One Week Down and About 39 More to Go

We had a wonderful first week! I may sound overly positive, but I’ve never used the words “wonderful” and “first week” together before. Usually it’s “good,” “survived,” or “somewhat productive.” But we actually had a wonderful first week.

With the exception of Thursday, which in itself was a lesson learned, we accomplished everything we set out to accomplish each day. The first two days we the boys did half of their lessons, Meme did nearly a whole day of school, and we figured out what Jojo can and can’t do in the morning. She can’t read in bed, because she simply falls asleep, but she’s not yet awake enough to do math.

Wednesday and Friday we did even more. The boys completed a full day’s worth of lessons, and Meme started stepping up and getting more done.

Jojo is still finding her own pace. She hasn’t been feeling well for months and months, with non-specific symptoms. The doctors haven’t managed to find anything, although she’s had a great many tests run on her. She’s starting to feel better, but neither her appetite nor her energy level has returned to normal. She’s a hard worker, but during the last few months, she gets overwhelmed easily.

It was a big accomplishment for her that she stayed awake during school hours all week, eat something at each mealtime, and actually get some schoolwork done. It’s a start, and I’m confident that she’ll return back to her normal, energetic self.

Jojo is technically my only homeschooler. By using K12, the other three are technically public school students. Only technically though. Believe me when I say that I have more interaction in their day to day studies while on K12 than I did when they were “homeschoolers.” Especially with the younger grades, K12 is very parent involved.

Other people have said this about me, but I don’t see how some families with multiple young children can do it. Mine are spaced perfectly apart for using K12. Meme is pretty much self-directed.  The only thing I do is look over her progress and push her back on the path with the subjects she tries to avoid. With Bobo and Ebby, it’s all ME.

Bobo is not reading fluently enough to understand the directions, and Ebby doesn’t read. We’re working out a good system. Most of Ebby’s classes take a few minutes for him to do.  We alternate between a Bobo class and an Ebby class. Bobo will generally do his off-line worksheets while Ebby does his on-line classes.

Then in the late afternoon, when Ebby is done, I have Jojo read to him or sit with him, while Bobo and I get 45 minutes to an hour by ourselves to do language arts.  My hope is that by the time Ebby’s work is actually challenging to him, Bobo will be reading well enough to do some things without my direct help.

My biggest worry right now is that my enthusiasm and dedication will fail.  It’s not a worry ungrounded in reality. Most years start off great, and then I get frustrated at the stubbornness of the children to do their schoolwork, the time it takes and everything else.  Once I’m frustrated, it’s only a matter of time before I start slowing down and letting things slide.

I’m determined not to have this happen this year. Part of that plan is being realistic in what we can do during the day.  I need to remember that homeschooling my children is my job. It’s okay if I can’t clean house, do laundry or cook during school hours. And if something has to slide, those things should be first.

For class planning: Meme and the boys have their classes planned and laid out for them – that’s the benefit of using the system.

Jojo, however, we’re still working on this year’s “class schedule.” She gets the flexibility that a system like K12 or Connections Academy won’t have, but we have to do all the planning.

We sat down yesterday to look through the curricula I have for high school, and of course I’m like a kid in a candy store. “You should do this class.” “Oh and this class is really important.”

She just sits back quietly; after all she knows me well. After I’ve filled a page with a long list of classes I want her to work on, I turn to her and say, “I’ve gone overboard again, haven’t I?”

“Yes, Mom,” she replies in her patient tone, “you have.” We sat the project aside so that I can clear my head, and we’re working on it this weekend.

Literature she has in the bag. She is one of the most well read kids that I know for her age. Only Algernon had read more books by this time, and Algernon is a prodigy with literature and reading.

I have the writing program that I used. It’s old, but it’s good. She started it about a month ago, and it’s working really well. So we’ll stick with that.

For math, we have a good solid plan for. Our plan: do it everyday. It may not seem like much, but it should do the trick.

Now here’s where I get overly enthusiastic.

Social studies. She really should have civics; as an adult I see the importance of it. Then world geography is important. We are more global now than we have ever been, so it is more important for emerging adults to know about the world and cultures. And economics. Seriously, how many of us would have benefited greatly if we had gone into adulthood knowing a bit more about personal economics. Then I found this great curriculum that teaches basic life skills. It’s actually called Discovering Life Skills. It teaches all those little things that most of us had to learn the hard way.

You see why it is wonderful that Jojo is so patient with me. I get like this every year. She let it run its course, and that’s about when we put things away.

We settled on:

·         Finding a science curriculum that she can work with. She hates science, and I think it’s only because it’s never been presented to her in the right way.

·         Limit social studies to one at a time. She may be able to do multiple ones this year, but not all at once.

