1. Please review the Online Orientation below.
2. Obtain a Community School Referral from your District of Residence to begin applying to CHEP:
   • CSR Guide CHEP - English.pdf
   • CSR Guide CHEP - Español.pdf
3. Once a Community School Referral has been successfully completed by your District of Residence and received by CHEP, the enrollment team will reach out to you to complete the next steps.

Online Orientation

The Community Home Education Program (CHEP) is administered by the Orange County Department of Education. CHEP is an award-winning, state-funded independent study program that offers free resources to parents who choose to educate their children at home. CHEP provides curriculum and the support of certificated teachers to students and the adults who teach them. Our program requires a high level of participation by parents and students. We currently serve students from transitional kindergarten through eighth grade.

Come Homeschool with CHEP

We are a public school and offer a free homeschool (Independent Study) program. Families are partnered with a supportive, California-credentialed CHEP teacher who guides and helps you plan meaningful and interesting lessons and assess your child's academic progress on a monthly basis. Parents or guardians must agree to plan, prepare, and support daily instruction at home.

Students earn attendance credit for work done at home when parents meet with their CHEP teacher each month to review the work, turn in work samples in each curricular area, and discuss and set educational goals for the next month. More frequent contact by phone or in person is always available.

CHEP is a public school and adheres to all public school requirements. We offer a wide variety of online programs to support learning, including I-Ready (Language Arts and Math), Lexia, Reflex Math, standardized testing, and other assessments to monitor student progress.

Our site is located in Tustin, where we offer a variety of on-campus enrichment classes, grade-level courses, workshops, yearbook, and field trip experiences. These are supplemental to the direct teaching done by the parent at home.

Per Independent Study law, and prior to enrollment, the parent and the school must agree that CHEP placement is in the best interest of the student.

You are not alone when you homeschool with CHEP!

The Role of the Teacher

1. Our caring, California-credentialed teachers partner with you to maximize your child's learning and guide you in creating meaningful, engaging lessons.
2. Our teachers meet with you once a month, or more frequently, for work turn-ins and to review student progress.
3. Teachers offer a variety of grade-level classes and enrichment opportunities for students to participate in, and are available to provide tutoring to help students reach academic goals.

The Role of the Parent

1. Parents plan, prepare, and provide direct daily instruction, supervise student work completion, and grade/evaluate all work completed.
2. Parents support CHEP goals, rules, and regulations.
3. Parents meet with a supervising teacher at minimum on a monthly basis for work turn-in.

The Role of the Student

1. Students need to spend as much time on direct instruction as in a traditional classroom, but the day is flexible — parents/guardians can provide instruction all at once or throughout the day.
2. Students take responsibility for completing assigned work and following CHEP rules and standards.
3. Students complete required standardized testing and I-Ready assignments.

Progress Reports

Progress reports and report cards are completed with input from the parent and the assigned certificated teacher, based on the student's work, progress, and evidence of academic levels and mastery in alignment with the California State Standards.

CHEP Curriculum

CHEP's curriculum provides a balanced program of learning experiences with an emphasis on mastery of basic skills and academic content. The curriculum is aligned with California State Standards, policies, and requirements to ensure our students keep up with their peers in traditional public schools. We provide teacher and student editions of our core curriculum and a variety of support materials, all free of charge.

We offer online transitional courses for our 7th and 8th grade students. These semester-long courses are designed in collaboration with Pacific Coast High School (PCHS).

Contact

If you have questions regarding the enrollment process, please contact:

Claire DePerry
Admissions and Records Technician
714-245-6491 / cdeperry@ocde.us