School Options Info Night: Honing in on Homeschooling & Pods
A Recap of POWR's June 19, 2024 Event
A couple of months ago, the Parents/People of Waterloo Region (POWR) organized another School Options Parent Info Night in Elmira, following up on the School Options Open House held in Waterloo this past January. Since then, POWR has been:
Refining the understanding of various educational alternatives.
Raising awareness and advocating for change within our region’s publicly funded school systems, both public (WRDSB) and Catholic (WCDSB).
Here are the replays of the recent events:
School Options Open House - January 8, 2024
School Options: Creating Schools in Existing Spaces - April 9, 2024
Navigating the Publicly Funded System: What is the Ministry of Education Promoting in our Schools? - June 13, 2024
School Options: Honing in on Homeschooling & Pods - June 19, 2024
This June 19th event honed in on Homeschooling and Pods as viable options for parents looking for quality education without forced and unwelcomed indoctrination.
The event was again well attended, with the Woodside space filled to the brim - a pleasant surprise given the time of year - graduations, early vacations, and many with the sheer exhaustion of finishing up another heavy school year. This turnout is a testament to the growing public dissatisfaction with our mandated ‘schooled’ systems.
Key Takeaways:
The event's success underscores the desire for better educational options than those provided by the WRDSB and WCDSB.
Learning about homeschooling and pods has sparked excitement and empowerment among parents, challenging the societal narrative that these options are less desirable.
Recordings:
The full speakers' session is available below. Due to the packed schedule, open forum was limited (something POWR longs to bring into upcoming events), thus recorded Q&A sessions with speakers will be released within the next week!
The journey towards educational freedom continues, with POWR leading the charge for a system that truly serves the public!
00:04:22 - Dr. Anne Gillies – Peer Attachment & Education
00:41:54 - Laura Page, Director, Classical Conversations Canada - Teaching with Confidence and Support & Structure of Classical Conversations Community Homeschooling
00:56:28 - Christy Hoffman- The Ins & Outs of Homeschooling Co-Ops
01:08:40 – Cori Dean, Owner, The Learning House - Finding Your Home Learning Curriculum
01:24:00 - Jake & Heather Zwart, Executive Director Ontario Christian Home Educators Connection (OCHEC) Experiential Learning and Support Through OCHEC
01:44:16 - Milena Weinberg, Former Public School Teacher, Co-Founder School Pods Canada – Logistics of Joining or Starting a School Pod
02:01:50 - High-school Pods - They DO exist!
Other Helpful Resources Mentioned:
Kitchener Waterloo Christian Home Educators Association (KWCHEA)
WR Highschool Homeschool Group (email purplefish7@protonmail.com)
Ontario Policy: PPM 131
Critical Childhood Influences on the Life of a Faithful Christian Millennial
Slide Decks:
Peer Attachment, Anne Gillies
Experiential Learning, Jake Zwart
Support Through OCHEC, Heather Zwart
Logistics of Joining or Starting a School Pod, Milena Weinberg
