What is CHSEL?

CHSEL is a program of Lighthouse Home School Support. CHSEL is intended to complement, not replace, the education each family provides at home. Families remain responsible for their children’s overall homeschool education while CHSEL provides a community-based opportunity to share the teaching, learning, and enrichment experience with other homeschool families.

Families register for CHSEL once each year. Enrolled classes and labs are paid for monthly over a ten-month school year. Our program typically begins the week after Labor Day in September and concludes during the second week of May. Classes and labs are typically 55 minutes long and are scheduled throughout the day, with the primary schedule running hourly from 9:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. Some offerings are also available during afternoon time slots.

Tuesdays — CHSEL+ Classes: Tuesdays are dedicated to CHSEL+ Classes, which are academically focused courses designed to supplement the core education students receive at home. These classes allow families to outsource subjects that may be better suited to instruction from another educator, whether because of the subject matter, the teacher’s expertise, or simply because having someone else teach a particular subject works better for the family. CHSEL+ Classes are designed for 1 day of instruction on the CHSEL Campus and 4-5 days of assignments that reinforce that instruction. CHSEL + is a true partnership between facilitator and parents, as uncompleted assignments can cause the student to fall behind on instruction days.

Fridays — CHSEL Labs: Fridays are dedicated to CHSEL Labs, which are enrichment and activity-based experiences. Labs give students opportunities to explore interests, develop new skills, create, experiment, collaborate, get messy and learn through hands-on experiences. Rather than functioning like traditional academic courses, Friday Labs are designed to make space for the kinds of learning experiences that enrich a homeschool education and allow students to learn alongside their peers. Homework is not typical of CHSEL Labs.

Lunch & Fellowship: On both Tuesdays and Fridays from 12:00–1:00 p.m., CHSEL families come together for a shared lunch and fellowship time. Students have an opportunity to socialize, play, and build friendships with other homeschoolers, while parents are encouraged to stay, connect with one another, and be part of the CHSEL community. Depending on the schedule, some classes and labs may also be offered during afternoon time slots after lunch on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Because CHSEL is a cooperative, families are also expected to contribute to the operation of the program through required Service Duty responsibilities and volunteer opportunities. Members may serve as facilitators, classroom assistants, substitutes, event volunteers, or in other roles that help make the program possible. Some volunteer positions may provide account credits or other opportunities to reduce a family’s overall cost of participation.

Christian Homeschool Enrichment Labs – CHSEL - is a project of STEP (Southeast Texas Educational Partnership), a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.