You may withdraw your student and notify the school (see sample withdrawal letter below). However, most schools don’t recognize the transfer until they are contacted by the students’ new school. We’ll do this when we approve the application.

Ideally, your student should continue attending school until your application is approved, and the student is enrolled in Gateway Total Homeschool. We recognize that there are situations where this may not be feasible or appropriate.

During busy seasons (such as July and August), it could take 2 weeks or more before your application is reviewed. We address applications in the order that we receive them, so it’s always better to apply early. Enrollment opens May 1st. If you’re facing a deadline, please call or email, and let us know.

We’ll need contact information for the student’s prior school (fax or email if possible), so that we can request official records. For high school students, please submit an unofficial transcript with your application so that we can see what high school credits have already been earned (not necessary for students who are just beginning 9th grade).

A student is enrolled when his/her application is approved. You will receive an email when a counselor has reviewed your application. Please confirm that the email says the student has been enrolled, and read the whole email to see any additional questions from your counselor.

The Education Plan is a key part of your application. You should include all the subjects/courses for the school year and the curriculum/material you’re planning to use for each one. For high schoolers, an Education Plan also includes the planned credits for each course. Make a separate line for each subject/course.

An acceptable plan for a Pre-K student might include: alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, motor skills (e.g. drawing, tracing, beginning to write).

Kindergarten is often 2-3 subjects: math/arithmetic, reading, and writing.

1st-8th grade students should have at least the 4 core subjects: English (language arts), math, science, and social studies (history and/or geography).

High school students (9th-12th) usually take an English credit and a math credit every year, and a science credit in 3 of the 4 years. You should add several other required credits and/or electives to each year’s plan to bring that year’s total credits to between 5 and 8. This will keep the student on track to graduate.

See example applications in the How To Guides above.

Don’t worry! One of our counselors will review your application and education plan, and make sure it gives the student what he/she needs. Applications are only approved if the counselor has checked and approved the education plan. If there are issues, your counselor will be in touch about needed revisions. If you want to change something on your education plan after submitting the application, you can log into your account again and make changes on the Education Plan tab.

Keep an eye on your emails. Typically, a counselor will review your application and email you, either to say you’re enrolled, or to work through any issues with the application.

Now you follow your plan! Purchase or get access to your chosen curriculum/teaching materials if you haven’t already. Begin working with the student. As time goes on, you’ll discover what schedule and methods work best for you and your family. Keep track of the days you’re doing school, so that you have a record of “days of attendance.”

Note that we consider the student to have been enrolled on the date that we received the application and payment, even if the official approval and records request occur on a later date. 

At the end of the semester (typically after 90 days), log back into your parent portal and submit grades, days of attendance, and the date you ended your semester.

You should submit grades after the ends of the fall and spring semesters. The fall semester typically ends in December or January after about 90 days of school. The spring semester ends when your student finishes the material and has completed at least 180 days total for the school year, typically in May or June.

Submit grades by logging into your Parent Portal, going to the grades tab, and selecting the correct letter grade for each subject/course. Enter the days of attendance, the date the semester ended, and click the submit button. For more details, see our How To Guides above.

Ultimately, the grades are up to you as the parent/teacher. If your material has tests, you may average the test scores for the semester, or choose to weight some tests more than others. If your material doesn’t have tests, you may assign a grade based on your interaction with the student and your perception of how well he/she is grasping the material.

The final grade is an average of the fall and spring semester grades and represents the student's work over the whole school year.