Background Information: In the State of Maryland, all homeschooling programs require oversight. When homeschooling notification forms are submitted, parents/guardians select between Option A (Portfolio Reviews with BCPS) or Option B (private supervision by an entity that is registered with MSDE to oversee home instruction - a.k.a an umbrella). The following information is intended to explain how portfolio reviews are implemented in Baltimore County in accordance with Maryland's regulations for home instruction. If at any time a parent wishes to change from Option A to Option B, the parent should contact the office of the Home Schooling Program, preferably by sending an email ([email protected]).
What is a portfolio?
For the purpose of home schooling, a portfolio is an organized collection of student work and instructional plans for each required subject area. The portfolio is maintained by the parent/guardian and submitted to BCPS by the end of each semester (November through early-January and April through early-June) in order to demonstrate that the student receives regular, thorough instruction in English, math, science, social studies, art, music, physical education, and health.
A portfolio includes important instructional materials such as, but not limited to:
• Student writing samples, written assignments, worksheets, workbooks
• Assessments (tests/quizzes)
• Projects (research based, multimedia, cross-curricular, creative, etc.)
• List of Instructional/reading materials and/or curriculum documents
What does a parent/guardian include in a portfolio for a student using an online program?
The expectations of a portfolio review for online programs are the same as home instruction programs that do not incorporate computer work. Most online schools and programs have some form of a grade/progress report or transcript to inform parents of a student’s progress. Parents are welcome to submit this progress report as documentation, if they so choose. They may also provide additional samples of the student's work; however, additional work samples are not required if the grade report shows regular, thorough instruction and is electronically generated from the online program or school. Online programs, academies, and schools utilized for home instruction in Maryland do not override the state’s regulations.
Who reviews the portfolios?
Baltimore County Public Schools hires a team of reviewers comprised of current and retired educators. Each reviewer brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the team. Additionally, each reviewer undergoes annual training to remain current with Maryland’s regulations for home instruction.
How much work should be included in the portfolio?
Every home instruction program is unique. Therefore, the number of work samples that shows regular, thorough instruction for one program is different than the number of work samples needed to show regular, thorough instruction for another home instruction program.
What happens if the portfolio does not have sufficient evidence of instruction?
If a portfolio does not demonstrate regular, thorough instruction in all required subjects, Home Schooling staff will email the parent with specific feedback and provide an opportunity for corrections. Please be assured that deficient reviews are very rare. Most issues arise when students are not completing coursework regularly; when the instructional program lacks structure or a clear sequence of learning; and/or when the parent does not take the time to fully understand Maryland’s homeschooling regulations.
How do I submit the portfolio?
BCPS provides families with 4 different options to submit homeschooling portfolios: 2 electronic options and 2 physical options.
Electronic Portfolio Options (Focus Form or Smart Sheet)
Two electronic options are available for submitting student portfolios: the Focus Form and the Smart Sheet. Both provide user-friendly, organized digital spaces for uploading portfolio documentation, including text boxes for subject overviews and the ability to upload work samples in the format that best reflects the student’s instructional program (e.g., online grade reports, Google Drive links, scanned work).
- For online schools/programs (such as Time4Learning, Acellus, Miacademy, Penn Foster, Abeka, etc), upload an electronic grade report or progress report from the online school or program (saved in a PDF format).
- For all other programs, upload student work samples directly into the Focus Form or Smart Sheet or provide Google Drive links for workbook or paper/pencil based programs or GED preparation (documents must be saved in PDF or JPEG formats).
- When creating a Google Drive, be sure to allow viewing access to [email protected] and [email protected]; or select “anyone with this link”).
- If someone else reviews your portfolio, the reviewer (with a BCPS email address) will request "view only" access to your Google Drive.
- For information about creating a portfolio in Google Drive, click this link: Organizing_Your_Google_Drive_Portfolio.pdf
Option #1 - Focus Form (within the BCPS Student Information System)
The Focus Form is housed within the BCPS Focus Student Information System and offers an added layer of data privacy and security because it is part of a protected student records platform. To access the Focus Form, parents/guardians will use the email address that is on file with the office of the Home Schooling Program.
- If you know your username/password for Focus, click here to submit a portfolio: Focus.
- To create or reset your password, click here. (This process only needs to be completed once, so long as you remember your password.)
- For step-by-step directions to use the Focus Form, click here.
Option #2 - Smart Sheet
The Smart Sheet remains available for families who prefer to submit a digital portfolio without using a username and password.
To submit a portfolio, click Smart Sheet Second Semester Portfolio Submission Form.
Physical Portfolio Options (Mail or Drop-off)
Parents/guardians wishing to submit a physical portfolio may do so by mailing the portfolio or making prior arrangements to drop-off the portfolio. Physical portfolios will not be returned, so nothing of value or sentiment should be included. After the review, portfolios are securely shredded.
Portfolios should be labelled with the student's name and include an overview of the relevant parts of the home instruction program (such as the name of the curriculum/ instructional materials, the skills and concepts taught for each subject, etc.) along with student work samples for English, math, science, and social studies. For grades kindergarten through 9th, a description of physical education, art, music, health will suffice; work samples are not needed for these subjects.
Please note that physical portfolios will likely be reviewed late in the semester (January for first semester and June for second semester), regardless of when they are received.
Option #3 - Mail: Parents/guardians may mail the portfolios at your own expense to the address below. Please note that we are unable to return portfolios, so do not send anything you wish to keep. You may send copies of student work as opposed to originals.
Portfolios may not be hand-delivered to this address - this office location is for employees only.
Baltimore County Public Schools
Home Schooling Program
105 W. Chesapeake Ave
Towson, MD 21204
Attention: Jennifer Burch
Option #4 - Drop-off (by advanced notice only): Parents/guardians who prefer to hand deliver portfolios (instead of mailing or submitting digitally) may submit a request by completing this form or notifying the office of the Home Schooling Program. Requests must be submitted by December 1st for 1st semester reviews and by May 1st for 2nd semester reviews. As with the mail-in option, we are unable to return portfolios; after the review, portfolios are securely shredded.