The Foreign Service Journal, June 2006

Is homeschooling an option? Yes, and sometimes it is the only one. Many an accompanying spouse, who may have no previous experi- ence in teaching, has found herself suddenly becoming, out of necessity, an expert in educating her own spe- cial needs child. Tammie Gandy is one such par- ent. A retired military medic, Gandy started researching homeschooling for her son Brandon, who is learning disabled, as soon as her husband joined the Foreign Service. She pored over books and Web sites and spoke frequently with various offices at the State Department. “About six weeks before our departure from Washington state, I resigned from my job for the express purpose of spending time in Brandon’s class- room at school. He was in a ‘self- contained’ classroom environment for his academics. I was able to form an opinion about how I would prob- ably teach based on the way his teachers taught and his response to them. We also spent a considerable amount of time reviewing his Individual Education Plan and rec- ommendations on how to write future IEPs. ” Gandy’s considerable research, time and expense paid off. By the time the family arrived at post in Germany, she was well prepared to plunge right into homeschooling her son. Homeschooling is not an option for everyone — but for some families Homeschooling is not an option for everyone — but for some families, it may be the only alternative. J U N E 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 81 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT