On this page:
About MACHE
What MACHE does
How
MACHE Fights For You
Membership information
The MinuteM.A.N. Program
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.
Last year, we were able to meet with the
State Department of
Education officials and were even invited to speak at several of their
state level events. MACHE leaders were able to speak effectively at
these events and meetings as representing a clear majority of home
schoolers in the state. This is a new year, and already we have been
in contact with several county Pupil Services Departments to resolve
misunderstandings regarding the Assurance of Consent forms. Your
group can help support these efforts and benefit from the services above
by becoming a member of MACHE, or renewing your membership for this school
year.
The following is the
fee structure for membership this school year:
Group Size |
Membership |
Individual |
|
$9.00 |
2 - 10 families |
$29.00 |
11 - 50 families |
$49.00 |
51 - 75 families |
$69.00 |
76 - 100 families |
$79.00 |
101 - 200 families |
$159.00 |
200 + families |
$259.00 |
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
MACHE is pleased to
sponsor.....
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.
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