NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Many homeschool families enjoy the flexibility and convenience of learning at home but still want the social aspect and varied class offerings of traditional school. That's where enrichment programs called tutorials come in.

One such program, held at a church in Madison, serves 350 students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Students attend the Center for Homeschool Enrichment and Tutorial (CHET) two days a week.

"Our job is to partner with the parents and the families alongside them to fill in the gaps in the home school," explained CHET executive director Hannah Herndon. "We're kind of à la carte, so you can pick your complete schedule, what works for you and what works for your family. That's (always) kind of set us apart."

CHET has been serving Middle Tennessee families for more than 20 years as a supplement to their studies at home.

"They get to be around students and to be around teachers that are going to hold them accountable. They have to still come in, sit in a class, turn in their homework. We host a lot of events. We host dances, we host formal, we have the science fair," Herndon said.

Herndon said CHET offers classes that can be challenging for parents to teach, such as advanced science and math. There are also plenty of creative offerings, including culinary arts, sign language and clogging.

"This school is big on fine arts. We started a rock band this year, which has already been really successful and really cool," Herndon said. "This year we offered forensics for both middle school and high school, and that's been a huge hit. Our teacher went to college for forensics, so she knew a lot about it, and she was able to bring in hands-on stuff in our classroom, so that they can learn something that's usually not offered in schools."

Herndon homeschools her five children and they also attend CHET. She said alongside academic enrichment, community is one of the most important aspects of a program like this for socialization and support.

"You have that backup and they you come alongside each other and support each other, so that does help a lot to have something like CHET," Herndon said. We're very blessed to have this; my kids thrive because they get the best of both worlds, and I love that.

CHET has 90 new students this year and a waitlist. To find out about applying for next school year, visit their website: https://www.chettn.org/

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/special-reports/chet-program-for-homeschool/