WCCHE - General Information

Our Statement of Purpose
Our Key Objectives
Applying for Membership
Communication: Monthly Newsletter
Communication: Phone Tree and Email Tree
WCCHE Membership Directory
WCCHE Events and Meetings
Serious Youth in Christ (SYnC)
Other WCCHE Benefits

WCCHE Statement of Purpose

"West County Christian Home Educators exists for the purpose of supporting, encouraging, and equipping families in the performance of their God-given responsibilities to train and educate their children in the instruction of the Lord." ¹

WCCHE seeks to unite its members for the purpose of:

providing information regarding legal and social issues affecting homeschooling families
offering enriching educational activities
providing wholesome fellowship opportunities with like-minded homeschooling families
fostering communication between homeschooling groups
supporting any member family regardless of religion, race or denominational affiliation

The WCCHE organization will continue to be comprised solely of volunteer families that seek to exhibit Christian unity, service, and the love of Christ to its membership for the purpose of bringing glory to God the Father.²

Key Objectives

The following areas are the key objectives of WCCHE:

To compile and publish resources and information pertinent to homeschooling in our area
To help members find the resources and support they need in homeschooling
To provide access and to help coordinate group activities and functions

None of these objectives are the responsibility of any one member. If you think an idea is good and you believe in it....Do it! Plan it for others to enjoy also or at least tell others about it so they can plan their own. No one is less busy. If we all provide a little, we all gain a lot.

Applying for Membership

Applying for membership in WCCHE consists of returning a completed membership application and a check to WCCHE for a prorated amount (please refer to the memmbership application for the proper prorated amount). Memberships may be renewed annually by paying $20.00 when dues are due in July of each year. For your paid membership you will receive the monthly newsletter, an annual membership directory, and the opportunity to participate in all of the meetings and events provided to WCCHE members. If you would like a membership application, you may download an application in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format here. You'll need to use Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print the applicaiton. Click on the icon below to visit the Adobe web site and download the free Acrobat Reader software.

Monthly Newsletter

The purpose of the newsletter is to inform, encourage and to promote homeschooling to our members and to those considering homeschooling. It is not just for the parents, but also for homeschooling students. We also love to show off the accomplishments of the WCCHE children and young adults.

The newsletter is created mainly from two sources. The main source is articles and information submitted by our members. We encourage you to submit for publication in the newsletter anything that you believe will bless another family. Please remember that all articles must be submitted by the deadline. If an article doesn't get published for any reason, we will make every effort to include it in the following month's newsletter.

The newsletter also contains some news from other sources such as other homeschooling newsletters, homeschooling magazines, and area events offered to private or public schools.

We also promote Christian programs and ideals that affect homeschooling. We keep our members aware of issues that adversely affect or benefit the family and/or homeschooling. We recognize that what affects the family definitely affects homeschooling families.

Newsletter Logistics
The newsletter is mailed during the first week of each month. All articles should be submitted to the by the 25th of each month. There is normally no newsletter published during the month of July. The production and mailing of the newsletter are covered by your WCCHE dues. In fact, that is the primary reason for the WCCHE dues. If you want your money well spent, please help make this newsletter the best it can be.

If you are a paying WCCHE member in good standing and you did not receive a newsletter and think you should have, please contact the . If someone wants to receive a newsletter, they must join WCCHE. If they are financially unable, have them contact a Board Member. If you know of a family who is interested in joining the WCCHE group, either print the membership application or ask them to visit the WCCHE web site and download and print the it themselves. If they have questions about membership, please have them contact the

If you have a comment or suggestion concerning the newsletter, please contact the . The goal for the newsletter is to meet your homeschooling needs. Your participation will aid us in making the newsletter the most effective tool possible!

Newsletter Advertising Policy
In order to support the private enterprise of our members there will be four lines of space provided for appropriate advertising for each WCCHE family. Those who want or need more than this should contact the for advertising rates and opportunities. Secondly, any member sponsoring an event or service offered to all or part of the WCCHE community can receive free advertising.

