Homeschool learning centers and tutoring programs are privately run organizations that serve their local homeschool communities in a variety of unique ways. Homeschool co-ops are privately run, parent-run groups.
Homeschool Learning Centers
Alcove Learning Center, Los Angeles & online.
Alcove isn't a magnet or a charter or a private school. They're an education non-profit; a kind of community center for unschoolers. This means the official way to join their program is to file a Private School Affidavit with the state of California. They can help you fill out the paperwork. Please bear in mind that there's no set cost for membership at Alcove. Their families just contribute what they can to keep the program running.
ASTEME, Advancement of Science, Technology, Engineering in Math Education, West Los Angeles.
ASTEME is a progressive full-time and part-time schooling alternative. They provide children with the tools they need to be successful in life while igniting and nurturing their passion for learning so that they will have more opportunities and choices in their future.
Creative Learning Place, Los Angeles.
Creative Learning Place (CLP) is a community of families who are passionate about parent-led education. CLP sponsors workshops for students led by persons with expertise in a variety of fields. The students are provided with hands-on experience related to the business, professional and artistic background of the workshop developers/leaders. Students are respected for their unique ideas and encouraged to delve deeper. They welcome families of all faiths and are proud of their diversity.
Discovery of Learning, Long Beach campus.
TK through High School enrichment center program with several Southern California campuses. Their Long Beach campus serves students TK-12th grade, open Tues/Thurs from 9:00 am-2:30 pm. Discovery of Learning was born out of a love of children and a passion for educating the whole child. DOL believes that education is a personal journey for every family. Discovery of Learning has genuinely invested in the homeschool community it has built and supports by offering various events for parents and families including park days, workshops, special talks, and movie screenings to help families in a variety of ways along their homeschooling path.
Joobilo Academic Community, La Mirada campuses.
Joobilo Academic Community (JAC) is a homeschool organization for grades TK–12th grade that offers core and elective classes at multiple locations. They give families the opportunity to build a solid academic foundation upon the classical model of education within a supportive and vibrant community. Their 28-week program is based on an integrated curriculum designed to run in a four-year cycle. They meet twice a week for classes, and families have the option to join community time.
Lab Learning Space, Long Beach.
The Lab Learning Space is located in downtown Long Beach and provides enrichment classes and tutoring for students K-8th using a personalized, mastery-based approach to learning. At the Lab, they believe children learn best when education is joyful and each child is empowered to become the owner of their own learning. Students are grouped into collaborative learning advisories based on their ability to self-direct their learning. Each child is then supported in developing the skills and personal agency they need to successfully and joyfully self-manage their learning.
Learn Beyond the Book, campuses in Northridge, Santa Clarita - Canyon Country, Santa Clarita - Valencia & Online.
They are a learning and resource center for homeschooled and hybrid schooled students, ages 3 through high school with some Mommy & Me classes for their youngest students. They even sometimes offer classes for adults and parents! Check out their schedules for tons of hands-on, interactive, project-based, small group classes for children (and sometimes adults). They enjoy having social activities and field trips as well in a nurturing and fun environment to cultivate life-long friendships and community.
Learning Individual Studies Academy, LiSA, classes & homeschool pods, Los Angeles.
They offer a place for homeschoolers to come together and attend weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly classes together. They offered on-site learning in pods (groups) at their 16,000 square foot location in Los Angeles (Pico and LaCienega) during the 2020 school year. Please contact them for updated offerings and class schedules.
PETALS Learning Community, Topanga.
Taking from the philosophies of Democratic schooling, PETALS curriculum is child-led with qualified educators guiding where needed, motivating when appropriate, and assisting when asked. PETALS members work with children of all ages, believing in the Montessori priority of multi-age grouping. They pull on the ideas of Reggio Emilia in their belief that children are competent and powerful; in the model of Waldorf in that education should focus on the whole and particular child, holistically; and, from the unschooling model where young people learn because they want to, not because they have to. They also support students working on passion projects, as a group or as individuals a la Big Picture Learning. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, they draw from the concept of Forest Schools because they believe children thrive when in wild nature, learning from their natural habitat.
