Blended School:
Can home schooling families and government schools work together?

Don Gaetz 
05/2/05

A few days ago I had one of the most satisfying parent meetings in my five years as Superintendent of Schools. It wasn't in a school and it wasn't with parents who send their children to public schools.

We met at The Zoo just east of Gulf Breeze, one of seven sites for "Blended School," a cooperative venture linking groups historically suspicious and sometimes even antagonistic toward each other. But, at this meeting, home schooling parents and government school officials weren't sitting on opposite sides of the table questioning the others' motives and methods.

The goals were shared, the conversation warm, the compliments mutual, the reports heartening. We were.blended. Our gathering was a low-key celebration of an idea that has worked because educators listened instead of lectured.

"Blended School" got its start shortly after I was elected Superintendent of Okaloosa County Schools in 2000. During the campaign I knocked on 6,500 doors. I wore out three pairs of shoes and got wiser and a whole lot humbler standing on the front porches and sitting at the kitchen tables of the people who pay the tax bills, send their children to public schools.or choose not to send them.

One mother met me at the door accompanied by her three children, two holding school books and one clutching a violin. Where, I asked, did they attend school? Here, she replied, and proceeded to tell me how she paid taxes like everyone else but got nothing but a cold shoulder from the school system. I asked her what she thought I could do. She made it pretty clear she didn't want to be led by a Judas goat back to government schools but, yes, she had some thoughts for me.

An hour later I walked back down her sidewalk to the street, my ears still picking up the sawing of a sole child violinist, deprived by his home-schooled status from being able to participate in school music programs. All or nothing, his parents had been told, the public school system isn't a Barnhill's buffet.

After the election we listened to many, many more home schooling parents. We sat in the back row at network meetings. We kept still and thereby learned about a remarkable, even heroic collection of families. Some are disaffected by bad experiences in public schools. Some are troubled by government curricula they disagree with. Vastly most are just loving, involved people deeply convinced they can do better meeting their children's individual needs outside the limits of traditional education.

In 2001 we opened the first "Blended School" site at the Gulfarium in Destin. The program was designed by home schooling parents with the courses they selected, the materials they reviewed, certified teachers they approved of, the schedule they found convenient, and at a location they considered "neutral."

And, yes, the parents stayed right there.

We began with 14 students, thinking the program could grow to 45 or so. Within two months, over 100 families were attending. Today some 600 children participate in "Blended School." Neutral sites now include a church, a marine exposition center, a science museum, a university, a 4-H camp, a vocational/technical school, and, yes, a zoo. Courses are based on customer request and include marine biology, language arts, environmental science, robotics, and more.

There is no charge to parents for any of the courses or instructional materials. After all, they already pay taxes.

Although "Blended School" is a program of Okaloosa Schools, families from four counties attend. We operate blended sites in our own county as well as Santa Rosa and Escambia counties, thanks to interlocal agreements with those school districts.

At The Zoo meeting, next year's curriculum was shared, in advance with parents. Their comments, criticisms, and suggestions are built into lesson plans. At parents' request, courses are aligned with the Sunshine State Standards so students won't hit the wall if later on their parents want them to take the FCAT, SAT, ACT, or other assessments.

The pace of education is measured by the individual needs of children. Some students score in the top percentiles nationally on standardized tests. Parents told me how "Blended School" opens the academic ceiling for them to accelerate far beyond a normal school's normal pace. Others are developmentally disabled and proceed more slowly, occasionally in small groups with younger children. And, of course, there are all sorts of children in between.

Although we're told this initiative is rare if not unique nationally, we've sought no recognition. "Blended School" has purposefully flown beneath the radar. While not prohibited by law, the kind of cooperation and innovation can confuse and draw the scrutiny of state and federal bureaucrats, especially in this age when Tallahassee and Washington think they know best about education

But my guess is that if government nannies try to stop "Blended School" they'll face some pretty tough, determined and independent parents standing alongside what's been kindly described as a "non-traditional Superintendent."

The meeting at The Zoo was almost a love feast. Home schooling parents thanked us for bringing what they want, where they want, when they want. They shared stories of their children and how "Blended School" means so much to their families. I explained that the credit belongs to a couple of visionaries in our organization - Dr. Frank Fuller and Gloria Uzell - who love to sail close to the wind in sight of the rocks. I thanked the parents for teaching us how to get out from behind the brick walls of government schoolhouses and respect and embrace the values of home schooling.

And I told them about the standing ovations their children got from school district employees at a recent performance of The Blended School String Orchestra.


To learn more about "Blended School", go to www.OkaloosaSchools.com or telephone Blended School administrator Gloria Uzell at 850-833-3106.

Don Gaetz 

Don Gaetz is Superintendent of Schools in Okaloosa County and a regular Gulf 1
columnist. His co-author for this column is Dr. John Cavanaugh, President of
the University of West Florida.

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