• To provide individual attention to all children
• To instill and maintain a sincere love of learning in our students
• To provide a customized education using the best quality curricula available
• To teach empathy and wonder through consistent exposure to animals and nature
• To develop spiritually through a pure love of Allah (subhna wa ta'ala) and His final messenger (salallaahu alaihi wasallam) on a daily basis
• To develop into a closeknit community, supporting one another through good times and bad, while also loving and guiding and instructing one another's kids as our own
• To maintain a personal stake in our students' success --- after all, we are teaching our own children
• To teach proper etiquette (adab) and behavior towards elders, peers, and those younger than us through modeling in a positive environment
• To teach character development
• To teach Islam to the next generation with gentleness, mercy, and compassion...and a genuine delight in the practice of the religion
• To maintain a greater level of parental control over all influences 
• To keep ILM Tree insulated from many of the issues plaguing larger school environments, whether they are public, private, or charter schools (i.e. bullying, cheating, stealing, racism, drug abuse, rampant materialism, obsession with popular culture, student burn-out, etc.)
• To learn from our mistakes and then help others to avoid the same ones in the future
• To help raise confident Muslims who are proud of who they are and what they believe

What jobs are available to members for working off their required points?  All ILM Tree functions are potentially available to qualified members.  Many members earn their points through teaching (preschool through eighth grade, math, language arts, Arabic, Qur’an, Islamic Studies, P.E., history, science, and electives) or as serving as a caregiver to the babies or toddlers.  Other members participate in an administrative function, overseeing school functioning, doing the bookkeeping, serving on the Board, purchasing supplies, taking care of paperwork, coordinating maintenance and facilities operation, supervising lunch or other student down-times, etc.

How does ILM Tree ensure that teachers are qualified?  ILM Tree is first and foremost a homeschool co-operative, so many of our teachers do not have an education in teaching or teaching credentials.  Instead, we have learned on the job, working with our own children, using quality curricula, attending short training programs, and relying on the mentoring of those who have more experience.  Each year we carefully evaluate teacher placements to ensure that placements will be successful, insha’Allah.

How does ILM Tree ensure the quality of academic instruction?  ILM Tree’s educational standards are very high.  We choose top quality curriculum, covering the elements of a solid education which are often being discarded at public schools, such as cursive handwriting and grammar.  Since our class size is so small, classroom management issues are at a minimum, so teachers can focus on providing an engaging educational environment. 

Do ILM Tree students participate in standardized testing?  ILM Tree students annually take the STAR tests provided by the state of California.  Waivers are available upon request.  At ILM Tree, we do not emphasize the results of the standardized testing, however.  We are aware that the curricula we have chosen present material in a different order than what is used in the public school system, and therefore standardized testing does not accurately reflect what our students have learned.  In addition, numerous studies have questioned the validity of standardized testing as a predictor of student ability.  We rely instead on following the state standards for what should be taught each year and our own assessments of student progress.

How are teaching and other assignments determined?  Each year the ILM Tree Executive Director, in conjunction with the Director of Academics, analyzes members’ job requests, comparing them to the available positions.  This process includes evaluating the members’ experience level, demonstrated capacity, opportunities for training, and needs for tuition reduction.  Placements are made as a co-operative process, where each member’s needs are taken into consideration but where flexibility and group spirit is also essential.

Can I teach my own children?  Many of us started as homeschoolers and want the closeness and richness of being involved in our own children’s learning.  As much as possible, we try to accommodate a parent’s desire to be one of their children’s teachers.  We also, however, see each other as extended family and need to value each other’s children’s needs as much as our own.  In achieving the collective good, we are not always able to give member’s their first choice of teaching assignments.  Trusting each other, we have also seen that the children benefit from a variety of teachers and teaching styles.

Does ILM Tree have plans to expand past eighth grade?  ILM Tree serves children from infancy through eighth grade, a wide developmental scope.  We do not plan to expand past eighth grade, in part due to space limitations but primarily because we are aware that young adults’ needs are different from those of younger children.