·         Start some sort of test prep. Her eligibility to get TOPS (Louisiana’s general scholarship) is based solely on her ACT scores. The better she does, the more she gets.

·         Pick a foreign language and find a systematic curriculum to use. I think we’re about settled on German.

 
I have my homework for this weekend laid out. By Monday, I’m hoping we have a solid plan of action and that I still have the enthusiasm to push through until it’s not as exhausting.

Things to Remember so that I Don't Freak Out

School officially starts for LaVCA students on Wednesday – this Wednesday. As of right now, none of my three K12 students have their classes loaded on the OLS (on-line school).  I wouldn’t be panicking (as much) if I didn’t know that quite a few other students had all their classes loaded almost 2 weeks ago. 

This is a case where on-line support groups are anti-helpful. We are all new. No one knows much more than anyone else. We have no helpful advice to give each-other. So when my stuff looks different from your stuff, I start to freak-out.

Certainly there must be a place I can go to calm my fears. I can’t keep calling the teachers every time something doesn’t seem just right. I don’t want to be one of those mothers! 

So I’m looking around at the K12 tools on the OLS and see theBigThinK12. It’s where all the K12 parents and older children from around the world hang-out on-line to get advice from each other. There are people there who’ve done this and been there and hopefully learned a thing or two.

I started poking around, found a bit of information that helped me compose myself and I thought I should share it in case anyone else is freaking out.

First 2 to 3 weeks: For everyone, no matter what K12 school you are in, be it LaVCA, CAVA, OHVA or any other state’s K12, the first few weeks are always a mess for many reasons.

1. Some folks decided at the last minute that this is for them, so they’re all registering at once.
2. There are perpetual teacher seminars to get teachers used to K12 or simply update them on new policies. 
3. Those roving bands of statewide orientations sent the teachers all across the state for two, or was it three, weeks. 
4. Then there are the technical glitches: students classes not loaded on the OLS, Study Island not working, attendance record not working or anything else you need on-line not working.

These things are all normal. Before the end of the first month, it all gets sorted out.

Worst case: School officially starts on the 17 ^th, and I still don’t have my books or classes. According to the old-timers, they pro-rate your start date and school for you doesn’t start until you get your stuff. Don’t panic that you’ll be behind.

I don’t get my child’s classes straightened out until after school starts: as soon as your advisor (usually the homeroom teacher) makes the changes, it takes up to 24 hours for the changes to go into effect. As soon as they go into effect, it’s processed at the warehouse and you should get your supplies within a week. Until then, your OLS should be correct and you can get a jump on doing the online stuff.

Study Island isn’t Working: Study Island does a big launch every year. K12 will kmail you the information to get you signed-in, but they have to wait until Study Island launches for it to start. From what I hear, it’s not subtle.

 

Things on my OLS aren’t working: It’s always bumpy that first week. The system rolls over from summer and there’s going to be a glitch or two. K12 will work the first week to get that sorted out.

I have all my books, but my OLS classes aren’t uploaded yet: Let your teacher know, and until then start in on the books and workbooks you have. It’s pretty much a lesson a day for most subjects. Sometimes they load things early, but quite a few people don’t get theirs loaded until day 1. It’s a pain in the tush as far as far as planning goes, but they’re not expecting us to jump in on day one with both feet if the OLS has just been loaded.  Also, from what I hear, the classes are often loaded at midnight – probably when they push updates through the system.

My child’s teacher is really busy and won’t call me back: The virtual schools are for the most part closed in the summer, just like a b&m school. When the teachers come back, there’s an overwhelming amount of stuff to do in a short time frame. The ILP (individual learning plans) for each student, scan tron tests for 3rd to 10^th graders, making changes to schedules, fixing glitches with their students’ classes and non-stop orientations and meetings.  Add to the list that this is the first year K12 is in Louisiana, so most of the teachers are new to K12. Training, training and more training. Most things will be fixed by the end of week one. Those that aren’t should be fixed by the end of week 2.

 

When you finally do get your teacher on the phone, be polite but firm. They weren’t avoiding you; they just have so much to do in very little time. Back up what you discussed with your teacher by taking notes during the conversation and sending it to them in a kmail. They are human, and we all often forget what we talked about two minutes ago. Think about it. They probably went from talking to you to talking to another parent with similar but different problems. Kmailing them a run-down on what you talked about is a polite thing, not a hassling thing.

So basically, be persistent with your communication, but keep calm. All of these things we are panicking about are normal. It's not a case of "our child's stuff is totally messed up."  It will get sorted out and you won't fall incredibly behind. Breathe in, breathe out (repeat).

Getting Sorted

I knew going into this adventure that the first few weeks getting started would be hard, but I thought it would all be on my end. Since this is LaVCA’s first year, they too are having a good bit of growing pains.

