Of pop art, plate tectonics and a super-strong Minotaur: How PEP allows one family to tailor lessons to their children's interests

Something about the Periodic Table of Elements grabs Conrad Black’s interest. All those chemicals and their atomic numbers. He heard about it, read about it, but didn’t know anything about it.

Until this past school year.

For his fifth-grade science course, Conrad chose to learn about energy and chemistry – specifically, the Periodic Table.

“He is, in my opinion, the epitome of student-led learning,” said his mom, Melanie.

Melanie, a former middle school teacher, now teaches homeschool to her children, Conrad, 11, and Genevieve, 8.

With the help of the Personalized Education Program (PEP) that comes with the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (managed by Step Up For Students), Melanie and her husband, Wesley, can tailor the curriculum to fit the needs of her children, letting their interests guide the curriculum.

“One of the things that we are so grateful for with regard to homeschooling is the flexibility and freedom,” Melanie said. “Conrad really appreciates that.”

The Blacks, who live in Jacksonville, have homeschooled their children for the past two years. The 2023-24 year was their first with the PEP, which was part of House Bill 1 that was signed into law in 2023. HB1 allows for an Education Savings Account (ESA) for students who are not enrolled full-time in a public or private school. It enables parents to customize their children’s education.

All PEP students are required to take a state-approved norm-referenced test annually. (The list of tests can be found here.) Conrad and Genevieve take the Iowa Assessment-Core Battery, which includes tests for science, math, social studies, and language arts.

Conrad loves coding, and through the program Scratch he has made stop-action videos and created a video game. His physical education class is karate, where he is two belts shy of being a black belt. The PEP covers his piano lessons. He developed an interest in cooking this past year, so the PEP paid for two cooking classes.

Genevieve learned to sew during the 2023-24 school year, and the scholarship has covered supplies for that craft. She competes with a local swim club, which constitutes her physical education class.

Both kids are active readers. Melanie has assigned books purchased through PEP. Conrad is a few chapters shy of finishing “The Hobbit.”

The PEP also covers field trips, and the Blacks have been on the go.

There were field trips to the children’s museum at Bonnet Springs Park in Lakeland, the Cade Museum for Creativity & Invention in Gainesville, and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. During a family trip to the Florida Keys, they visited the The Turtle Hospital in Marathon.

“They always have ideas,” Melanie said. “I always ask them, ‘What's on your wish list for the school year? Where do you want to go? What kind of things do you want to learn about? What do you want to do?’ ”

Both Conrad and Genevieve said they enjoy being homeschooled.

“I can complete all my schoolwork and then just go on to the next one, instead of sitting around waiting for everybody else to complete whatever we're doing and waiting for the teachers to say what to do next,” Conrad said.

“One thing I noticed with homeschooling versus traditional schooling is the use of time,” Melanie said. “With homeschooling, I feel like we're able to get the most out of our time. Whereas what I noticed from when I worked as a teacher as well as when Conrad was in his neighborhood school, is that he would be waiting. He would finish his work and then he's waiting around.”

At home, when Conrad finishes one subject, he can move on to, say, the Periodic Table of Elements and satisfy that curiosity while learning the basics of chemistry.

“I've seen a bunch of stuff about it, and I knew nothing about it,” he said.

And?

“It’s pretty interesting,” he said.

For a creative project, Conrad and Genevieve both wrote books this year with a kit purchased with PEP funds.

Genevieve’s book was about two siblings who fought over ice cream.

“At the end, they got ice cream, but they probably weren't going to get ice cream if they didn't behave,” Genevive said.

So, who did they have to impress?

“Mom,” she said.

Conrad’s book is a little more involved.

Titled “Diary of an Insane Dream Warrior,” the plot includes a group of friends, a black hole, an alternate reality with floating islands, a massive, super-strong Minotaur, goat warriors, gun-slinging rabbits that resemble cowboys, an apple that can shapeshift, and government officials that cannot be trusted. He hasn’t finished it yet so he isn’t sure how it will end – other than the good guys win.

He does know that if it is made into a movie, the cast will include Chris Pratt, Chris Brown, Ryan Renolds, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

“The Rock would be great,” he said.

That is what Melanie means when she talks about the flexibility and creativity that comes with homeschooling with PEP. She can hone in on what interests her children and be innovative as they learn.

“[We use] the lessons that I create and anything they want to do. They have ideas, too, and we can say, ‘OK, let’s do it,’ ” she said. “It really offers us that ability to be so creative with learning, and so I think that's what we really appreciate most about homeschooling.”

Roger Mooney, manager, communications, can be reached at [email protected].