After you’ve made the decision to start homeschooling, you may be wondering what to do next. In addition to deciding on curriculum, you will need to decide whether to report attendance to the school district versus an umbrella school (church-related school). Each has its own advantages.

If you report directly to the school district, you will save money by not using an umbrella school. You will need to follow any guidelines set up by the school district, which will require state testing at certain grade levels. I’ve spoken to the contact for the county, and she was very friendly and super helpful in answering all my initial questions. I’ve heard great things for the city district as well, along with comments from parents about reporting being easy.

Murfreesboro City Schools ~ (615) 893-2313

Rutherford County Schools ~ (615) 893-5812

If planning to report to school district, here is the Tennessee Notice of Intent to Home School ~ https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/nonpublic/hm_sch_intent_to_home_school.pdf

Should you choose an umbrella school, you will follow their guidelines to report attendance and grades and would not report to the school district. Some umbrella schools do not require state testing which some families may prefer; you would need to check with the umbrella to verify this. There is a cost associated with signing up under an umbrella school. For some umbrellas, current homeschooling families can register for the upcoming school year at certain times of the year and receive a discount on registration fees, which is helpful for our family.

For those who are going from public school to homeschool and plan to use an umbrella, check with the umbrella school first as some umbrellas will help with the transition paperwork.

Please research the umbrella schools that best fit your family’s need.
Murfreesboro Homeschooling Connections does not endorse any specific school listed below. We simply provide this information so that you can research if it is a good fit for your family.

If you are affiliated with an umbrella school and want it listed here, please use the Contact form to submit your school’s information. Thank you!

Homeschooling families that would like to submit the umbrella school they use are welcome to also use the Contact form to submit the umbrella school’s information – especially website information if available. Thank you!

Please note that this is not a complete listing of umbrella schools in our area.

UMBRELLA SCHOOL LISTINGS