Did you know that homeschool students can receive free academic and supplemental classes at The Options Program?
The Options Program is for students in grades K-12 and is designed to support parents who choose to school their children at home. Parents remain the primary instructional provider, with the school supplementing their efforts. Families participating in the program get limited instruction and most educational materials at no cost. This is possible because, as a public school, Options receives a portion of the PPOR (Per Pupil Operating Revenue) distributed at the state level for each enrolled student. This money is used to pay salaries, purchase curriculum and other costs associated with running the program.
Options values and respects a parent’s decision to be their child’s primary educator and strives to provide learning experiences that foster critical thinking and creativity. Our mission is to create access and support systems for homeschool families that help each student prepare for college and career.
Contact Time & Records
In order to receive funding, each registered student must spend a minimum of 90 hours per semester with a licensed teacher hired by Options, for a minimum of 180 hours per school year. This is approximately 5 - 6 hours per week. Students who are juniors in high school may be eligible for pre-approved classes at a community college/university. The Options School will reimburse tuition. Parents are responsible for fees and texts. Class time is counted for contact hours.
Curriculum & Assessment
Curriculum is available for check out, including teacher editions, at no cost except for consumables. Parents may borrow cost-effective, reusable curriculum, which is non-religious in nature. Curriculum Book Fairs are held in the Spring and the Fall to assist parents in choosing materials from a variety of texts. In the spring, nationally standardized testing is offered at no charge for Options students. Students in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 are tested.
Academic and Supplemental Classes
Options offers core classes in Social Studies, Science, Math, Writing and many more subjects. High School classes are more academic than the other grades levels.
Full-day, one-day-a-week Kindergarten is also offered.
Students have the chance to supplement their learning at home with enrichment classes including Music (guitar, piano, choir, drumming, strings and more), Theatre, Art, Physical Education, Cooking, Spanish, Robotics, Sewing, Quilting, Ameritowne, and International Towne, Graphic Design, Photography and much more. Each site is unique and offers different courses depending upon the local site program.
Additional information
- All students attend classes for 6 hours each one day/school day
- They bring their own lunch and materials for each class
- Most sites have school from about 8:30am to 3:00pm
For additional program information, visit the Options website, or please contact any of the following via phone 303-340-0666 or email:
- Larry Thigpen, Principal/Director of the Options Program
- Jennifer Wiggs, Assistant Principal/Director of the Options Program
- Fran Covelli, Guidance Counselor for the Options Program
APS OPTIONS HISTORY
Options was founded and created by Dr. Tom Synnott in the fall of 2000. At that time, Dr. Synnott, who was then the principal of Hinkley High School, noticed an increasing number of homeschool students attending Hinkley for secondary classes. Dr. Synnott saw the value in this group of students and saw a need to better support the homeschool community with access to learning experiences and curriculum. The next school year, he opened the first “Options” homeschool site. This singular site grew rapidly, starting with a small group of 20 students to 2000 students at nineteen sites around the state. Today we have 5 site locations and about 1000 students. Dr. Synnott’s vision and legacy lives on as a large program in Aurora Public Schools and in similar programs in other districts in Colorado.