Meme and Jojo took their assessment tests. Jojo, like anything I ask her these days, replied “I don’t know” to the question of how she did. Meme, never very forthcoming with the words, didn’t say much, but I overheared her tell her best friend that she failed the unfailable test. 

Supposedly, as soon as the child is finished taking the test, the scores are sent to the teacher, who reviews them and comes up with an ILP (Individualized Learning Plan). 

I figured that I would hear from the teachers in a couple of days post-test.  Silly me. All these teachers have pretty much been in training meetings for the last two weeks. Top that off with every child being new in LaVCA this year (since it’s year one), so every ILP has to be made from scratch.

So my anxiety doth run over my cup. I know I fret, but I had a major fret episode. Yesterday, Friday, I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I called both Meme’s and Jojo’s teachers, left a message on their voicemail (they were in another meeting) and waited.

Meme’s teacher called back a couple of hours later. Of course, I’ve been trying to convince K12 that she needs to be in seventh grade, despite her age. We have not yet done seventh grade work with her, and I don’t think she could handle eighth grade work.

Well, she actually did okay on the assessment test. Compared to other eighth grade students, Meme’s on the high end of average for reading comprehension and just below average in math. Considering that we haven’t yet gotten to sixth or seventh grade math, that’s not bad. And since she didn’t start reading until she was 9, being on the high end of average for other eighth grades is pretty good.

Her teacher and I talked for while, discussing what this means. One of my worries is that she won’t be able to handle the eighth grade work in science and history. The teacher said that since her reading comprehension is fairly high, all things considered, and since science and history are all based on reading stuff and understanding that stuff, she can do the work. That does make sense.

We agreed to keep her in the eighth grade. In a weird way this means that she’s skipping a grade simply for the fact that we haven’t done anything for seventh grade. Oh well, it’s all subjective anyway.  She still needs a bit of remediation in math, but not as much as I thought.  She may need some extra help in writing as well, but the teacher’s philosophy is that if she’s reading on that level, she can emulate what she reads and write on that level too.

 

Meme is actually pleased with herself.  So I can officially call her an eighth grader now.

Meme & K12

I’m feeling more confident today in exploring K12 for Meme. Her teacher is setting up on-line assessment tests to see exactly where she is. No decisions will be made about grade level or work level until she takes these tests. I’m comfortable with that.

I admit it’s a huge relief actually talking to her teacher and beginning to come up with a plan of action.  Things happen, and we can’t do anything about that. It’s been hell on me the last few years trying the juggle moves, job hunts, childbirth, learning disabilities . . . I could go on, but I’ll sum it up with “loads of not fun crud.”

Despite the fact that it should have been, education was not always the top priority. Sometimes we were focused on simply surviving the changes going on in our lives. The thought of someone guiding me through this “catching up process,” which has daunted me for the last 3 years, is comforting. I like that Meme will have someone other than myself to be accountable to.

Of course, I haven’t yet told Meme that she’s going to be doing a virtual academy this school year. I’m a bit afraid of the resistance I’m going to get. 

Meme, my sweet Meme. She’s bright, creative, artistic, and imaginative but resists doing any work that she doesn’t deem is fun. Aren’t we all like that? At some point, most of us learned that there are a good many things that we’ll do on a daily basis that isn’t fun, but we need the end results.  From the daily: we need clean plates to eat off of; therefore we need to wash some dishes. To the lifelong: we want a comfortable life and a stable job; therefore we need to work hard on our education, which is just one step in getting there, but an important step.

The idea of being actually responsible and held accountable for her school work scares the heck out of her.  I need help motivating her. I need some structure at this point.

A large part of me, the long-term homeschooler part, feels like I’m betraying my fellow homeschoolers by using a public school virtual academy. I realize that it’s just pride who phrases this switch in terms of a betrayal. The reality is that I don’t want to admit that I’m failing in areas as a homeschool mom and some of my long-held beliefs about how children learn may not be correct – or at least not correct for my children.

A whole paradigm shift takes a while to adjust to.

Frustrations about the System

Talked to K12 and asked about Meme’s grade level, which is still showing up on the enrollment page as seventh grade, which is the grade I want her to be doing.  In their records, she’s signed up for eighth, for which I don’t think she’s ready. I wish they would update the records that I see so that it would be less confusing.

After being passed around on the phone, I finally got a firm answer to my questions about her grade level. No matter what grade level is she doing currently, K12 places them in their age appropriate grade level – so a 5 year old enters K, a 6 enters 1st, etc. When the start date becomes closer, she’ll take a scan-tron assessment test (at that testing center that, if you remember, they still have not found) to determine her capacity level. At that point, her Louisiana certified K12 teacher will adjust her curricula to her capacity level, but her grade level will remain the same.

