Homeschool is Open!
Numerous public schools and districts nationwide are already closed, with more closing daily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unprepared school districts are scrambling to find platforms to deliver their narrow curriculum to an unnerved audience composed of millions of students and parents throughout the U. S.
Many schools have proposed a variety of methods to keep the educational channels open, generally through e-learning or other variations of online learning. However, too often the public schools are ill-equipped to provide such alternatives, and the general aim is essentially to impose the narrow focus of public education on the home.
By contrast, our philosophy is that the home is a natural setting for schooling that is flexibly individualized, supportive of creativity and originality, and completely student-centered.
We have been using and expanding on the many different existing tools and resources available for homeschooling, and constantly developing new approaches to independent learning for nearly 40 years, including the incorporation of the rapidly expanding world of e-learning and internet resources, and uniquely creative learning experiences based on experiential, holistic, or other approaches.
Alternatives are available. Call us today at 1-800-595-2630 for more information!
Providing creative educational alternatives, along with assistance for, and the enthusiastic support of Homeschoolers, Unschoolers, and other independent learners, since 1981.
Experience the Difference an Individualized Education Can Make!
The Alger Learning Center & Independence High School was established in 1981 to assist homeschooling families, and provide students with a creative educational alternative to public schools, while empowering them to take charge of their own lives and learning. In 1991, we were approved as a K-12 private school by the State of Washington Board of Education, and have been approved annually since.
Students enrolled in our school are helped to design their own classes, based on their own interests and abilities. They are allowed the freedom to explore topics and use resources that are interesting and excite the learner, and are guided by their teachers as they design and follow through with the classwork and academic preparation necessary to meet all the requirements for graduation, and to achieve their life goals.
We also operate a homeschool extension program that is non-attendance based; local homeschoolers in that program come to our Bellingham classroom on an appointment basis, meeting with their supervising teacher once or twice a week for a monthly average of one hour per week, to go over the student’s progress and evaluate each class. These students are able to enjoy their own unique homeschooling/ unschooling experience, with the assistance and supervision of an approved private school. Working one on one with a professional teacher, they become empowered to learn outside a classroom, and graduate with an official high school diploma. Our approach inspires young people to take charge of their own education, and become life long learners.
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 in their own way, according to their own learning styles, while furthering their educational and lifetime goals. Our services include:
- Global Distance Learning
- Individualized, self-paced curriculum
- Official transcripts and diplomas
- Record-keeping services
- Enthusiastic homeschool assistance
- Custom homeschool curriculum
- Homeschooling & Unschooling recognition and support
- Online learning options
- Validation of credits for Extracurricular Activities
- On-site classes, library, and tutoring services
- Satellite/Umbrella School partnership program
We offer a local assisted learning program, national and international distance learning programs, homeschooling and unschooling assistance, and an umbrella program for homeschooling families who seek validation of their work. We also offer annual assessments (both standardized and informal) and on-site tutoring. Through our Satellite School program, we help educators set up and administer their own affiliate schools around the world.
“It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for what this delicate little plant needs more than anything, besides stimulation, is freedom. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty.” – Albert Einstein
Educational Alternatives & Freedom Based Learning
We have been providing innovations and alternatives in education for 35 years. Students completing our programs have gone on to experience success in universities, community colleges, and art and technical institutes. Our programs are designed to provide unbridled learning with freedom for spontaneity, while enhancing creativity, inventiveness, and self-esteem. Since establishing the Alger Learning Center in 1981, we have seen our non-traditional, student-centered approach provide a springboard for countless children (and their families) to become happy, self-motivated, and enthusiastic independent learners.
John Lackey, Director