One option could be homeschooling and finishing up high school with online high school programs, plus, perhaps, MOOCs from universities and some independent study to engage in their intellectual interests. The more flexible curriculum could also be coupled with volunteering at a nonprofit, taking community college classes, working in a research lab, or doing other long term projects that don't mesh well with school.

I know two people who have done this and think very highly of this option. The first had severe health problems that made it impossible for her to finish high school in a traditional school, so she enrolled in an online program through Stanford to finish high school. This worked well, because she was in an out of the hospital a lot during high school, and the online coursework allowed her to catch up in a way that a public school wouldn't. The other went to a highly competitive magnet school and felt like it was no longer intellectually engaging, because it was competitive but overly pre-professional/focused on getting As/getting into ivies. She enrolled in an online accredited correspondance program to finish up her coursework her senior year and was able to focus more on specific intellectual interests of hers and start a community service project. Both of these people were incredibly self-motivated, self-directed types, and the one who left the magnet program was somewhat of a "free spirit." However, she also realized that she needed to get certain coursework done (like, not blowing off math even if she considered herself a "humanities person") and do SAT prep to get into a competitive college, and was mature enough to do this outside of the structure of a traditional high school. Both of these people went on to excel in college and their careers, probably in no small part due to the fact that they were incredibly mature and self-motivated.

If you have an exceptionally self-motivated child who would thrive with this sort of intellectual freedom, then I would consider it as an option. They need a compelling reason, and would need to be mature enough to keep studying without the structure/peer influence of traditional school. You would also need to have a plan/curriculum, etc. to ensure they really are getting an education, especially a well rounded education. I know one person who was "home schooled" who basically didn't do anything except read fantasy novels and basically never learned how to do algebra or learned much about history, science and didn't read literature that challenged her. I think if that is what is going to go on during homeschooling, that's a disservice to your DC.

Why would you want to do this, OP? What's your end-game here? To teach him a lesson? To remove him from a frustrating private school experience? To make him more self-reliant and appreciative of education? Why are you thinking of taking this drastic step?

Homeschool? Last I looked home school requirements for DC were very light.

Anonymous wrote:I think the upcoming sophomore year of private high school may be the last one I pay for for my free spirit DS. Then I may turn him loose to get a GRE when he feels like it. We live in DC. Will the DC bureaucrats leave me alone if I do that or will they threaten to put me in jail if I don't try to get him into a junior year?

What about a private that is more in keeping with his values and personality? Burke or somewhere similar? Or a public like School without Walls?

Anonymous wrote:Just send him to public and save your money.

With our in-bounds DC high school he'll get a better education doing anything but attending.

Just send him to public and save your money.

Another question to ask is what does you child want to do after high school? Getting a GED instead of graduating from high school will significantly limit his college options.

In District of Columbia, the minimum age required to take the GED® test is 18 years old.

I’m underage. What do I need to do to take the test?

This rule changes based on which state you’re taking the test. In District of Columbia, you can be 16 and take the GED® test if you have the following exception:

Candidates may be sixteen or seventeen years of age and provide documentation from the principal, director, or superintendent of having withdrawn from a traditional educational program six months prior to sitting for the GED® test; provide a notarized letter from the parent, guardian, government agency or court granting permission for the candidate to sit for the GED® test.


Alternatively, he can finish jr year, take English in the summer and graduate August after junior year.

Good luck.

OP here. Thanks. That is what I was afraid of.

You'll get harassed. The legal dropout age in DC is 18. It's 16 in most other places.

Anonymous wrote:If you are smart enough to write the check (??) for an independent school in the district, why can't you spend 2-3 minutes searching district regs online regarding the ages of compulsory education ?

I could do it for you but I already don't like you bc you're lazy.

OP here. My experience is that the bureaucrats' web sites are a disorganized mess, so I'm trying this first.

Uh, a GRE comes after a bachelor's degree.

OP here. Sorry, I meant GED not GRE. Or whatever it is now. GRE. That's a laugh.

If you are smart enough to write the check (??) for an independent school in the district, why can't you spend 2-3 minutes searching district regs online regarding the ages of compulsory education ?

I could do it for you but I already don't like you bc you're lazy.

I think the upcoming sophomore year of private high school may be the last one I pay for for my free spirit DS. Then I may turn him loose to get a GRE when he feels like it. We live in DC. Will the DC bureaucrats leave me alone if I do that or will they threaten to put me in jail if I don't try to get him into a junior year?