Academic Changes for 2024-2025 School Year
Prior to COVID-19, our Joy Ranch residents attended in-person classes at Carroll County Public Schools. They struggled greatly in this setting. They were constantly drawn into undesirable groups and behaviors because of their history of trauma along with poor executive function skills. State laws required our residents to attend public-school. The pandemic proved to be a blessing as it allowed us to remove our residents from the public-school setting.
Because of strict guidelines governing Children’s Residential Facilities in Virginia during COVID-19, we had to change over to the virtual classroom option for our residents. Academically, this did not have a significant impact on them. Just as with in-person school, they have performed at the minimally acceptable level, teetering on the edge of “unacceptable.” Socially and emotionally though, our residents have thrived being away from the daily social drama.
The trauma history of our residents draw them back to that cultural aspect. We want to protect them from such behavioral pitfalls while at the same time encourage them toward a better educational performance. Due to this trauma trap, going back to the on-campus educational platform does not hold the promise we are seeking.
After talking with the parents/guardians of our residents, they have agreed we should switch to a homeschool format. This will eliminate the opportunity for their child to be drawn into the dramas and undesirable behaviors. At the same time, it will put them back into an actual in-person teacher/student learning relationship. The parents/guardians have signed an authorization form for Joy Ranch to homeschool on their behalf. The Joy Ranch Board of Directors have approved this educational plan.
Joy Ranch has a staff member who is a retired public-school teacher with thirty-three years of middle school teaching experience. She will provide oversight for this program. The curriculum will be taught/led by a staff member with an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has been teaching online courses for the last two years to elementary, middle, and high school students. The program will be supported/ supplemented by the rest of the Joy Ranch staff who are well trained in trauma-informed care. All staff members meet the educational requirements of Virginia necessary to teach in a homeschool program.
Our residents will also belong to and actively participate in a local homeschool group which will provide additional educational opportunities. In addition to meeting all Virginia and Carroll County Public School requirements, this homeschool program will be monitored/inspected two times each year by the Licensing Division of Virginia Department of Social Services as part of their mandated in-person site inspections.
For this first year of homeschooling, we will use the My Father’s World curriculum for all of our students. We reviewed many different curriculums before settling on this particular one. While the educational material will be every bit as informative as what our residents have been using, the biblical worldview which is incorporated into every subject is the most significant aspect of the curriculum.
Our expenses for this initial year will be substantially higher than in the subsequent years. The upfront costs will also include the teacher books. In addition to the curriculum, we will have to purchase a record keeping service or software. Did you know the Commonwealth of Virginia requires educational records be kept for 75 years? The law also requires us to report attendance, progress, annual testing, final grades, and guidance counseling records to the Carroll County School Board each year. As I hope you can see, this is not a small task we are undertaking. For this initial year, we are estimating the cost to be approximately $1,000 per student or about $12,000 total. Once again, the following years will not prove to be nearly as costly.
Thank you for considering this appeal for additional financial support as we expand the ministry of Joy Ranch, a Christian Home for Children. Please pray for us as often as you think about it asking God to direct every decision and effort regarding the education of our residents. Also, please pray for their learning to substantially improve with this change in educational format.
