Desert School Choice (DSC), a Coachella Valley organization, is hard at work assisting parents that want to remove their children from the public school system. DCS offers information for homeschooling, home-based charter/online school, and private schools, that parents opt for rather than send their children to the local public schools.
According to DSC’s website, their vision is “to inform, encourage and equip parents seeking an alternative to the public school system for their children. We seek to help families connect with other families, teachers and resources so that all children have dynamic, healthy learning options if parents are opposed to the curriculum and medical mandates of the public schools.“
Homeschool
According to DSC, there are three options for homeschooling: Private, less-structured, and home-based charter. Three steps need to be undertaken before one starts homeschooling their children.
Firstly, parents should enroll in a Private School Satellite Program (PSP), which “provides an immediate legal umbrella for you to begin homeschooling, as well as all the coaching [needed to get started].” Another option would be to file a Private School Affidavit (PSA). When filing a PSA, “you are basically registering yourself as a private school in order to legally homeschool.“
Next stop for parents is to contact the “HomeSchool Legal Defense Association” which “offers homeschooling resources and answers to your legal questions.”
Once the ‘t’s are crossed and the ‘i’s are dotted, parents are ready to “connect with a homeschooling community.” DSC offers contacts an even dozen homeschool organizations that parents can connect with. Clicking on the “Home-Based Charter/Online” or “Private Schools” option under the “School Choices” will bring up a page with options for parents, should they choose either of those options.
Resources
DSC maintains a resource page, where parents can find tutoring services and organizations that can help them navigate the murky water of California education law, lend guidance or support, and opportunities to get involved in policy shaping from the grassroots level. Organizations include CalMatters, Family Protection Ministries (FPM), and Parents Defending Education, but there are many more. The three tutoring services are:
A2Z Tutoring is an in-home education company based in Sydney. We specialise in matching students with tutors to provide exceptional 1-on-1 … Visit https://tutoringa2z.com .
Mathnasium offers customized in-person and live, face-to-face online math tutoring to help kids learn math through lessons and tutorials for grades K-12. Visit https://www.mathnasium.com/.
Stepping Stones offers three steps to success: The first step is individualized learning for homeschooling, independent studies, or blended learning students. Visit sskids.org.
https://www.desertschoolchoice.com/resources-support/
The Educators & Volunteers page
DSC recognizes that many veteran teachers are opting to leave the profession rather than “teach offensive and inappropriate curriculum.” The note to educators correctly states that many teachers left the profession due to “unconstitutional mask and vaccine mandates,” during the progressive lefts (Marxist extremists) dry-run at totalitarianism during Covid. Further, DSC states that “…as a community want to support and encourage these teachers as they seek a better way to educate and work. We are providing a place for teachers to list their availability and qualifications so that they can find work either at other schools, or in assisting parents with homeschooling individually or in co-op groups.“
There is also an opportunity for volunteers to donate financially, or with “their time, energy and skills to assist in the homeschooling process and remove obstacles so that ANY parent has the opportunity to homeschool their children.”
DSC provides a contact form for volunteers and teachers seeking employment. There are also a few ideas for teachers to get started by providing links to a few charter and/or online school organizations seeking teachers.
Desert School Choice provides valuable information to both families and educators that are seeking separation from the government run schools that are increasingly following radical gender ideology, divisive DEI practices, and unsafe discipline policies such as MTSS. Indeed, sources familiar with the situation tell of a recent teacher union poll that showed teachers had major concerns over their physical and medical safety due to student behavior issues. As school boards of the desert communities continue to dig their heels into implementing disastrous policies and insidious curriculum, or allow their administrators to, Desert School Choice will surely continue to be a vital resource for families fleeing the education matrix.