Any advertiser or business that is not affiliated with WCCHE will be charged advertising fees. Please see the to obtain a copy of the Advertising Rate Sheet.

Outside advertisers must be recommended by a homeschooling family. Please note that the Board retains the right to review all advertisements before they are accepted.

Even though WCCHE does its best to present reputable resources in the newsletter, we recommend that each family use its own discretion when obtaining services from any advertiser.

Phone Tree and Email Tree

The newsletter and monthly meetings are the main means of getting information to the WCCHE members. The use of the phone tree and email tree are restricted to messages with a time urgency that cannot wait for the next monthly meeting or newsletter.

These messages will be considered for the phone tree and email tree if they are items that will affect or be of interest to the majority of the WCCHE members. These restrictions are necessary because of the time required to activate the phone tree and out of respect for the privacy of our membership concerning unnecessary phone calls.

The following items will be considered:

Political matters concerning homeschoolers that need to be acted upon in a timely manner.
Activities or changes in activities that would significantly affect a majority of WCCHE members.

If your message meets these requirements, please contact a Board Member.

WCCHE Membership Directory

WCCHE provides to its members a membership directory. The information in this directory is to help WCCHE members find the support they need to better educate their children. THIS INFORMATION IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL! Each member has provided this information expecting it will not be made available to anyone except WCCHE members. Each WCCHE member must agree not to give out information in the membership directory to anyone who is not a WCCHE member for any reason.

PLEASE NOTE: Anyone who chooses not to be listed in the directory will not receive the directory, nor shall any businesses or other homeschooling organizations that receives our newsletter.

E-Mail Addresses
Each family may include one parent's e-mail address in the directory. Doing so will automatically include that family on the e-mail tree, removing them from the phone tree. If you would like to be on the e-mail tree and not have your e-mail address in the directory, please contact the .

We request that all e-mails that are sent to the members of our group would be PERSONAL MESSAGES ONLY. PLEASE DO NOT 'MASS FORWARD' ANY ITEMS. Please respect this request, as time is very valuable. If you have a message that needs to go to the group as a whole, please contact the leaders and request that the message be sent out over the phone / e-mail tree services.

WCCHE Events and Meetings

You'll find information about our monthly meetings and events on our Events and Meetings page.

Serious Youth in Christ (SYnC)

For approximately twelve years in West County, SYnC has been providing home school parents with arranged social opportunities for their Junior and Senior High young adults. Each SYnC family is involved in planning and participating in activities that nurture the Christ-centered fellowship young adults need at this critical stage in their lives.

The mission of SYnC is to provide opportunities for WCCHE young adults to fellowship with families in a Biblical manner while learning how to grow in and defend their faith, to understand and practice courtship principles, to give of their time and resources sacrificially through service to others, and to further prepare themselves for the godly roles of marriage and parenthood. We all strive to remember that we are the Lord's ambassadors on this earth. We also attempt to let our light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Requirements for participation in SYnC are as follows:

The family must have a homeschooled child that is 12 years old or older (Activities are for the whole family unless otherwise noted.) If parents cannot attend an event, then it is required that they ask another family to "adopt" their child(ren) for that event and let the coordinator know the "adopting" family when signing up for an event.
The family must be a current, paid member of WCCHE.
Special events may require costs during the year.
Dads and Moms from each family are required to volunteer to help organize at least one activity through the year. (First-year home schooling families are exempt from this requirement.)
Each family needs to be committed to carefully check the SYnC announcements in the monthly newsletter to keep up with current events and to make timely responses to sign-ups and deadlines.

If you would like to contact the SYnC leaders, please send an email message to .

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12

Other WCCHE Benefits

Some of the other benefits of becoming a WCCHE member include:

Membership discount card - receive discounts at various stores and retailers in the St. Louis metro area.
HSLDA discount - Members of WCCHE are eligible for the Home School Legal Defense Association's support group discount rate. Our group number is available to all WCCHE members to use when applying for or renewing HSLDA membership.

¹ Deut. 4:6, Eph. 6:4, Mal. 2, Ps. 78
² 1 Peter 4:10-11