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What is my school year?

Discover how My School Year helps homeschool families manage schedules, lessons, and grades effortlessly.
Lisa Thorsen
Written byLisa Thorsen
4 min read
Key takeaways
  • My School Year is a comprehensive online platform that streamlines scheduling, lesson planning, grading, and record-keeping for homeschool families
  • It features a multi-student calendar, customizable grading scales, and a transcript generator, making it ideal for managing high school requirements, all at a competitive price with a free trial available.

My School Year is a web-based platform for homeschool families. It combines scheduling, lesson planning, grading, and record-keeping in one easy-to-use system.

Research from the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) shows that homeschooled students typically score 15 to 25 percentile points higher than public school students on standardized academic achievement tests. Most homeschool families report completing core academic subjects in 3-4 hours per day for elementary students, compared to the 6-7 hours typical of traditional schools, due to the one-on-one instruction and absence of classroom management overhead (NHERI, 2024).

What is my school year?

My School Year is an online tool for homeschool families. It helps you manage your schedule, lesson plans, grades, and records all in one place. This platform has won the Practical Homeschooling i-Learn Award for best homeschool planners seven years in a row. Plus, it’s recognized by HowToHomeschool.net as a top pick for all school levels. You can access it from any device without needing to download an app.

Core features for homeschool families

One of the best features is the multi-student calendar. It uses color coding and overlap detection, so parents can see everyone’s schedule at a glance. The Planbook tracks lessons as overdue, current, or upcoming without tying them to specific dates. This flexibility is super helpful when life gets in the way. The Create-A-Plan tool can quickly generate multiple lessons at once. Plus, the Teacher's Aid sends out daily or weekly assignments to both parents and students.

Grading and transcripts

My School Year automatically calculates grades. You can customize scales and weights to fit your needs. Families with high schoolers appreciate the transcript generator. It formats course histories for college applications and can include optional SAT/ACT scores. This system creates professional-looking documents that meet state requirements and impress college admissions. You also get report cards, course descriptions, and logs for instructional hours.

Student access options

Students can have their own login with three permission levels: no access (parents only), view only (students can see but not change), or full access (students can mark completed work). This makes it easy to adjust as kids grow. Young students might just need view-only access, while high schoolers can take charge of their tasks. The platform is ad-free, providing a distraction-free space no matter the permission level.

The bottom line

My School Year helps fill the gap many homeschool families face, especially as kids enter high school and need accurate transcripts. It’s priced lower than many competitors and offers features that meet most families' needs. You can try it out for free, which lets you import your data and test everything before you commit. If you're tired of spreadsheets or paper planners, this platform provides a structured solution without a complicated learning curve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lisa Thorsen
Written by
Lisa Thorsen

Co-founder, BetterSchool

Lisa is the co-founder of BetterSchool and a homeschool mom of three. BetterSchool administers the largest independent homeschool community in the country — over 350,000 families across all 50 states.

When COVID hit, Lisa and her husband pulled their children out of school and hit the road. Homeschooling wasn't the plan — it was a necessity. But somewhere along the way, the family fell in love with it: the time together, the ability to tailor lessons to each child's interests, learning at their own pace, the freedom to travel, eating healthy on their own schedule, and the countless other benefits that come with homeschooling.

As they traveled, Lisa kept discovering incredible hands-on learning experiences that most homeschool families had no way of finding. She built BetterSchool to make it easy for every family to find and book the experiences that make learning come alive.

Through her community, Lisa has helped hundreds of thousands of parents navigate homeschooling, while also helping local businesses find and serve the homeschool community. She is the former managing partner of a law firm focused on business law and mergers and acquisitions — BetterSchool is her second technology startup. She holds a J.D. from California Western School of Law and a B.A. from Penn State.

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Table of Contents

  • What is my school year?
  • Core features for homeschool families
  • Grading and transcripts
  • Student access options
  • The bottom line
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