the credits because public schools
do not have to be accredited in Washington. Also private schools in Washington do not have to be accredited (again confirmed
by the State Board of Ed), they have to be approved by the state, so the schools that are not accredited would not have to
accept the credits. WNLA has no opinion on Oak Meadows curriculum each parent mush review and choose what is best
for their child. Here are some of the emails received from Oak Meadows:
Letter received by parent:
We are in correspondence with the State Board of Education for Washington
state (which is not the same as the "Washington Natural Learning Association"), and we are waiting to hear back from them
directly. Due to the fact that we are accredited, we do not believe that we fall under these homeschooling regulations that
you were given by the Natural Learning Assoc. I will let you know what the State Board has to say on this!
Sincerely,
Gay
Letters received by WNLA:
Dear Ms. Thomas:
Oak Meadow is accredited through CITA, Middles States and Southern States. Since
we have the approval of two of the accreditation boards, Northwestern States accepts us as well. This means that any credits
received from Oak Meadow will transfer to any school in Washington. You may contact Northwestern States directly http://www2.boisestate.edu/nasc/ to verify this information, and that would be appropriate before giving out misinformation.
This is independent of filing an intent to homeschool. Enrolled families will
still file the intent, and their work will need to be reviewed by a teacher certified in Washington state.
Sincerely,
Gay Foster at Oak Meadow
Dear Ms. Thomas,
I feel that some clarification is needed about the status of Oak Meadow School.
We are not an unapproved private school in Washington State. Oak Meadow School does not have any legal status as an approved
or unapproved school in Washington State because we are not based in the State of Washington. Our enrolled students who reside
in the State of Washington must adhere to the rules and regulations that apply to students being educated at home.
The issue of credit transferring is a completely different issue. Our accreditation
with CITA, Southern States and Middle States ensures that our student’s credits will be accepted by all schools that
are accredited by one of the regional accrediting agencies. The regional accrediting agency that covers the State of Washington
is the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. All accredited schools must accept credits from any other school that
is regionally accredited. The information below is from their website. (http://www2.boisestate.edu/nasc/news.htm)
Policy on Accepting Credits
4.5.5 Credits and Records. Each school shall abide by the following
policies and shall adopt polices and implementation procedures for addressing the granting of credits.
4.5.5.1 Accepting Credits from Regionally Accredited Schools. Member schools are
required to accept credits from schools accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, North Central
Association of Schools and Colleges, New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Northwest Association of Accredited
Schools, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and Western Association of Schools and Colleges, subject to state laws.
Schools and districts can certainly put limits of the number of credits, if any, that are allowed from a school towards graduation
or any recognition, such as valedictorian, salutatorian, honors, etc.
I hope that this information corrects any misunderstanding regarding the transferring
of Oak Meadow School credits because to suggest that our credits will not transfer does a disservice to both Oak Meadow School
and our enrolled students.
Sincerely,
Craig MacIntyre
CEO, Oak Meadow
