Umbrella Schools vary state by state. In the state of Maryland, the statutes allow for homeschooling either under the supervision of the county, or under a "bona fide church" education ministry. These have come to be called "Umbrella" groups for short. There are hundreds in our state. I am the director of an Umbrella under the authority of our Methodist church. We have opened membership to non-church members, with a requirement of a letter of recommendation from the family's home church. Many Umbrellas restrict the membership to church members only. There may be some that are open to non-Christians, but I have heard there are not many.
An Umbrella is an advantage to a home school family because the reviews that are done 3 times a year are completed with someone who is familiar with home schooling, curriculum, grading systems, and character training. These sessions usually take an hour or more, and include prayer and a relationship over many years. In comparison, those being evaluated by the county are only given 15-20 minutes to review the entire family, regardless of the number of students. These evaluators are public school employees who know nothing about other curriculum available, and can offer little advice for adapting a program to meet a student's learning style or the family's circumstances. They are just looking quickly to make sure regular, thorough teaching in each of the subjects can be documented.
Another advantage of an Umbrella is the network with other home schooling families for field trips, events such as a science fair and sometimes shared tutors or co-op groups may develop. Our Umbrella also offers high school transcripts as well as diplomas with a graduation ceremony. The county suggests students take a GED when finished with high school.
Lastly, we see Umbrellas as a way to ensure our continued freedom to home school in the state. Our fear is that if home schoolers over burden the county system, state educators may try to change the laws so that all home schoolers use the same curriculum to make the county oversight easier and "more fair". You can imagine them doing that, right? Home School Umbrella groups demonstrate to the state educators that we are able to self-monitor. As a director, I do communicate with the county personnel, to inform them families who have been supervised and are compliant, as well as the names of families who have withdrawn. In this way we work together to ensure that some families do not abuse the freedom by just allowing thier children to stay at home, play video games and do no school work.
I hope this helps you understand the value of home school Umbrellas.
Tricia Patterson, Bowie, Maryland
