Parent-Directed (Home Education) Program

In a Home Education program, parents are in charge of their child's educational program. When you register, you will need to include your program plan. We are always here to help you, but you can also choose find some supportive resources to guide your planning process.

Step 1: Review the Alberta Education Home Education Handbook for tips on how to establish learning goals, choose learning activities and resources, and plan for assessment.

Step 2: Complete your Home Education Program Plan. If you need support with creating your home ed plan, please identify so by checking the appropriate box on your notification form. A support staff will connect with you. 

Step 3: Follow this link to our Registration Page and follow the provided registration instructions.  You will want to choose the Home Education Registration (includes PARENT DIRECTED instruction) 2024-25 Grade K-12 program.

Step 4: Connect with your facilitator. Upon acceptance, you will be notified and assigned a facilitator who will be available once school starts in September. They can help you formulate learning goals, choose resources and decide on learning activities and assessments. They are available for on-going advice and recommendations as needed. Facilitators will also meet with you at least 2 times in the school year to review and report on your child’s progress.   

Step 5: Establish a school routine that fits your family’s values and goals and a portfolio/gradebook system to present to your facilitator upon progress visits. 

Step 6: Set up a Fall Progress Visit. Your facilitator will initiate a plan for progress visits where they will review the child’s portfolio and gradebook and offer encouragement and recommendations. You will be provided with a progress report that will be included in your child’s school file. 

Step 7: Later in the year, you will set up a Spring Progress Visit. Once again, your facilitator will review the portfolio and gradebook and write up a progress report. It is also a good time to begin discussing with your facilitator your home ed plan for next year based on any recommendations from the current year’s progress.  

Step 8: Register early for the following school year so you can get early acceptance and access to your resource funds.

NorthStar Academy makes funding available each year for students who are in the Home Education Program. These amounts are administered by guidelines set out by Alberta Education in the Alberta Education Home Education Regulations Act.

A parent must use the funding for costs incurred by the student for programs of study, instructional materials or other resources related to the home education program and provide the school with receipts showing how the funding was spent. They must not use the funding as a form of personal remuneration or to pay for travel costs or other expenses usually required to be paid by a parent of a student who is enrolled in a brick and mortar school.

NSA goes to great lengths to make sure the needs of our families are being met. Funding is available after October 15th of the academic year. Access to funds earlier than October 15th is through Purchase Orders (POs) only. You must be registered with NorthStar Academy by September 29th in order to have access to funding. 

Please contact Michelle Best (michelle.best@nsaschool.ca) for more information.

NorthStar offers our home education families exceptional educational supports and resources. As a part of the NorthStar family, in addition to your funding, you will have access to:

• Certified teachers who value home education
• Suggested resource lists and grade-level packages
• Activity Days held across the province
• Learning Clusters - a great way to meet new friends and try new things
• Access to online learning subscriptions
• Access to standardized assessments
• Learning Supports consultation
• Supportive Parent Community in our virtual Parent Cafe

Please contact Angela Paine (angela.paine@nsaschool.ca) if you have any questions about educational supports for your home education program.

Home Education and Shared Responsibility registrations require a completed Home Ed plan for your child’s upcoming school year, for the parent-directed courses, prior to acceptance. Below is an optional template that you can use.  Please contact your facilitator for support completing the form.

Home Education Plan Template

If the video does not play, please view on YouTube at https://youtu.be/fDSeEHOwljI

NorthStar Landing is a webpage specifically designed for our Home Education supervisors.  Here you can find:

• Parent Directed Resources
  • The Evaluation Process
  • Keeping Portfolios
  • Education Plan
  • Approaches to Home Ed
  • Homeschool Handbook
  • Funding
• Learning Resources
  • Reading
  • Writing and Spelling
  • Math
  • Science
  • Social Studies/History
  • Bible
  • Physical Education and Wellness
  • Fine Arts
  • French
• Learning Supports
• Community Connections
  • Activity Days
  • Learning Clusters
  • Learning Huddles

This feature will be available in the Fall of 2024