The Knowing Garden, Redondo Beach.
TKG’s mission to re-think education has deep roots in the un-school/homeschool movement. They remain accessible to families who share their values and support their personal and unique learning journeys. They offer enrichment that emphasizes the social-emotional well-being of all students.
The Learning BLVD, Elementary School & Learning Center, grades K-5, Encino.
They offer 50-minute classes that take place every week, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. If you are interested in joining a class, please fill out an application or ask questions through their contact form.
The Realm Creative Academy, Santa Monica.
The REALM Creative Academy grew in response to the lack of creative outlets for children in many of the schools and communities today. As more emphasis is continually being placed upon test scores as a means for determining a child’s level of success, they have noticed extremely talented and powerful children losing faith in their academic and artistic potential. The mission of The REALM Creative Academy is to provide creative, rich, and diverse experiences in which all students are honored both for their unique strengths and inspired to take a step “outside the box” in order to embrace possibility and seize their greatness.
Threefold Village, for grades TK-5, Sunland.
Threefold Village is a Waldorf-inspired homeschool community-based in Sunland, CA. Their community is based on the “Head, Heart, and Hands” holistic approach to Waldorf-based learning. Please visit this link for their program options and pricing.
Urban Homeschoolers, Atwater Village.
They offer classes, taught by experts in their field, to students who want to learn. They serve a community of families who have decided to take education into their own hands. They offer support to parents who are new to the journey. Many of their classes are unconventional and are created to engage kids in hands-on, critical thinking concerning the subject matter. There is no teaching–to-the-test at Urban Homeschoolers. There are no advanced or remedial classes. There is only engagement in authentic learning.
Viva Learning Community, grades TK-8, Lakewood.
Viva Learning Community classes are bilingual (English/Spanish) in Math, Language Arts, Science, Humanities, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. Campus instruction runs from Monday-Wednesday. Live interactive learning includes exciting field trips, and guided library inquiry. Music and other arts are showcased at five-yearly performance assemblies. Viva is a learning center that supports families with their scholars’ learning. The learning mentors at Viva work very closely with families to help achieve the goals that each family sets for their scholars.
Homeschool Co-ops
FUNdamentals: Co-Op Classes for Homeschoolers, Christian Co-Op in Arcadia.
They offer a variety of in-person learning opportunities. FUNdamentals includes a strong Biblical foundation (Ps 25:5), fellowship, core academics, fine arts, and FUN!
Homeschool Tutoring Programs
Academic Achievers, 1:1 instruction in-person, in-home in the Santa Monica area, & online.
Academic Achievers Services provides one-on-one, in-home, or in-center private tutoring for Pre-K through college, including ISEE, SAT, and ACT test preps. The Academic Achievers Academy is a unique K-6 one-to-one program, and reading tutor in Santa Monica providing personalized education, customized curriculum, and flexible schedules. Their homeschool teachers will teach one-to-one and small groups in your home or online.
Aspen Learning, in-home 1:1 instruction in the Los Angeles area & online.
Aspen Learning’s homeschool program includes individual learning assessment, one-on-one, in-home instruction, specialized homeschool teacher(s), customized curriculum based on your child’s goals, strengths, areas of growth, learning styles, and disposition, instruction aligned with your child’s personality and interests, weekly progress updates, established goals, objectives, and outcomes, periodic assessments (in many forms).
Groza Learning Center, 1:1 instruction onsite, in Pacific Palisades, or online.
Their academic programs serve students from Pre-K to college and cover a diverse set of specialties, including subject tutoring, test preparation, reading remediation, homeschool support, and academic camps. Their program works for those who want academic support through online courses, or 1:1 support at their learning center. They offer customized programs that support students and their parents on their unique educational journey.
Please note that this resource page is not comprehensive or complete. We'll continue to add more resources as we find them. This is a living document that will be updated periodically. If you have any resources to share with us, please email them to us at info@homeschoolconcierge.com.
If you're interested in more non-traditional educational options in Orange County, please visit our page detailing Non-Traditional Schools and Educational Programs in Orange County.