LAF has grown exponentially! In just a few years, we have more than doubled, and we continue to add new families every year. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve the homeschool community of the Sarasota and Manatee area, as we have done for more than 35 years. But with growth comes challenges, and one of our greatest challenges now is stewarding the community we are called to serve while protecting our mission.

The LAF Mission Statement says:

Learning and Families exists solely to serve new and veteran home education families in the Sarasota and Manatee region in accordance with a decidedly Christian bias. LAF fulfills that mission through 

• Christ-centered opportunities for long-term fellowship and academic enrichment
• Mentoring relationships and encouragement
• Resources and information to aid home education and support the legal right to homeschool

LAF currently supports its purpose through 

• Co-op classes for Pre-K through 12th grades
• Special events
• Enriching academic and social experiences 
• Private social media network groups

As the organization has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years, we have seen our mission falter in three ways:

1. Our position of faith has been challenged
2. Our role as a support to families who are legally homeschooling has been misunderstood
3. Our service as a homeschooling resource has been misused.

The Admissions Application is not a tool to judge who is worthy of LAF and who is not. We are not using it to criticize or critique. We are using it to discern which families we can best serve based on our mission.

There are no answers to this survey that will cause a family to be turned away. There are, however, answers that may cause us to open a conversation. If we see something that raises a question for us, we will ask you to meet us online in a Zoom call so we can talk more. This is a great opportunity for us to get to know your family and for you to get to know us.

The questions on our application fall into three categories:

1. Faith
2. Legality of Homeschooling
3. Commitment to Homeschooling

We know these questions can feel personal and maybe even invasive, and we deeply appreciate your willingness to be open and transparent with us. We believe this process will help us to build a stronger community.

Take a moment to read through our explanation of the heart behind these questions.

Faith

We are a Christ-centered community. We understand and accept that everyone has different beliefs, but by declaring ourselves a Christian community, we are making a promise to our families that we will provide a place for them to speak freely about God and the Bible without concern that their beliefs will be challenged or disparaged, as well as a place where they can find like-minded friends. One of the primary tenets of our mission statement is to offer “Christ-centered opportunities for long-term fellowship.”

These questions in our application give us an idea of where you are in your faith walk, and again, they open the door to a deeper conversation.

Legality of Homeschooling

In the application, we ask questions about how you are legally covered as homeschoolers. In the past, we have had families assume that we are a school, that we keep academic records, and that we are legally responsible for their child’s education. None of those are true of LAF. We are not a school; we are a support community for families who are legally homeschooling. We do not keep academic records, and we do not have any legal responsibility for any child’s education. All of the educational responsibility belongs to the parents. LAF is meant to be a support and offers only enrichment for what families are already doing.

Commitment to Homeschooling

As a support and enrichment program, LAF best serves families who have made a solid commitment to homeschooling. We offer a wide range of social and academic opportunities that are meant to add to the vision and plan that each family has for educating their children at home. We are not an alternative to school. As a community, we want our families to be an inspiration and encouragement to each other. We want our families to be able to share what they are doing and offer new and fresh ideas and insights to one another. In order for that to happen, families have to be committed to homeschooling and not looking simply for a non–school place (public or private) to send their child.

The questions in this section of the application are designed to help us find families who are genuinely committed to home education. If you have been homeschooling for less than a full year, we will need to meet with you, and we may recommend that you start with our Support Community and get connected in various ways before registering for the Co-op.

If there is anything that concerns you or if you have any questions along the way, please reach out to us. You can find contact information for every member of the Board of Directors on our website. We encourage you to talk to us. Our hope is to build an honoring community that fulfills the mission of Learning and Families.