University Model School

Has anyone heard of this? We are prayerfully considering taking Maddie out of her current school (which is a full time private school.) Our other option in the area is a UMS (University Model school) where she will attend part time and be homeschooled the rest of the time. This is no relaxed deal. When they are home they are working full days, just as they would be at school. But the joy in that is that they will be with me 2 days a week. I love this idea b/c I will be involved in everything they learn, but I won't have to come up with the curriculum. And it will give me more time with my children, of course. The school we are considering is affiliated with our church and 2 of our pastors are on the board. Another positive is that it will be less than half of what we would pay for two kids at her current school.

I don't think I could homeschool full time, but I can't see my kids attending a public school, either. This just seems so perfect for our family.

I think it sounds very cool, the best of both worlds! I couldn't home school full time either, but two days a week sounds very do-able, especially when they provide the curriculum. Keep us posted when you decide!

I've never heard of it, but it sounds like the perfect fit for your family. Very cool.

Would you switch the kids now or wait until next year?

Sounds like a great opportunity. Have you made a list of pro's and con's of this compared to the current schooling situation?

It does seem like a good thing; you get the best of both worlds. The chance to take a more active role in your child's education, as well as the chance to home school, but Maddie would also still get the experience of what a non-home based school has to offer.

Seems like God has provided you with a great opportunity Let us know what you decide.

We have already committed to paying this school year out at her current school, so we would let her finish there and then start both kids at the new school next year. We talked to Maddie about it and she seems very excited.

It's funny b/c we haven't been extremely happy with her school for the past couple of years and I've been thinking about this for awhile. I actually didn't want her to go back to her school this year. So when our budget and finances dropped this year (drastically) and we realized we couldn't afford private school for 2 kids, we talked about alternatives. I even considered homeschooling f/t. We didn't know about this UMS private school. Even though our church is affilliated with it, they don't advertise and we have only been at this church for 5 mos.

This is exactly how I see it. I never would have considered this school before; with the homeschooling aspect and all, but I know He prepared my heart and my mind for the situation before we ever heard about the school.

I will let you all know more once I get more information on it.

Why not public school?

wow i have never heard of that, but OMG how cool!!

I think it sounds like a great idea. But why do they call it University Model School...I thought when I first saw the title of your post that Maddie was invited to do a modeling gig.
I guess it's a schooling model some university came up with?
I'm curious though--what's the idea, I mean, of being in class 3 days a week and being home the other 2. When I ask what the idea is, I mean for the school, not for the kids...why would the school choose to only actively teach 3 days a week?
Really sounds like the best of both worlds for you and especially if the kids are excited, I think it will be great.

Mike-
Personally we chose to give our kids a private Christian education. We never considered public schools. This is something Scotty and I talked about and prayed about before we ever had children.

Jennifer-

I just copied this from the NAUMS website:

A University-Model School® is a blend of the most positive aspects from traditional public and private schools as well as home schools, to give elementary through high school a highly successful, college-preparatory education, set in a Christian environment. The key is professional classroom instruction partnered with caring parenting at home.

The immediate goal of the UMS is quality, cost-effective, college-preparatory education accomplished in a way that gives parents more time for imparting the faith and values they hold precious. The ultimate goal is that of producing wholesome, competent men and women of character who make a positive difference for Christ in the next generation.

Ahhhh. Makes sense.

I like the idea of having some home and some private education because I feel the children get/ need more structure at school. But having them home a couple days a week is cool too because it gets you more involved in their education.

Ahhhh. Makes sense.

I like the idea of having some home and some private education because I feel the children get/ need more structure at school. But having them home a couple days a week is cool too because it gets you more involved in their education.

This is the exact reason I love the idea!! I need them to be at school most of the time {for my sanity and theirs}, but I don't want the school to get the "best" of them and have the most time with them. It seems that I get them when they are tired, beat down and crabby. Not only that, but I feel like I'm not as involved in their education. This was made evident last year when Maddie's grades were slipping and I wasn't notified that she was struggling until the report card came out and I saw that her grade dropped! The teacher never said a word to me the entire six weeks. I was not very happy. This year I have seen so much improvement and I've been very pleased with the teacher and Maddie's grades. But I feel as though the school has lost its vision and is not what we thought it would be.

At the UMS school they have meetings for the parents so they will know exactly what to teach their children on the homeschooling days. It's a great community of people I already know and trust, in the case that I need help or don't understand something. Because let's face it, things have changed a lot since I was in school.