Thinking of homeschooling in Cumberland County?    The library has compiled a page of resources for those considering homeschooling or are presently homeschooling.   Review the Pennsylvania state requirements, explore library resources about the types of homeschooling and learn about Pennsylvania's large cyber schooling community.

State Requirements

The first step is to review the Pennsylvania Department of Education's website regarding the legal requirements: Overview of Homeschooling.

Library Resources

People choose to homeschool for a variety of reasons: religious beliefs, more involvment in their child's learning, flexibility around other activities, health reasons or other concerns.  Just as the reason to homeschool is different for each family, so is the choice of method of homeschooling.

There are many different methods of homeschooling: Charoltte Mason, Montessori, Waldorf, Relaxed or Eclectic, Traditional School-at-Home, Classical/Trivium,  Unit Studies, Unschooling and more!  Many homeschoolers may use some or all of these methods throughout their homeschooling adventure.  Use what works best for your child and your family's situation.

- Curriculum Planning Books
- Guidebooks and Manuals
- Alternative Education

Cyber School

Pennsylvania has a very active cyber school community!  If you aren't confident about picking curriculum or keeping records and prefer a more traditional school-at-home situation, cyber school may be for you.  This is similar to homeschooling in that children remain at home, but signing up for a cyber school is the same as registering for public school.  While it does allow for flexibility, children are expected to keep to the school schedule.  While each school is a bit different, school supplies are provided to your child and must be returned at the end of the school year.  Many cyber schools have very active support groups which get together for field trips and extra-curricular activites. 

- 21st Century Cyber Charter School (grades 6-12)
- Agora Cyber Charter School (K-12)
- Carlisle Virtual Academy (K-12 - Carlisle school district residents only)
- Commonwealth Connections Academy (K-12)
- PA Cyber (K-12)
- PA Leadership Charter School (K-12)
- PA Virtual Charter School (K-12)