High School

How will my child ever get into postsecondary studies if they’re home educated through high school? Surely they’ll need to obtain a government school diploma to do that, right?

Most home educating parents ask themselves these two questions at some point — sometimes before their children have even started kindergarten!

An Alberta High School Diploma is a piece of paper that certifies that its holder has demonstrated proficiency in the scope and sequence laid out by the Alberta Program of Studies (APS) for the high school years. When home educating families for whom following the APS has not been a priority reach the high school years, they are faced with a decision: Do they give up the educational freedom they have enjoyed in order to obtain the credits required for a government diploma, or do they continue on as they have been? While some high school graduates are not interested in entering postsecondary studies immediately following high school (and will perhaps never consider it), many home educated students have career aspirations that lead them in this direction.

While it is possible to obtain the 100 credits required for a government diploma while home educating under the Alberta Home Education Regulation, it can be reassuring to know that students in Alberta can be home educated throughout high school and still gain entrance into postsecondary institutions without an Alberta High School Diploma (and even without any high school credits)

Most, if not all home educators suffer from some degree of panic, uncertainty or confusion as their children approach the high school years. This shaking of your confidence in what you have chosen to do and believed was the right choice for perhaps 8-10 years can be frightening!

Here’s hoping that some of the following ideas/suggestions/personal experiences will grant you courage to persevere and carry on in what you have begun!