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Educational Communities: Four Current Models
Families who are teaching their own children in isolated settings often want to work together in order to share resources and expertise and to give their children the advantages of being part of a larger educational community. We in SIL have several models currently operating in field settings for providing that kind of community.
Educational Resource Center (ERC) Model
ERCs are developed with educational resources to be available for those parents who are teaching their own children while overseas. They are set up to be self-sustaining with a small usage fee charged to maintain and expand resources offered and to pay for operational costs.
Field Education System (FES) Model
FES is an educational support program for families who need to homeschool their children in an isolated setting. Its purpose is to mainly provide a "community" and expanded resources in order to counteract the disadvantages of isolation.
Modular Study Group (MSG) Model
The Modular Study Group (MSG), is a blended program, combining homeschool support with aspects of the traditional classroom. It aims to provide a new educational option for ministry workers who live in more remote areas of Asia. The MSG offers college-prep courses in the core subjects of English, math and science. Classes are held in a centrally-located city during one week of each month, followed by about three weeks of home study. Each course is planned and facilitated by a qualified instructor, with the parents serving as the primary monitors/teachers during the weeks when students are at home. [Note - Additional classes, such as Social Studies and Art are beginning to make their way into the program.]
Traditional School Participation Model
Some schools have developed a program that is designed to assist parents as they teach their children in the village setting. The purpose of this program is to allow the family to go to the village when needed. While in the village they follow what is going on in the classroom using a plan generated by the teacher so that they can keep to the classroom schedule. When they return to where the school is the child re-enters the school with as smooth a transition as possible.