Welcome to the Alger Learning Center and Independence High School
Enthusiastically supporting homeschooling, unschooling, and creativity in learning since 1981.
The Alger Learning Center was founded in 1981 to provide students with creative educational alternatives while empowering them to take charge of their own lives and learning.
We work with children at all grade levels from pre-K through 8, and offer two types of high school completion programs for grades 9 through 12 through our Independence High School.
Washington residents who so desire can complete the requirements of the Washington State Board of Education for high school graduation through our local or distance learning homeschool assistance programs, and receive a diploma reflecting the State approved private school status of the Alger Learning Center. Go to Diploma based on WA State Requirements.
In our newest, most innovative high school diploma program, homeschoolers, unschoolers, and independent learners from every state, as well as globally, can enjoy unprecedented maximum freedom to pursue their academic and life interests in a decidedly less-structured manner, while obtaining a diploma emphasizing the national accreditation of the Alger Learning Center & Independence High School. Go to Nationally Accredited Diploma.
Our educational philosophy is grounded in the belief that learning is an ongoing, lifelong experience. We strongly believe that students deserve trust and the basic freedom to make choices, to put ideas into action, and to grow and learn according to their own learning style(s) and goals.
High School Diploma based on Washington State Requirements
This program, available only to residents of the state of Washington, follows the strict criteria of the Washington Board of Education’s requirements for a high school diploma. Students will complete a minimum of the 19 required credits specified by that board. Those who wish to apply for admission to four-year colleges and universities will be assisted by our state certified staff in selecting and completing the additional credits recommended for college admission by those institutions.
The diploma issued through this program reflects the Washington State approved private school status of the Alger Learning Center.
Graduates from our program have been accepted to a significant number of major colleges and universities, both here and abroad, to community and technical colleges, as well as vocational and art institutes.
Our programs and services are tailored to meet all the needs of homeschoolers, independent learners, and students traveling or working globally. We work with students with learning differences and/or special needs, those in need of credit retrieval and/or credit analysis, and those for whom exit testing presents their only obstacle to graduating, among many others.
As a Washington State approved private school, we do not have to require exit or other mandatory testing, including the Washington State Assessment of Learning (WASL), and we do not do so. It is our belief that such testing is unethical, and presents unfair and punitive barriers to many students who have otherwise more than met the academic requirements to allow them to proceed with their education and lives. Nor do we require a senior/culminating project.
Because we offer our programs year-around, our students may enroll at any time, complete their studies at their own pace, and graduate when they have done so.
Nationally Accredited Independence High School Diploma
This program is available to all students, in every state and province, as well as those living, traveling, or working globally.
Students will complete a set number of credits from core subjects plus electives, but will otherwise enjoy maximum, unrestrained freedom as they satisfy those credits in non-traditional, creative, and uniquely student-friendly ways.
In this program, students are not required to complete the 19 credits required by the State of Washington; they are allowed the freedom and flexibility to do what they want without following state-specific requirements. For example, they will not be required to complete Washington History, though they may, if they desire, opt to study the history of another state, region, or country as an elective.
Those who wish to apply for admission to four-year colleges and universities, however, will be assisted by our state certified staff in selecting and completing the additional credits recommended for college admission by those institutions.
With nearly 30 years of experience in the vanguard of an educational revolution, one which has made homeschooling and unschooling an increasingly appealing option for students and parents frustrated by the lock-step teaching methods and canned curriculum of the public school arena, we feel our proven approach and the substantial resources to which we have access are without equal.
The diploma issued through this program reflects the Nationally Accredited status of Independence High School.
Graduates from our school have been accepted to a significant number of major colleges and universities, both here and abroad, to community and technical colleges, as well as vocational and art institutes.
As a Washington State approved private school, we do not have to require exit, or other mandatory testing, or a senior/culminating project, and we do not do so. And because we offer our programs year-around, our students may enroll at any time, complete their studies at their own pace, and graduate as soon as they have done so.
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