Greetings in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

MACHE exists to support the Christian home schooling families and support group leaders in the state of Maryland .  We provide a quarterly newsletter to member families and groups, offer a discount for membership in the Home School Legal Defense Association , and we host an annual curriculum fair, symposiums, workshops, and other events.

MACHE also coordinates with the Maryland State Department of Education , giving input and advice to them on issues that relate to home schooling in the state of Maryland.  We also monitor the Maryland state legislature to ensure that our freedoms to teach at home are not compromised.  Our board of directors works diligently to make sure that home schooling in Maryland continues to be a positive experience.

We hope this web site provides useful information for you, and we encourage you to contact us if you have any questions.

If you are an administrator of an umbrella school, the director of a support network, the leader of a local school group, or a first-year mom just beginning this adventure of home schooling: welcome from thousands of other Maryland home educators just like you, the members of the Maryland Association of Christian Home Educators (MACHE).

For those of you who may not be familiar with the state association, MACHE  is a coalition of several thousand home schooling families under dozens Christian home education organizations which are dedicated to promoting and preserving your freedom to provide home education in Maryland.  We stand together to represent Christian home educators at the state and national level and work together to help meet the special and growing needs of homeschoolers throughout the state.

Here's some of what we do:

• We work very closely with state legislators and school board officials, both at the state and local board level, to secure legislation and regulations favorable to home educating parents.
   
• MACHE is directly connected to activities of the state legislature through the Legislative Status Review Service, where we are able to monitor daily activities and progress of bills and issue debates in the legislature.  MACHE provides direct involvement and lobbying on your behalf as issues arise which concern home education.
   
• We help to mediate and resolve conflicts, both at the local and state level, which would jeopardize the legacy of trust between home educators and county or state officials.
   
• MACHE closely coordinates legislative and legal issues that impact Maryland families with the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA).
   
• We provide a growing, affordable, statewide, resource-rich curriculum fair each year.
   
• We provide seminars for umbrella schools and support group leaders.
   
• MACHE sponsors the state MinuteM.A.N. Alert program.
   
• We provide periodic MACHE Leader's Letter to keep you and your organization up to date on state events, legislative and legal developments, as well as other information.
   
• MACHE offers member discounts to MACHE events (FREE admission to the state curriculum fair, 50% to MACHE symposiums and workshops), and a discount for HSLDA membership.
   
• MACHE provides one-on-one counsel regarding setting up the practicals of operating a church-based umbrella school or support group.
   
• Give you priority notification of limited attendance events, like Mom’s Day Out and the State Homeschool Legislative Education Day in Annapolis.
   
• Give you a membership card which may qualify you for discounts at education oriented stores and outlets.

The following is the fee structure for membership this school year:

Click here to access the MACHE membership form, and MAIL THE FORM to the MACHE office.  If you have questions, feel free to call the office during regular business hours at 301/607-4284.  The office staff will also be able to put you in touch with other "people resources" who assist in the areas of events, legal and legislative issues, and the MinuteM.A.N. Alert program, and other areas.

Fill out your membership form today and mail it with your membership fee to:

The Maryland Association of Christian Home Educators
P.O. Box 417
Clarksburg, MD 20871

If you have questions, please give us a call and we'll do our best to get you pointed in the direction of some people and/or resources that will help.  As soon as we receive your membership form, we will send out a confirmation letter, and more information regarding upcoming events.

God bless you, and happy home schooling.

Jon Shilts
Executive Director, MACHE

The MinuteM.A.N. Program
(Maryland Alert Network)

The MinuteM.A.N. program is designed to alert Maryland home educators about urgent legislative issues affecting home education in Maryland.  Individuals who wish to participate contact their Maryland legislator to communicate the appropriate message of support or protest.  MinuteM.A.N. is NOT a legislative information system, a prayer chain, or a MACHE information line.

The MinuteM.A.N. program serves Maryland Home schoolers in the following ways:

• MACHE gathers Maryland legislative information on bills or on actions by the Board of Education from its many sources across the state.  Any home education organization may also contact MACHE with information they believe warrants attention.
• After reviewing this information, MACHE will issue an alert through the state’s eight District Coordinators via fax and/or e-mail if action on the part of individuals is considered necessary to protest or provide support for the issue.
• Those Coordinators will then send the alert through their phone trees in their specific districts. Alerts may be received by e-mail in some districts if e-mail is checked regularly.  If no email service is available, special arrangements may be made their District Coordinator.
• Groups of all sizes (oversight programs, support networks and support groups) are invited to join the MinuteM.A.N. alert tree by contacting the appropriate District Coordinator listed below or through response to a phone call from your District Coordinator.
• Membership in MACHE is not required to be a part of MinuteM.A.N. (although we encourage your membership in MACHE for its many other benefits).
• No group membership list is required.  District Coordinators only need a contact name for a participating group.  The contact person MUST have an email account that is checked frequently.
• When the contact person receives an alert, the group then activates their own alert tree (or uses their own custom method to contact group members) to pass on the alert information.  You are encouraged to ask the group members to pray, as well as to act on the alert.
• Membership in MACHE does not automatically make your group a part of the alert network. Your group must notify MACHE or your District Coordinator to be included in the network.
• Your group will also receive alerts on federal issues through the same structure.  The same District Coordinators serve as Congressional Action Program (CAP) Coordinators for national issues.
• District Coordinators are authorized to send only approved MACHE and CAP alerts.
• Individuals may receive the alerts if they are not part of any group.  Please contact the coordinator in your district.