By Jason Kaplan
As school districts around the county prepared to close in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Cornwall High School senior Sydney Nichols joked with her friends saying if the district isn’t prepared with an at-home curriculum for students, her mother is certainly prepared. While other parents may have initially worried how their child would continue to get an education, Sydney knew her mom would be prepared to assign more work than the school district.
Although Erica Nichols previously homeschooled Sydney and her sister Ava, a freshman, she has been teaching one of her younger daughters, Lyla, for the past two years.
When the Nichols family lived in California, homeschooling became necessary because they lived in a remote location which made it difficult to get busing to the public school. Lyla, now in third grade, started being homeschooled, in first grade, when her health rapidly decreased and her doctor deemed her immunocompromised and unable to attend public school.
Nichols said the district provided her daughter with an Individualized Education Program in kindergarten, but in first grade it became a battle to get at-home instruction because the district couldn’t comprehend her medical condition.
Unlike California where the homeschooling program was free and accredited, New York requires Nichols to purchase curriculums, in each subject, through West Point. She spends summers putting together an entire curriculum to meet the state’s strict guidelines.
Homeschooling does not require a teaching degree, but Nichols does have a degree in healthcare. Her father is an engineer and her husband has a degree in psychology. So she does know people with assets she can draw upon.
Nichols admits homeschooling is not easy, but the curriculums provide her with step-by-step instructions on what to teach each day and how to teach it. If she needs any assistance, her sister is a teacher.
Lyla does not follow a traditional school day and often her days are dictated by how she’s feeling that day. Some days she’ll study at a desk while others she’ll complete homework on a clipboard or tablet while laying in bed or on the couch.
As opposed to the structured school day which has students going to subject-specific classes at the same time each day, Lyla has a rotating schedule. The curriculum may cover all subjects, but on Monday she may focus on English Language Arts, global history, math, and handwriting while on Tuesday she’ll study French, orchestra, science, math, and complete a craft.
“We don’t do the same subject everyday; it rotates,” Nichols said. “Monday through Friday she might get four math classes and six English classes or next week she might get six math classes and three English classes. One week might be eight hours of math, the next week might be four hours. It depends on how it’s broken out.”
Projects Lyla completes at home may encompass multiple subjects. For example, prior to the virus outbreak, she might learn the mathematics behind measuring ingredients to bake something for someone in the community. She’ll practice her handwriting and the proper way to write a letter, learning spelling and grammar in the process. The letter explains why she is donating the baked goods.
Lyla once spent an entire day researching penguins — where they live, what they eat — and then made a presentation for her family. Last week she was studying angles and building ramps outside.
Nichols hopes the current pandemic shines a light on the importance of homeschooling. She said some people believe it’s not possible to teach a child at home, but there are strict state standards which have to be met. Paperwork has to be handed in to the district on a quarterly basis and Lyla still has to take standardized tests. Nichols does wish the state would recognized students who are homeschooled and provide them with a diploma like students who attend public and private school.
As the pandemic continues and schools remain closed at least through the middle of April, Lyla’s sisters have their own school work to complete, but thanks to their mother, they go beyond what the district provides. The Nichols have documentary day. So far they’ve studied St. Patrick and the science behind the coronavirus.
