Homeschool with big sky tutoring

Our academic mentors develop an individualized learning plan for every homeschool student. We offer a wide range of services and have team members that specialize in nearly every subject. Our homeschool students will have access to a team of subject matter experts. We're also happy to serve as a supplement to a homeschool co-op in a certain subject area or to speed up credit completion. For high school age students preparing for college, we can also assist with college planning, admissions, and determining a student's biggest motivators. Each homeschool student's plan varies, but here a few popular options:

Intensive daily instruction in several subject areas (2-4 hours a day)
Weekly or bi-weekly check-ins to maintain progress
Group tutoring for students working on similar curriculum
Summer speed-runs to complete credit recovery or get ahead

Services available to Homeschool Co-Ops

Upper Level STEM Expert Visits
Literacy Specialist Visits
Assistance with CLEP, Dual Enrollment, and AP Coursework
College Planning Visits

Keep reading for four case studies of our homeschool tutoring success stories!

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INDIVIDUALIZED HOMESCHOOL SUCCESS STORIES

Complete High School with a Private Teacher

Neurodivergent Online High School Student Doing Full Time Instruction

Student History: Student received K-5 instruction through BSD7. Student attended grades 6-8 in private homeschool. Due to special learning needs and executive functioning challenges, student enrolled in online high school starting in 9th grade. Seven months into the year, student had only completed 2 months of coursework. Tutoring homeschool support allowed student to complete remaining seven months of 9th grade in two months. Student continued full time instruction with Big Sky Tutoring for Grades 10 and 11.

Curriculum: Laurel Springs Online School

Schedule: Monday through Thursday, daily 2-4 hours. Each day focuses on one of six courses.

Longevity: Grades 9-11, with plans to complete high school and college in tutoring.

Individualized Plan: At the beginning of the semester, student receives an organized Google Drive folder with all assignments labeled and scaffolded. Intensive assignments such as essays, projects, labs and portfolios are completed with tutor support and oversight. Student completes smaller assignments, quizzes, and exams independently, following a schedule assigned by their tutor. Student has several tutors on his team — one focusing on ELA, History, and electives, the other focusing on STEM courses.

Get Caught Up When Massively Behind

Homeschooler Qualifying for IEP Plan Gets Caught up in Math with Financial Support from BSD7

Student History: Student went to public school for grades K-2. At student’s request, parent began home schooling in grade 3. After three years of attempted math instruction using Costco-sourced home school books, family found Big Sky Tutoring. An initial assessment found student to be three years behind in math. Student was enrolled in a Private School Service Plan (PSSP) through BSD7, which provided a budget of $2,000 per year for special education services from a private service provider. Student completed all grade three math standards in five months with one weekly tutoring session and one assigned daily homework sheet.

Curriculum: Custom Curriculum Was Created by Tutor with Strict Adherence to State Standards

Schedule: Once Weekly on Tuesdays, 1 hour

Longevity: Continuous tutoring until student achieves mastery of all grade level standards to expected age level.

Individualized Plan: Tutor chronologically taught student math standards for each grade level until mastery is established. For example, all third grade addition and subtraction standards had to be mastered before moving on to all third grade multiplication standards. After all grade level standards have been mastered, student begins the next grade level state math standards.

Breeze Through Credit Recovery After Failing

Struggling Student Leaves Traditional High School for Intensive Homeschool Support

Student History: Student failed majority of courses in grades 9-11 due to challenges with deadlines. Student enrolled in credit recovery through the school, and failed to meet those deadlines as well, even with tutoring support. At the recommendation of our tutoring staff, student disenrolled from public school and moved to full time online high school for credit recovery and completion of remaining coursework.

Curriculum: Mizzou Academy

Schedule: Tuesday and Thursday, 2 hours each

Longevity: Grades 10-12

Individualized Plan: For accelerated credit recovery, student skipped provided math lessons and instead received individualized instruction as she took the quizzes. Example problems were provided, and student completed the quiz questions independently. Student also received support in outlining and planning all writing assignments, which were then completed independently and reviewed by tutor before turning in.

Take Extra Classes to Raise GPA and Get Into Dream School

Driven Public School Student Takes Extra STEM Classes with a Private Tutor to Raise Her GPA. She Got In!

Student History: Student enrolled in full-time public school.The student was motivated to get into her dream college, one with an average GPA of nearly 4.0. To increase her chances of admittance, she enrolled in online Physics, Chemistry, and Precalculus classes.

Curriculum: BYU Online

Schedule: As-Requested Flexible Schedule, averaging 7 hours a week

Longevity: Grades 11-12

Individualized Plan: Student met with her private tutor an average of seven hours per week during the school year, on top of her full-time school schedule and training for competitive soccer. Support for all homework and quizzes made passing the finals a breeze. The final alone was the only thing standing between her and her As, she pulled it off. Student was able to achieve As in all of her classes, which boosted her public school GPA enough to get into her dream college.

DISTRICT FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR QUALIFIED STUDENTS

If your home schooled child has qualifying disabilities that entitle them to an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), they are entitled to BSD7 funding for tutoring to address their needs. These home school IEP Plans are called Private School Service Plans (PSSPs). The process to set these up is simple.

Ensure your student qualifies for special education services. If suspected but unconfirmed, your first step would be to get a neuropsychology evaluation to confirm learning disabilities.
Contact the Bozeman School District Office of Special Education and request information about a private school service plan. Let them know you are interested in tutoring services from Big Sky Tutoring.
Bozeman School District Special Education Coordinators will contact us to set goals for the Private School Service Plan.
Begin tutoring with Big Sky Tutoring — that’s it! The District will pay your child’s monthly invoices until they reach their $2,000 annual budget. This amount is redeemable for 25 hours of private tutoring.
When your 12 month budget runs out, another meeting with the Special Education Coordinator will take place to reevaluate plan goals, and your annual budget will reset.

If you are interested in more information about Private School Service Plans and homeschool special education, please contact us at admin@bigskytutoring.info. We can assist you through the entire process.

RECOMMENDED HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUMS

While enrollments must go through the counselor at your child’s public school, Montana Digital Academy courses offer an excellent opportunity to get through credit recovery or advance through coursework. They offer hundreds of courses that can be taken full-time or part time — many of which are not offered at public schools. There is a great opportunity to learn niche topics of interest through MTDA for passionate and motivated learners. They also offer excellent credit recovery options for students who have failed classes.

Laurel Springs School is an excellent homeschool school option, serving grades K-12. Their curriculum is thorough with a major emphasis on developing critical thinking skills that are essential for adult life. Their courses are self-paced and available 24/7. This program is great for students who travel, participate in competitive sports, or simply need a high-quality option that allows them to master material at their own pace.

BYU Independent study offers over 220 accredited high school courses, including AP curriculum. This online home school option is an excellent, affordable way for students to advance through their curriculum at their own pace. Whether they want to graduate early, take advanced courses not available at their school, complete credit recovery programs, boost their GPA, or simply learn at their own pace, BYU Independent study is a great option.