Your teen is going places—and the transcript you give them just might be their ticket to ride.

Cora*, a homeschooling mom, knew this well. Her high school son’s passion for special education compelled him to take community college classes in the field, and to transfer to a state college later to pursue his formal degree. Through this process, Cora made sure to do her part: she consistently documented her son’s academic progress through high school, taking down grades and monitoring his progress. When both the community and state college asked to see her son’s grades, Cora handed over a transcript she had created herself, with all the information necessary to carry her son through the system.

Her hard work paid off—her son earned his bachelor’s degree in special education, and promptly entered the workforce. Cora discarded the old transcript, convinced that its usefulness had graduated along with her son.

What Cora did not anticipate, however, is that her son would have need of the high school transcript once again—this time, as a grown man in his 30s.

Cora and her son had more work to do.

It’s the small things

As I work on behalf of and alongside other homeschoolers, I find myself continually struck by the resilience and ingenuity of HSLDA’s member families. I see parents like Cora, for example, do their due diligence, research state policies, and comply with regulations—all for the sake of giving their child the best education possible. Stories like these serve to encourage our work.

Sometimes, however, certain obstacles in the system present momentary difficulties.

When Cora and her son found that one of his ideal jobs required a high school transcript, they couldn’t believe it. Cora had long since done away with that small piece of paper—but her son wasn’t about to give up.

He contacted HSLDA with his plight. Thankfully, he found old emails containing some of his high school academic information. With these documents, HSLDA successfully produced a high school transcript for use in his job application. Paper in hand, Cora’s son reached out to the corporate office—he was hired, got to work in his dream field, and later applied to grad school with a job-funded program in special education.

Hard-earned and hard-learned

Through that arduous process, Cora and her son learned an important lesson: for homeschooling families and alumni, transcripts can prove invaluable, even when the document’s perceived usefulness has expired. It’s tough to predict when a company might require high school records, because expectations between institutions vary.

It’s equally tough to predict when your kid may someday need his or her grades from your homeschooling years, for other reasons.

Lily* was a bright, gifted homeschool graduate who was presented with an ideal job opportunity that would further her career goals—straight out of high school! Eager to begin her professional journey, Lily accepted the offer, opting to forego a formal college education. She found herself thriving in her new work environment, and spent several years developing her career skillset.

At a certain point, however, Lily started considering the possibility of taking college classes in her field. Lily’s company supported her educational development, so she started researching the available options. She settled on a community college in her area, and applied to take individual courses through the semester.

To her dismay, Lily discovered that neither she nor her mom had preserved any records detailing her high school academics—because Lily hadn’t planned to go to college, no one in her family thought she would need formal transcripts. And unlike Cora and her family, Lily was unable to produce supporting email documentation for her high school years, so HSLDA was unable to assist her.

Lily, of course, didn’t let this minor setback faze her—she is working as diligently as ever, becoming the best she can be in her current calling.

This is another big reason why HSLDA readily offers our transcript service to homeschoolers: even when the need for transcripts is not apparent, as Lily found, the best-laid plans for the future can change.

Peace of mind for the pieces of life

Sometimes, however, you won’t even have to wait to see the immediate value of keeping a transcript. Ava*, another homeschooling mom, certainly didn’t.

With textbooks arranged alphabetically on the shelves, old documents filed away in boxes, and educational plans laid out for her children, Ava was the epitome of the organized homeschool mom. She would never discard any of her kids’ assignments or books—and why would she? All of these served as proof that Ava was giving her children the best education possible.

One day, however, Ava received news that sent her organized mind into chaos: her family would have to move.

What should she do? It was simply impossible to take the enormous amount of the old textbooks and documents with them, but these books served as invaluable documentation of their homeschooling efforts!

During this stressful time, Ava discovered HSLDA’s transcript service: we informed her that, if Ava created a transcript that documented all of her children’s academics and grades, she would not need to keep all the books and boxes that were weighing her down.

This was welcome news. Ava’s family was able to complete their move, without worrying about losing a textbook or two along the way. Ava, for her part, could rest easy, knowing that her students’ academic records were preserved—this time, without filling up a room with boxes!

For your journey

At HSLDA, we know that you want to give your students the resources necessary to succeed. We are firmly committed to helping your teen reach their full potential. Our store offers a comprehensive transcript service to make this journey even easier—and you can try it free for 30 days. Follow this link to learn all about this convenient option  here.

—Lanson

*Names changed for privacy