FAQ

WHY THE TIER FEE SYSTEM?

In answer to questions regarding the Tier Fee system, we’re already planning to revise the Membership Application to make the fees more clear. For now, let me explain further:

Everyone applying for full membership pays the $80 Application Fee. Upon approval, the balance owed for membership for the year will depend on what the highest grade level the oldest student is in upon application. For a family with a student who is entering the 11th grade, that means after application and upon approval of membership, the family would need to submit an additional $90 to cover the extra time generally required to process an upper level high school student (which involves evaluating high school forms, ranking, transcript requests and guidance counsel on college and scholarship apps, etc.).

We have chosen to incorporate upper level services rather than wait for parents to elect to request them as invariably the history of homeschooling associations in SC has shown that most parents will ultimately prefer to use these services whether or not they realized this when first beginning their high school programs at home.

Also, when forming this association, we tried to analyze many comments and concerns members of other assns have made to us over the years. Our personal goals are to address these concerns, if possible, and keep the costs at a reasonable amount. When developing any really good product, it takes a tremendous amount of time to pay attention to details. It is those details that my husband has helped me keep track of by developing an Excel spreadsheet system which we believe will help us reach our goals to be a good business, supportive, in touch, and cost efficient. I hope this explanation helps.

WHY DO WE HAVE TO USE LEAH’S FORMS?

For the High School student, we require additional forms to be submitted to ensure the program of study and the books selected are appropriate for that student and grade level. We are partnering with the members in this matter and reserve the right to make suggestions and offer counsel in these areas…doing our job as an “accountability” assn ought.

Also, another way we keep costs reasonable is allowing our members to submit only the forms we have designed. These forms are directly tied to our spreadsheet system and thus reduces admin time so more time can be spent actually talking to the members. On one hand, we are encouraging our members to make good use of our website, download as many Excel (.xls) files such as the Proposed Courses of Study and Course Description forms as possible so we can electronically input these data files into our spreadsheet system, rather than re-type info from paper copies into our files. On the other hand, we realize not everyone is in the same place technically speaking, so we have included Adobe (.pdf) files for their use of the forms. We believe strongly that a paperless system will smooth the process…from intake of applications to following up on required documents, and ultimately producing report cards/transcripts. Also, using our forms will, hopefully, permit fewer errors in transmission of information.

WHAT DOES ELECTRONIC TRACKING MEAN?

The word “electronic” is used about our tracking time spent on a member account for every email, phone call, letter written and following up on submission of forms as well as evaluating the forms themselves. We are attempting to offer together with the initial Application Fee, (which covers the cost of doing business ($50—flat rate plus one hour of time devoted to that family) and depending on the grade level, more time per Tier. Few associations can afford to do business at a very low charge AND offer the kind of support parents of high school students need. The Tier System offers more hours based on the highest grade level of student as mentioned above. As our motivation is to keep costs down so we can be less expensive than some, but more supportive than others who charge next to nothing, tracking time helps us evaluate our fee system. In conclusion, this tracking serves two major purposes:

• as a business, we hope to minimize wasted effort; but we can offer additional hours of time to each family at a reasonable rate.
• we can use the data gained to evaluate which processes help and which are detrimental to us and perhaps the families we serve.

HOW DO I PAY?

We currently only take checks or money orders. As a collaborative effort, we have built a spreadsheet system that we feel confident, will allow us to handle our administrative tasks more efficiently as we seek to develop a paperless office. We are attempting to use all the technology we can to streamline our efforts from receiving applications to tracking the time spent on each family. Currently, receiving checks for payment helps us keep the cost of business down. Timely payments made by the members also keep costs down.

WHY DO WE HAVE TO SUBMIT DOCUMENTS FOR APPROVAL?

With the establishment of Homeschool Statutes Section 59-45-10 through 47, the SC Legislature saw the need for oversight of the “independent” (home) schools. Thus, along with the first option to report to the local School District, other options were developed in order to provide some sort of oversight of independent (home) schools. This idea of oversight is based on Biblical principles as well as the State law. As with everything, because we are fallen creatures, it is axiomatic that we ultimately do best when we have someone come alongside to lead/encourage and assist us in whatever we endeavor for the Lord’s sake. LEAH has an advisory board that helps us stay balanced, and we, in turn, help our members. We pray and seek wisdom from God to encourage the parents with reasonable practices rather than be dictatorial.