Plain-English glossary

3 min read

Homeschooling has its own vocabulary, and so does Pandisha. Here's what the words mean, without the jargon.

Learning Period (LP)

A reporting window used by many charter and umbrella programs — often a month or a set number of weeks — at the end of which you submit evidence of learning. Pandisha's goals and submission grid are organized around your LP.

Portfolio

The collected record of your child's learning: activities, journal entries, and work samples. In Pandisha it assembles itself from what you log, so it's always ready.

Work sample

A photo of something your child actually made or wrote — a worksheet, a drawing, a page of writing. The concrete proof behind the record.

Compliance

Meeting your state's legal requirements for homeschooling. What's required varies widely by state; Pandisha checks your logs against your state's rules so you know where you stand.

Charter / umbrella school

A program that oversees your homeschool — sometimes providing funds or curriculum — in exchange for periodic proof of learning. If you're enrolled in one, you'll have submission deadlines and often a coach.

HST / learning coach

A Home Study Teacher or education specialist assigned by a charter to support your family and review your student's work. In Pandisha you can connect your coach so sharing is automatic — after they confirm the connection.

Pod

A small, invite-only group of families who share reusable work — lesson plans, activities, field trips — and coordinate together. Built around useful materials, not chatter.

Milestone

A specific skill or standard for a subject and grade. Pandisha tracks which your child is working on and has mastered, so progress is visible.

Bring-your-own key (BYO key)

Using your own AI provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Gemini) instead of Pandisha's shared one. It removes the monthly free-generation limit. Set it in Settings.

MCP

The open standard that lets AI assistants like Claude or ChatGPT use outside tools. Connect Pandisha over MCP and your assistant can log activities and draft plans for you by voice or chat.

Stipend / instructional funds

Money a charter provides for approved educational purchases and activities. It can only be spent with providers on the charter's approved-vendor list. Upload that list into Pandisha to search it — see the Approved Vendors guide.

Approved-vendor list

The roster of providers a charter has approved for stipend spending. Pandisha turns your uploaded list (PDF or CSV) into a searchable directory.