Who We Are

Immaculate HEART Co-op (IHC) is a Catholic cooperative of homeschooling families from throughout the greater Dayton area. We have families who join us from Troy to West Chester and from Wilmington to Oxford.

The HEART in our name stands for Home Educators And Resource Teachers.

The heart in our co-op comes from our amazing families.

The heart of our mission is inspired by both the Immaculate HEART of Mary and the Sacred Heart of her most precious son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Our History

IHC began as a small group of about 10 Catholic homeschooling families who met in the basement of a downtown Catholic parish back in 2007. These families wanted to meet together to give their kids a common experience of friends and classwork. In 2013, the co-op decided to focus its efforts and space on the older kids of the community, 5th grade and up. Since then, the co-op has grown!

Currently, our numbers look like this:

Approximately 70 families
Over 150 kids (5th - 12th grades)
Over 65 different classes plus gym and study halls.

We continue the mission of assisting home-school families in their mission of educating their students through high school.

What We Do

We couldn't exist without the service and dedication of our wonderful families. Each family is required to do service hours on the day of co-op (study hall monitors, teacher childcare monitors, gym monitors, etc.), but the majority of hours to put it all together and keep it running are given by parents who step up to volunteer on our teams and committees to make the co-op more supportive for our families from year to year. Opportunities to serve outside the co-op day include leadership team, treasurer, service hour coordinator, hospitality team, fundraising team, prayer team, and the parents' captains table. This co-op works completely on volunteer staff and does not have even one paid staff member. It truly a testament to what families can do when they come together in support of a common goal.

IHC students come together once a week and share in faith, friendship, arts, sciences, and fun. Our class listing shows all the incredible opportunities the kids have every week. Most of our classes are once a week, but a few of them add a virtual second day through an on-line class portal. Some of our kids are enrolled in classes for 7 periods, while others come in for one or two classes. Our classes are a-la-carte with no minimum enrollment per student or family. In addition to our classes, there are dances and socials planned by the parents of the co-op. Each Spring there is a high-school formal and there are informal dances where every student can attend. We even have a yearbook and a yearbook staff. The kids get the best parts of a “school like” environment without the school!

What We're NOT!

Speaking of which – one of the best descriptions of IHC is what it is not: WE ARE NOT A SCHOOL!

There are no paid staff of IHC. Our teachers are compensated directly by the parents and are considered group tutors. While IHC collects a small registration fee per family, that money is used on the many things that make the co-op work: printers, paper, classroom supplies, building maintenance items, office computers, office supplies, insurance, on-line classroom portals, etc.
IHC does not collect or record grades for any students in any class. Each student that meets with our co-op is a homeschooled student. The parents are the primary and ultimate teacher of their students. While the co-op encourages the teachers to submit grades to the parents for academic classes, it is the parents’ sole responsibility to ensure that assignments are completed and that credit is given based on their own standard for the class.
The co-op makes no representation as to the certification of our classes or teachers. While many of our teachers have a background in teaching, there is no standard (certified or otherwise) that we claim to meet regarding state or federal academic requirements. Only the parent can make that determination for their homeschooled student. While we gladly sing the praises of the amazing men and women who work with our kids, we absolutely make no warranties or representations as to their standards as a teacher; official or otherwise.