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Academic Policies

Attendance

  • Though state law stipulates a 180-day school year for public schools, no requirement exists for church schools. We have elected to leave this to the discretion of the parent/teacher. We recommend, however, 160 days, not counting sick days or teacher days, as a minimum. We also recommend that you establish an attendance policy for your classroom (home).
  • Law requires that all homeschooling families  keep an attendance log (a simple calendar will do) in your classroom. Each day should be marked in which the student does at least three hours of school work. Field Trips and educational trips should be included.
  • Excalibur requires that you duplicate your attendance log in Merlin (Excalibur's online database).

Progress Reports

Progress reports for all students are due on the 15th of January for first semester and June 1 for second semester. These reports are completed in Merlin.

Graduation

Excalibur issues high school diplomas to those who have completed at least their senior year in its program. State requirements are the basis for this diploma. Some additional Excalibur requirements may be required for students with public school background. 

Academic School Year

Our administrative school year begins August 1 and ends May 31. You may consider any day a school day, however. Progress reports will reflect your attendance in the three Academic semester: fall, spring, and summer.

Curriculum

In most cases families are free to choose their own curriculum.  There are a few exceptions, however.

  • In-transferring 8th-12th grade students may be required to use Excalibur's online curriculum or an equivalent for at least the first year. Experience has shown that students with little or no homeschool history face a near insurmountable obstacle if they attempt to begin as an adolescent. The classroom environment fails to develop independent learning so necessary to homeschooling. Their parents rarely have any experience in managing a homeschool classroom and motivating their teen.

    To overcome this deficiency, Excalibur began requiring that new-to-homeschooling families utilize our online curriculum in order to ease the transition for both teen and parents. Because most young people readily adapt to a computer/Internet-based programmed instruction method, they are able to quickly get going and gain confidence in themselves while making steady progress in self-learning skills. Parents are relieved of the steep learning curve necessary for homeschooling a high-school aged student,  of choosing curriculum, and of teaching and grading school work that normally accompanies the homeschooling effort. parents.

    Our success with this approach justifies the requirement.

  • Though every student must meet Alabama state graduation requirements to receive a high school diploma, Excalibur has additional academic requirements for students with a public school background that must be met. Two of these requirements, the completion of two Worldview courses, can be met only with Excalibur created courses. Exceptions to this rule require board approval.

Onsite Classes

Many families take advantage of the expertise of other adults in specific content areas while giving their students the opportunity to experience the classroom setting. Excalibur sponsors a number of high-school level courses each year. Support Group membership is required to enroll in these classes. Some students, however, may not be well-suited to these classes for one of the following reasons.

  • New homeschool students may see this as a good transition to the homeschool setting since they have been accustomed to sitting in classes throughout their academic career. This is an illusion.  Excalibur classes meet only once a week for an hour and thirty minutes yet require the same amount of work (or more) than a classroom-based school demands. This is the very challenge that the online-school requirement was designed to alleviate.

  • Some students have developed little self discipline and would be unable to cope with the self-policing environment of a homeschool-based classroom. The decision is the responsibility of the Excalibur administration on an individual basis. Students who are permitted to participate often find themselves threatened with expulsion unless they quickly adapt to necessary rules.

Enrollment and Withdrawal

Your enrollment in Excalibur begins with the date so stated on your Church School Enrollment Form that you sign when you join and continues until July 31.

Each year thereafter you must renew your enrollment, and paying the appropriate renewal fee. Failure to renew could result in truancy.

Once enrolled for a given school year, you continue to remain enrolled until July 31 of that year. In order to end enrollment before that date, you must officially withdraw from Excalibur. Simply enrolling in another school does not end your enrollment with Excalibur and could result in legal penalties if an official withdrawal from Excalibur is not processed.

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