>     I find that they aren't at all restrictive.  The
 > teachers are greatand make a point to let us know that they are just a
 > resource center to assist us with our homeschooling and they don't at all
 > want to interfere  with what we are trying to accomplish with our
 > children.  I've been told
I think it may depend on the district; I wouldn't use that as a general rule 
of thumb. There was a small group of homeschoolers I met that had tried the 
ISP's (Independent Study Programs) through the public school district and 
found that they didn't care for them. One thought they were too restrictive, 
even to the point of choosing the textbooks that you'd use and providing the 
public school curriculum to follow. Another person in a different district 
found that she needed more direction and the district didn't want to provide 
it (she found it through an independent ISP). So it sounds to me like each 
district may treat homeschoolers differently, even in the same county!
A coworker has her high school daughter being homeschooled through the 
district's "New Directions" program. There is one that is totally happy with 
the program. Tami loves the program; she wasn't doing well in regular high 
school academically. She is still allowed to be involved in the high school 
social programs, but for academics, she takes one course at a time for 6-8 
weeks. She has to go into the New Directions center for assistance 
occasionally, usually for lab work or computer work (since they don't have a 
home computer). Because Tami is happier, Vicki (the mom) is very happy with 
the program. Vicki says she occasionally has to assist Tami with the work but 
for the most part it's set up very much like a college correspondence course. 
So there's one instance where the family is totally pleased with the 
homeschooling program.
Personally, I don't mind coming up with curriculum, assignments, etc, but 
I've been doing those for most of my adult life (former classroom teacher; 
still teaching but privately, in music). I'd be happiest without an ISP, but 
I can see that they might be helpful for others.
                                 -donna
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