Cameron University-Duncan resumes homeschool workshop series

Trying to gather the funds for higher education is a feat in and of itself. Even more so when your child is homeschooled.

Cameron University-Duncan seeks to fix that with a series of workshops aimed at helping parents of homeschooled high school students prepare for higher education with “Paying for Post-Secondary Education” from 6 to 7 p.m. at CU-Duncan, 3100 W. Bois D’Arc Ave. in Duncan.

Representatives from Oklahoma Money Matters (OKDM) will present information relevant to financial aid, including scholarships and an overview of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), according to a press release.

An initiative of the Oklahoma College Assistance Program and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, OKDM is a personal finance education program that helps K-12 schools, higher education campuses, and other entities develop or expand educational services, empowering Oklahomans to make positive financial choices, the release said.

“Planning for the costs associated with post-secondary education can be daunting,” Dakota Kaus, director of CU-Duncan said. “We want to make sure that we provide access to pertinent information and resources to help students and parents navigate the process. We want to make sure that parents know what financial aid opportunities exist and how their children can apply for them.”

The homeschool series is a new event, Kaus said.

“We just started the series this past summer with the intent of offering a homeschool series meeting each semester, so one meeting per semester,” Kaus said. “We’ve only had one other than the one that we’re hosting next week.”

Kaus felt optimistic for the turnout.

“We had around 20-25 people (in the summer),” Kaus said. “I think that included about five or six homeschool families that showed up to the event. So in my opinion, that was a great turnout for it being our first time. We’re excited and eager to see, hopefully, a bigger turnout in our next one.”

At the end of every series, they give out a survey asking how they enjoyed it and what topics they would like to see in the future, Kaus said.

“Based on that feedback, we then hone in on what we want to do for the next homeschool series meeting,” Kaus said. “Based on the feedback that we got in our summer series, which was all about navigating the high school years, we got feedback from them and a large majority wanted to learn more about costs associated with post-secondary education and how you pay for that…. So we decided that we need to center this around paying for post-secondary education.”

The session is free and open to interested parents and students from Southwest Oklahoma either virtually or in-person.

No registration is required for those who choose to meet in-person. To receive a secure Zoom link, email [email protected].

For more information, call CU-Duncan at (877) 280-3626 or (580) 581-5950, or send an email to [email protected].