So today, after having gone to my Uncles funeral, I decided to make it a better day by joining Treasures 4 Teachers. I have mentioned it before but not in a whole Blog.
Treasures 4 Teachers is a donation program that was started by teachers. Its a warehouse filled to the brim with donated items ( brand new, and used) for the use of teachers and educators. They have a Fill A Bag section, that for every bag you fill you pay 5.00. Seems like a lot but you can fit a shit load of cool stuff in that bag. I once got a whole bunch of CD’s, Ribbon, Bottle Caps, and so much more into one bag. It was so worth it. They also have a book section, a movie section, fabric, and office furniture.
My favorite section is the mini store. They get BRAND NEW office supplies from Walgreens, Walmart, Target, etc once they are done with the huge School year sale, buy it on sale and sell it for a fraction of the cost from the major stores.
Today they had a deal, if you bought anything, you could get up to 5 FREE REMS of COPY PAPER. I was so excited. I went online, bought a membership for 35.00 for the year, put down that I was homeschooling my kiddos, and headed down there. It also said you would need a proof of purchase of your curriculum. So i printed my receipt from PreKprintablefun. When I got there, it was busy to be sure, it was a Saturday.
I waited in line, and when I got up to the girl, I showed her my Drivers License, and the receipt from the website. The woman asked me if I had proof that I was a Homeschooler. I showed her the receipt again, and even showed her the website, and she turned to me and said, ” So you don’t have proof from the board of education that you are homeschooling.”
ARE YOU KIDDING ME.
I have never heard, and I may be stupid, of anyone in the history of homeschooling their kids, having to get proof and approval from the board of education. My mother in law taught my husband and his siblings all through their years of education and never once had to get approval from the state. A friend of mine, is teaching her kids from home and has never heard of this before.
So let me get this straight, ” I paid for my curriculum and it doesn’t count?” Excuse me but I am calling bullshit. I complained and they went and got a manager, and I asked nicely why doesn’t my curriculum work. Her response was the same. In order to get a membership any homeschool person must have an Affidavit from the County Superintendence office to prove they are homeschooling their kids in a LEGAL matter. Plus, its only for school age kids.
So I asked for a refund, and left. I was heartbroken. My favorite place to go for teaching supplies when I was working for the District, would not let me in, due to the fact that I am choosing to teach my kiddos PRESCHOOL on my own with no real proof. And it is only for school age kids, 6 and up. So how does that work for people who do preschool or preK like me. Its just not fair.
So right now as I am writing this blog, I am researching what they were talking about.
I went to the Arizona Education website for homeschooling, and it sent me to click on the county I am from. I put my county in and pulled up what its office says.
“If a child will attend a homeschool, the parent or person with custody of the child must submit a notarized affidavit and proof of the child’s identity with the County School Superintendent within 30 days of beginning homeschooling. The most common proof of identity is a certified copy of a birth certificate, which is a photocopy that has been signed and attested to by a public official as a reproduction of the original document. We also accept the child’s baptismal certificate, an application for a social security number or original school registration records when accompanied by an affidavit explaining the inability to provide a certified copy of the birth certificate.”
Clicking on the Affidavit link, I takes me to a printable page with this on the top.
“Every child between the ages of six and sixteen years shall attend a school and shall be provided instruction in at least the subjects of reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies, and science. The person who has custody of the child shall choose a public, private or charter school, or homeschool as defined in this section to provide instructions. ARS 15-802(A)”
I mean it makes sense, but it doesn’t say anything about which particular curriculum matters. Course it seems to only matter from KINDER to Senior Year of High School though. Which doesn’t makes sense to me at all. Preschool and PreK are just as important.
If I was still working for a program and had a school or place of business badge, it would count. But since I don’t have a badge and I am no longer Substitute certified, I DONT COUNT.
Well we will just see about that. I am going to get to the bottom of this. I will get my membership, one way or another.
There, that is my venting for the day.
The TAWL Mom 