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Summary of MDHSA High School Diploma Program This diploma is available to all students
whether members of MDHSA or not, who meet the following
qualifications: Qualified evaluators are those with one or more of the following: 1. PA
Teacher Certification, whether current or not. No
Pennsylvania Residency Required.
All students, regardless of residency, must take PA
History and meet all requirements of the MDHSA diploma program.
The student’s evaluator may be a certified teacher from
the state of residence, OR any non-public schoolteacher. Subject Areas: The student must study at least the following number of units in these subject areas between 9th and 12th grades: 4 units of English (These were called Category One credits previously in our program). Minimum Courses: These courses must be studied some time between 7th and 12th grades (Formerly called Category Two credits):
Students must also meet *public speaking, composition and reading requirements as explained in the Diploma Guide. Methods of Credit summarized: Please read the Diploma Guide for more detailed descriptions and criteria. Any ONE of these methods may be used to earn
one unit of credit. *Public speaking must have a minimum of 15 logged entries or 15 hours of public speaking experience sometime between 7th and 12th grades. The public speaking requirement can be met by researching, preparing, practicing, and delivering speeches; studying public speaking and participating in debates, drama, recitations; teaching classes or Bible stories in Sunday School or other group situation, sharing one’s testimony publicly in church, or learning to communicate with others in public situations or any other method acceptable to the evaluator; 4-H, Boy Scouts and home school support group presentations would also contribute toward this requirement. Each logged entry may be translated into one hour. Therefore, if a practice session covers three hours, it should be counted as three logged entries.
There
are four diplomas awarded by MDHSA The General Diploma awarded to anyone who completes the minimum requirements of the law in accordance with the MDHSA program as outlined in the Diploma Guide. Honorary Diplomas: The Diploma with Distinction is awarded to those students who have shown excellence or eminence of character or performance in any area. The Diploma for Performance in the Fine Arts
with three subsidiary categories is awarded for Music, Drama,
Dance, and Fine Arts (painting, drawing, ceramics, fiber arts,
etc). All diplomas are requested by the submission of a Diploma Request form and the required fees. The evaluator, the supervisor, and the student must sign the application form. A third party recommendation is required for the honorary diplomas, preferably someone who has assisted the student to complete the requirements for the honor. To enroll in the MDHSA diploma program, the supervisor and student must read the diploma guide. They must both sign a statement that they have read the guide and the ADVISEMENT (below). There are several forms to be filed and various deadlines to meet, all of which are explained in the MDHSA Diploma Guide. Each family is encouraged to purchase a Diploma Guide for personal use and one for the evaluator's use. Guides may be purchased for $6.00 for each guide. Please make checks payable to MDHSA and mail to:
A partial listing of some of the Diploma Guide Topics:
Contact Information:
MDHSA
Diploma Program 717-749-5767 The office is staffed on a part time basis. Please leave your name, phone number, message, email address, or if you do not have e-mail, your mailing address. As a mostly volunteer non-profit organization, toll calls are prohibitive. Hours of phone availability will be flexible daytime hours Monday through Friday. All forms and checks must be submitted to the above address. MDHSA Graduation Ceremony ParticipationA student receiving an MDHSA diploma may participate in the annual MDHSA Graduation Ceremony in Franklin County, which is held on the last Saturday in June of each year. He must submit a Graduation Ceremony Attendance form and fees by January 31st. A student for whom a graduation ceremony form is filed after January 31 will be permitted to participate on a space available basis only. Final paperwork for a diploma must be received 30 days prior to the last Saturday in June, in order to receive the diploma at the ceremony. ADVISEMENT-This MUST be Read!The student and/or supervisor must take responsibility to contact the college, or post high school program of his choice to determine that any courses or program taken for an MDHSA diploma will be applicable to meet the requirements of that institution, prior to planning high school studies. The student is also responsible for determining that any actions taken, such as graduating in less than 4 years, applying for credit earned prior to 9th to 12th grades, credit by exam, or any other action, is acceptable to the post-high school institution or program of his choice. Therefore, whether college, the military, or any other institution of post-high school education or training is the goal, the student is responsible to contact that institution to determine that an accelerated high school program will not prevent an individual from pursuing his post-high school plan. MDHSA bears no responsibility in those instances, as it is the sole responsibility of the supervisor and student to research that information and make those decisions. If you learn of other institutions which have similar policies, please e-mail or send MDHSA that information and documentation (web address, copy of a letter to you, etc.) that the information may be made available in future editions of this guide and on the MDHSA website. 1. The Navy does not accept students who have graduated in less than four years. This may apply to other organizations or branches of the military as well. It would be in your interest to research this before making any plans to graduate in less than four school years.http://www.militaryhomeschoolers.com See Appendix. 2. NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association): Homeschoolers are eligible to play for their colleges and receive scholarships, however, the following policy is in effect. “Courses completed during eighth grade, correspondence courses, Internet courses, independent study courses and credits awarded through credit-by-exam may not be used to meet the core-course requirements. http://www.ncaa.org/eligibility/faqs/faqs_homeschooling.html (See important Note on NCAA in Course Titles section and college section 3. National Merit Scholarship- A 4-year program is required. A SAT test in 11th grade is the deciding test.
