HSG FAMILIES~ IMPORTANT INFO!

Dear HSG families,
As you know, I have been trying to plan an educational field trip for our group to the Oregon Caves this spring. Many of you joined us for the wonderful field trip to Crater Lake National Park in October and were excited to explore the caves this spring. It is with great regret that I must now cancel this field trip.

As homeschooling families, I believe you will be interested in finding out why. Please allow me to explain:

• My initial contact, at the end of December, was to the park ranger in charge of organizing the Oregon Caves educational program. I was inquiring about the cost of the educational field trips and to schedule a field trip for our homeschool group.
• The park ranger did not reply until mid-February and sent me information to apply for the fee waiver, as well as this statement, referring to the two options we could choose from (Geology for 3-5 grade and Watersheds for 6-8 grade)~ "The fee waiver program is for groups whose students fall outside of our curriculum-based education program age range or who are not studying these topics.  Both options require an application process and to have the fee waived, you must qualify." We were also required to offer evidence of "a direct relationship between the visit purpose and the use of the Park. The visit must be to study some aspect/resource    specific to Oregon Caves. A general statement to the effect that the visit is for “educational purposes” is insufficient by itself. An explanation of what the educational purpose entails and how is related to the Park resources is required. (Course outlines, lesson plans, or a copy of the curriculum meet this requirement)." Initially, I had planned to offer a one or two day workshop on Bear Creek Watershed in the Rogue Valley (using materials from the North Mountain Park in Ashland).
• I replied "We are not an accredited educational institution. Each homeschooling family has a letter from our county ESD office, registering and confirming our intent to home educate our children under state law, but I doubt this is what you are looking for. Last fall, we were able to visit Crater Lake National Park and receive the same education program that is offered to schools, free of charge. We also received an Entrance Fee Waiver." The ranger then assured me that the letter from ESD would suffice...if one was received from each attending family. She also told me that if we didn't qualify for the fee waiver, we could have the group rates they offer and they would make sure extra rangers were available for our group tour.
• Not comfortable with asking you all for your ESD letter, I replied (at the end of March now) that we were changing course, not offering the class (and therefore not qualifying for the fee waiver), but that we would like to go ahead with the group rate for a 10 am tour on May 31st. I sent that email on April 1st.
• Having received no further communication, I sent another email May 1st, asking to confirm our date and time. I received this reply on May 12th:
  "Hello,
  Sorry.  I meant to respond sooner!
  There is already a group scheduled to arrive that day in the morning and we will be training new staff.  We will not have additional rangers available until later in afternoon at about 2pm.  If 10:00 is the only time that fits in with your schedule, you of course can come up, but expect a wait of up to an hour or more."
• The feedback I have received from the families signed up to go, overwhelming leaned towards rescheduling the field trip and "fighting it out" to get the educational program as well. I agree.

Not only did I find their policy of only offering the educational programs to "qualified" educational institutions, it sadly was discriminatory towards home educators! Furthermore, I found their general communications to be inconsistent and a terrible disappointment after dealing with the very helpful and accomodating rangers at Crater Lake! Both the Oregon Caves and Crater Lake are National Parks and are subject to the same regulations for educational field trips, as per National Park Service  Regulations (NPS-22).

I have been encouraged by the letters and responses from many of our local homeschool families to pursue this matter further. Yes, we DO qualify, according to Oregon law, to be recognized as an educational entity. As much as I would love to do this, I have several "big" personal matters to attend to and I cannot give this my full attention. I would like to reschedule this field trip for the fall, but I will need help to make this happen. If you are available to help in any way, please email me as soon as possible.

Thank you all for your patience and prayers!
Blessings to you and yours,
Tika Weeks
The HS Gathering of Southern Oregon
hsg