Teaching Parents Association - Meeting the Needs of Home Schooling Families

Welcome!

Welcome to the Teaching Parents Association web site.

As a homeschooling dad of five children I know how difficult it can sometimes be to find the information, resources and support network your family needs.  The desire of the Teaching Parents Association is to provide homeschooling families in Kansas the resources, encouragement and support you need as you strive to provide a nurturing and supportive environment for your child’s home education.  The TPA website is a resource in which we provide information on homeschooling events, valuable homeschooling resources and contacts for support.  TPA is a group of Christian volunteers coming together with a common goal of ministering and supporting homeschooling families.  We believe that as parents we are responsible for our children’s education.  Our board is comprised of seasoned homeschooling veterans with years of experience, many of whom have completed the formal education of at least one child.  You will find a great deal of valuable information as you browse through the TPA website and if you have questions about homeschooling, or you are struggling or thinking about starting to homeschool, you can always reach one of our board members through our website and we will be happy to assist in any way we can. 

Jeff Gorman
TPA Board President

Continued Welcomes

Working with TPA.

What a privilege it is to serve as part of your TPA organization!  It is amazing to see the vision that God has placed in the hearts and minds of the TPA board for the Kansas homeschool community, and I am excited to be a part of that vision as it takes shape in our region and state.  I look forward to serving you, the homeschool family, as a vital piece of your connection to the larger homeschooling community around you.  It is our goal to be a key support and resource for you;and, in everything we do, we want to encourage you in your effort to lead your children in following God’s purpose for your family.

Rich Harrison
TPA Board Vice President

Teaching Parents Association

Our History:
TPA began in May, 1983 as the Home Teachers Association; later that year the name was changed to Teacher-Parent Association.  It began with a constituency of only 88 families and focused primarily on the Sedgwick County area.  Some of the initial issues facing the early organization had to do with questions surrounding the legal legitimacy of home educating in the state of Kansas.

Since that time TPA has been a part of shaping both the legislative and public perceptions of home educating through many of its sponsored activities, such as:

Annual home school convention

The first TPA home school convention was held in 1986 at Central Christian Church and was attended by 500 people.  Quickly growing, since 1996 the convention has been held at Century II convention center and has an average attendance of over 1500 adults, as well as a large children’s ministry each year, called Adventures in Character.  Guest speakers over the years have included Gregg Harris; HSLDA’s Chris Klicka, Mike Farris, and J. Michael Smith; Diana Waring; Dr. William J. Bennett; Jim Ryun; and Sen. Sam Brownback.

High School Graduation

TPA’s graduation ceremony has grown from only 10 graduates at the first ceremony to 56 graduates in 2009, and included live music, video presentations, large reception and had Sen. Sam Brownback as keynote speaker.

Home Educating Training Classes

Throughout the years, TPA has acclimated and trained nearly 1000 families from across the state in the basics of home educating.  Various classes have been offered introducing families to the methods, values, materials and resources available for home educating.

That is only the beginning…

TPA has established an ever-growing library to offer helpful materials and resources directed toward home school families.  We are working to add more family field trips and events for home school families, such as a Sedgwick County Zoo day, where around 900 people attended in the fall of 2009.  TPA is currently working to increase its cooperation and support of individual home educating family groups, its resources available for new and experienced home educating families, and expanding its reach to help get home educating resources and support to a larger area around the state of Kansas. 

Teaching Parents Association

Statement of Purpose:
The Teaching Parents Association, TPA, is a Christian organization networking new, current, and former homeschool families within the state of Kansas.  TPA provides education, edification and encouragement through multiple channels such as support groups, programs, and events.

TPA Statement of Faith

We believe:

* The Bible is the authoritative, inspired and infallible Word of God.
* God has existed for all eternity in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
* In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, wholly God and wholly man, in His virgin birth, His sinless life, His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension and His bodily return in power and glory.
* All Men have sinned, both by nature and by act and it is only Jesus Christ who is able, and has paid the penalty for Man’s sin through His substitutionary death on the cross.  He then triumphed over death by His visible, bodily resurrection.
* Salvation is offered as a free gift to the sinner.  This gift must be accepted by faith, not trusting in any personal work but in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

TPA Philosophy

* We believe that parents are responsible for the education of their children.
* We believe that the U.S. Constitution protects the divine right of parents to educate their children at home.
* We operate from a Christian perspective and make decisions from the ethical and moral standards established in the Bible.
* We believe families should remain informed of homeschool laws at both the state and federal levels.

TPA Board Objectives

* To educate families, educators, elected officials, the Church and the general public on the laws and merits of parent-directed, home-based education.
* To monitor state and national legislation affecting home educating.
* To publish monthly the south central Kansas newsletter, “The Homeschooler”.
* To promote and assist independent homeschool support groups.
* To sponsor an annual regional convention, graduation ceremony and various other events beneficial to the homeschool community.

~TPA 2010 Convention~

Please join us June 3 - 5 for the 2010 TPA Convention featuring Doug Phillips, Esq and Vicki Bentley.  Register before May 16, 2010, for the reduced price of $35.00.  An early registration shopping pass is only $15.00!  After May 16, the admission cost is $50.00 and a shopping only pass is $20.00.  This is a great value for two days of fellowship, a chance to see so many educational helps, and be blessed through the many workshops. The link below contains all the information about the convention, including the workshop for first-time convention attendees and new homeschool families.

If you would like to register for convention online, click here

If you would like to register by mail, click here

To see TPA’s 2010 convention brochure, click here