Updates
and Corrections regarding the Diploma program and/or Diploma
Guide
Watch this section for future updates and notices.
1. Diploma Guide- Fifth Edition – July 2003
· A
Research Paper is no longer required to graduate with a general
diploma. A
· The
public speaking and communication requirement from 7th
to 12th grade has been changed from 20 logged
entries/hours to 15 logged entries/hours.
· Slight changes have been made to the honors program—please see the revised honors applications which are included in the Diploma Program forms at the top of the page.
Any family using a previous guide or previous honors
criteria, may continue to do so,
although they are welcome to use the new revised Fifth
Edition Guide or Revised Forms if they so choose.
The new revised Diploma Forms may be downloaded at the top
of this page.
2. Notice---Error in MDHSA Diploma Guide 5th Edition-July 2003
There was an error made in the Fine Arts Honors
Diploma Criteria. The
correction has been made manually in some of the Guides, but not
all of them. The
error has been corrected in the Fifth Edition, Second Printing
– November 2003
In addition to requiring a recommendation from a
third party, the Guide lists the following criteria for a Fine
Arts Honors Diploma:
1. Three
Units of studio work in at least two media of the student’s
choice such as drawing, painting, ceramics, or fiber arts.
This should include study of both two-dimensional and
three-dimensional properties.
2. Participation in at least one art show or gallery
display, or other exhibit. There is also a third requirement. Please write the following into your Guide on page 14 and on the Fine Arts Honors Application on page 29. Thank you. 3. One Credit of Art History/Humanities, in addition to the minimum English and History requirements. Please share this information with others who are using the Diploma Guide, 5th Edition, July 2003.
3.
New Contact Information for the MDHSA Diploma Program
MDHSA Diploma Program 4. REMINDER concerning Transcript Requests: Please allow two weeks turn around time from the time your transcript is received at our office, and the time it is received by a college. Please do not wait until the "last minute" to request that a transcript be sent to a college. This is for YOUR benefit in meeting college deadlines, scheduling classes, etc. 5. If you need to wait until the January 31 deadline to send in your Ceremony form, it would be EXTREMELY HELPFUL if you would send us a note or e-mail in September before the June graduation, to let us know of your interest, even if you have not decided definitely if you are participating. This will give us an indication of the necessary seating space of a potential location for the graduation. However, we will not reserve a space for you until we receive the graduation ceremony form and fee (s). Thank you. Frequently
Asked Questions
Then
you should mail in the Registration
form, (included in the diploma form packet) the Registration fee, and any evaluations and summaries
for 9th to 12th studies completed (see
diploma
forms on this site).
You do not need to register with MDHSA until after you
receive your 9th grade evaluation.
You may register at a later date if needed We must receive
copies of both the evaluation and the Annual Summary Form to be in
compliance with the MDHSA agreement with the PA Department of
Education. No file
will be opened for a student until the registration fee is
received.
If
you have been involved in another diploma program, you should send
us copies of transcripts completed while in that program.
If you were in public or private school, you must contact
them to obtain a transcript of academic work completed in 7th
and 8th grades as well as high school, so that you can
determine exactly what courses you need to take.
Send the transcripts to MDHSA along with the registration
form and fee.
If
you do not have an MDHSA evaluator, you may ask your current
evaluator to complete the
Evaluator
Agreement, OR you may peruse the evaluator list on this
site to see if there is an evaluator you would like to contact.
MDHSA
does not sell curriculum, or tell you what curriculum to use.
You choose and acquire your own curriculum. An MDHSA
evaluator evaluates your program at the end of the year.
Act
169-1988 requires that 1) required subjects be taught for the
required amount of time and 2) the student must make sustained
progress in the overall program.
Participation in the MDHSA Diploma Program requires the
supervisor of the home education program and the student to
document how certain standards were actually met when completing
unit requirements for graduation.
This
requirement is in excess of your legal obligation and you may
request that your evaluator omit this additional information from
the document prepared for the school district.
After
you have completed your studies, and have had the final
evaluation, you will need to send MDHSA a Diploma Request form,
along with the final evaluation and final summary and the fee.
A diploma will not be awarded until the diploma fee is
received. You should
send your diploma request in at least 30 days before the diploma
is needed.
If
you wish to participate in the
MDHSA
Graduation Ceremony in Franklin County, you must send
the graduation ceremony form
before January 31st of the year you wish to graduate.
You must also send your Diploma Request form, completed
paperwork and fees so that they are received
in the MDHSA office 30 days prior to the last Saturday in
June. See these forms
on this website for details.
2.
Does MDHSA send transcripts to colleges?
An
MDHSA graduate will receive one completed transcript with his
diploma, for his own files. In
order to have transcripts sent to colleges or other interested
parties, students should mail a completed Transcript
Request Form to the MDHSA office with the accompanying fee(s).
You must allow two weeks turn
around time from the time we receive the transcript request and
the time it is sent to the college. If you have not submitted your social security number and Date of
Birth to MDHSA, you should do so when you submit the transcript
request. Colleges
routinely request this information and the
absence of this information on the transcript form usually results
in the college discarding the transcript because the admissions
office is unable to match it with an application.
3.
How much does it cost to enroll in the MDHSA diploma
program?
This page was last updated on
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