Find answers to common questions about Wellspring Academy, PA Act 169 compliance, and how to use our tools.
Wellspring Academy OS is a free Pennsylvania Act 169-compliant homeschool operating system built for families who want real structure without turning their home into a classroom. It blends unschooling freedom with optional Waldorf and Montessori rhythm — and handles the compliance side so you don't have to think about it constantly.
Everything you need to stay compliant and organized is free — including the PA Compliance Center, Week Plan Builder, Learning Log, Portfolio Builder, printable templates, and the Parent Dashboard preview. Most tools are available without an account or login.
The PA Compliance Center is your go-to guide for understanding Act 169 requirements — required subjects by grade level, annual hours and days, evaluator criteria, portfolio standards, and the annual affidavit process. It's built specifically for Pennsylvania families and updated to reflect current law.
The Week Plan Builder helps you create a weekly rhythm that fits your family's approach — whether that's unschooling, Waldorf, Montessori, or a blend of all three. It's flexible by design, because no two homeschool families look the same.
The Learning Log is a session-based tool that helps you document your child's learning in real time, mapped to Pennsylvania's required subjects. It's designed to make contemporaneous documentation feel natural rather than like a chore.
The Portfolio Builder helps you organize your reading log, project documentation, work samples, and compliance folder — everything an evaluator will want to see, all in one place.
Yes — Wellspring includes a full set of printable templates including a weekly plan, daily log, reading log, project documentation sheet, and annual hours tracker. All templates open in a new tab and are free to download and use.
Premium is currently in development and will include secure login, persistent data saved across sessions and devices, multi-child profiles, PDF export, compliance reports, and progress visualizations. Join the waitlist below to be notified when it launches.
Yes — before you begin, you'll file a notarized affidavit with your local school district superintendent. Think of it as your official "we're doing this" declaration. You'll do this once to start and then again every August 1st to cover each new school year.
Act 169 is Pennsylvania's homeschool law — it's what makes homeschooling legal in the state and outlines exactly what families are required to do. The good news is it's more flexible than most people expect. It gives you real freedom in how and what you teach, as long as you meet the subject, hours, and documentation requirements.
Your affidavit is due by August 1st each year. It covers the upcoming school year, so filing on time keeps you in good standing with your district before the school year begins.
Pennsylvania's compulsory school age runs from 6 to 18. If your child turns 6 on or before September 1st, you'll need to have your affidavit filed and your home education program in place for that school year. Many families start homeschooling earlier — there's no restriction on that — but Act 169's legal requirements kick in once your child reaches compulsory age.
The required subjects depend on your child's grade level. In grades K–6, you'll cover core areas like English, math, science, and social studies, plus health, safety, and physical education. Grades 7–12 add subjects like civics, world history, and career education. The full subject lists are in our PA Compliance Center.
Pennsylvania requires 180 days of instruction per year — or 900 hours for elementary students and 990 hours for secondary students. You don't have to track by the clock if you track by days, but many families find an hours log useful at evaluation time.
Yes — the subject requirements expand in 7th grade. Elementary years are foundational; the secondary list adds more specific subjects like civics, economics, and biology. It's worth reviewing the list before each new school year so nothing sneaks up on you.
Your learning log is a contemporaneous record of your child's education — meaning written in the moment, not reconstructed later. It doesn't need to be elaborate. A simple daily or weekly note of what you covered is enough. The key word is contemporaneous — evaluators will look for evidence that you were documenting as you went.
Yes — Pennsylvania requires a portfolio as part of your annual evaluation. It typically includes your learning log, a reading list, and samples of your child's work across required subjects. Think of it less like a scrapbook and more like a gentle paper trail that shows learning happened.
It needs to be consistent, not perfect. A sentence or two per day noting what you worked on is genuinely sufficient. What evaluators are looking for is evidence of regular, ongoing instruction — not color-coded binders or lesson plans written weeks in advance.
Not every year — Pennsylvania only requires standardized testing in grades 3, 5, and 8. In all other grades, a portfolio review with a qualified evaluator fulfills your annual assessment requirement. Most homeschool families find the portfolio route a much more natural fit for how their kids actually learn.
Your evaluator must be a Pennsylvania-certified teacher who is not a member of your immediate family. Many homeschool communities have established evaluators who are experienced with Act 169 portfolios and understand a variety of learning approaches, including Waldorf, Montessori, and unschooling.
Your evaluator reviews your portfolio — the learning log, reading list, and work samples — and issues a written opinion that your child has received an appropriate education. They're not grading your child or judging your methods. They're simply confirming that learning happened across the required subjects.
No — Pennsylvania does not require any specific curriculum. You have full freedom to choose a boxed curriculum, create your own, follow a Waldorf or Montessori approach, or use an unschooling model. The law cares about what subjects are covered, not how you cover them.
Absolutely. Many Pennsylvania families use interest-led, nature-based, or arts-integrated approaches and remain fully compliant with Act 169. The key is learning to document your child's natural learning in a way that maps back to required subjects — which is exactly what the Wellspring Academy OS is designed to help you do.
Pennsylvania does allow homeschooled students to participate in extracurricular activities at their local public school, including sports, under certain conditions. Each district has some discretion in how they implement this, so it's worth contacting your district directly to understand their specific policy.
We're putting the finishing touches on the full log right now — it launches by the end of May 2026! Drop your email in the form below to be the first to know when it's ready.