Parent Directed
ursa Parent Directed home education is for Kindergarten & grades 1-12. Instruction is delivered following Alberta Education’s Home Education Regulations.
Our knowledgeable and professional Home Education Managers (HEMs) will provide you with the support and guidance needed to develop and deliver a Parent Directed program that works best for your student and family.ursa’s HEMs have all homeschooled their own children. Some have been homeschooled themselves.
Your HEM will visit virtually with you and your child twice a year and work with your family to support learning throughout your child’s entire home education journey.
Students are encouraged to explore their interests using a variety of resources and community opportunities.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten can be a great introduction to home education as it gives families a chance to develop a lifestyle of playing, working, learning, and growing together. ursa supports parent directed Kindergarteners through our provincially funded Little Bears program.
High School
Home Education provides students with flexibility to design an approach to high school that is well suited to their goals, passions, and preferred styles of learning. Whether their objective is to achieve high school credits, pursue an Alberta High School Diploma, or follow their interests and work toward their goals in other ways, ursa is here to assist students each step of the way. High school credits can be achieved through either Parent Directed courses (also known as “Section 6 courses”) or Teacher Directed courses.
Choose Your Program of Study
Families registered in the Parent Directed program can choose to follow one of the following:
- Alberta Program of Studies This is the same program, with all the same outcomes as students follow in Teacher Directed programs, whether in public or independent schools.
- The Learning Outcomes for Home Education Students These are outcomes that Home Education students can work toward throughout grades 1 to 12. This option gives families the flexibility to choose any approach to learning, and to pursue their interests in whatever style best suits the needs of their students.
Find more information here:
Home education | Alberta.ca
Home Education Regulation
Applying to ursa
Online applications for ursa’s Parent Directed, Shared Responsibility, and Teacher Directed Programs for the 2024-2025 school year are now open.
We use SchoolCloud for online registrations. To apply:
Before You Begin the Application
- We strongly recommend using a computer rather than a mobile phone or tablet to submit your application online.
- You will need your child’s Alberta Health Care number (in case we need it during onsite classes, field trips or other activities) and a scanned copy or photo of your child’s Birth Certificate or proof of citizenship or residency so that have those ready.
Completing the Application
- First, create a SchoolCloud account at https://schoolcloud.ca/CreateUrsaAccount . You will receive an email with a link to set your password. If you already have an account, login at https://schoolcloud.ca/Login
- After creating your password, use it to log in and start the application.
- Once you have entered your student’s name and birthdate, the application will move through a series of tabs. After each page, click “Save and Continue”
- First, choose the school (ursa) and the program your child is registering for: Parent Directed, Shared Responsibility, Distance, or Global Online. Clicking on the different choices will give you a description of each to help you know which to choose.
- Fill in your student’s basic information (grade, address, etc.) and the parent information.
- The questionnaire gives us helpful information to know how to best support your family.
- Upload a copy of the child’s birth certificate on the “Forms” tab.
- Work through each of the other tabs. For Parent Directed and Shared Responsibility students, the last page asks you to choose between following the Alberta Programs of Study or the Schedule in the Home Education Regulation, which can be found HERE
- After completing the application, you will have an opportunity to add an additional new student. Repeat these steps to submit applications for all students.
- The system will email you a copy of your completed application.
- We will contact you if additional information is required to process your application.
- If you have problems with any part of the application, you can contact us at schoolcloud@thirdschools.ca
For further information about ursa and how to apply.
To connect with our Home Education Managers and the rest of the ursa community, visit us on Facebook.