I have a couple of problems with this system of placement.

First, they insist that the state is making them do it this way. If that’s true, then why isn’t Connections Academy also forced to do it this way? Does CA have a completely different agreement with Louisiana? Possibly. Or is it their own policy they enforce in state run versions of K12? More likely. I honestly don’t know.

Second, what if I had been homeschooling my children at an advanced rate and they were several grade levels ahead? Or even one grade level ahead? With the way their placement works, they may be doing work on an advanced level, but they wouldn’t finish high school any faster than the average student who either wasn’t capable of working ahead or not ambitious enough to do it.

All those frustrations and feeling of powerlessness that I felt when Algernon was in school are suddenly resurging. (deep breath in . . . deep breath out . . . a little better now)

As a homeschool mom, I’m used to being the one to determine what my children are doing – for better or worse.  What I understand now, that I didn’t understand 16 years ago, is that there is actually much more wiggle room than most schools are willing to admit – virtual schools or brick and mortar schools. The teachers and principals have the ability to adjust much more than they let on, but it is a huge pain in the tush.

They’re not bad guys. If something is in the best interest of the student, they will go to great lengths to see that it happens. But, and this is a big, big but, I’ve always felt that as a parent I am never listened to.  I’m sure that there are many, many parents who either insist that their children are capable of doing more or less than the children actually are, and I’m sure that school officials have their fill of them. But I would like at least the pre-tense that I may know my child a bit better than they will by reading their scan-tron tests. 

Okay enough ranting! I have much to do and such a short time in which to do it.

Oh No! Not a Waiting List!

So we’ve hit a snag. Finally, after much additional paperwork was sent in to Connections Academy (CA), more than they originally asked for, Meme, and only Meme, is out of the application process. Here’s the snag: her grade level is full, so she’s on a waiting list until there is room for her.

So this whole story of there being 500 or 600 spots open to Louisiana students, and until those spots are full, there is space for all is not quite true. In reality there are only so many spots per grade, and once those spots are full, even if the 500 total spots aren’t filled, you are still put on a waiting list.

I know several other homeschool families are still trying to decide between CA & K12, so I suspect a spot will open up for her as they make their decisions and withdraw their kids from one or the other. We may not get much notice that she’s off the waiting list, but I’ll have to live with it.

I called CA to ask where on the waiting list Meme is. Remember that the other 2 kids haven’t even made it past the application part, and while the customer support person was muttering to himself, it sounds like many of the grade levels are full. The person I spoke with was helpful and said that Meme’s grade filled up recently. He did base this opinion on the fact that he hasn’t received any official notice that it is full, so the customer support people haven’t even been notified.

What did I find out then? That she may or may not be near the top of the list, which is what I already knew. At least they were helpful and polite in telling me that.

Hopefully she isn’t on the waiting list long for her grade with CA. K12 is trying to place her in a grade level above what I feel she should be in, and I really do want her to try CA. From the research I’ve done, I get the feeling that she would be a better fit for CA or that CA is a better fit for her.

Okay, so I looked at my enrollment page on CA’s website, and they only added 2 forms and a placement test from the original request.   She only took the on-line placement test yesterday. So that they placed her in the approved category a day later is actually pretty impressive. Delaying taking it was my fault.

The only other thing I was missing form-wise was the Homeschool Prior Academic History Form, which I sent in with the original packet of forms. The form didn’t have much room for writing details on the curricula we used last year, and so I filled it in as best as the space allowed. It took them forever to review it and let me know that they needed more information. I only realized within the last week or two that I needed to redo the whole form and resend it. I did that yesterday too.

One bad on my part and one bad on their part. The lesson learned is to fill out the forms better than “as best as possible” and take the placement tests in a timely manner.

Now to get on the phone with K12, with whom all three kids are accepted already, to see if I can get Meme placed in the appropriate grade level. Why am I writing this instead? I’m so hesitant to call them because every time I do I get a completely different answer from the time before.  I called yesterday to figure out what forms were received but not yet reviewed, since there are 6 or 7 for each child that are still marked “please submit,” and I’ve submitted most of them.  

Yesterday I was told that since the kids are accepted, I don’t have to submit any other forms.  I know that can’t be true since two of the forms still marked “please submit” are Bobo’s & Meme’s immunization records, forms which are required by the state of Louisiana in order to enter a state funded school. I did send the forms in . . . three times . . . at least a month ago, but they are still marked “please submit.” *sigh*

 

Time to bite the bullet and just call. I swear they must have a personal file on me marked “difficult parent” and that’s why I’m constantly given to helpdesk people who don’t know anything but are willing to tell me anything to get me off the phone.

K12 & Connections Academy Update

Okay. It may seem like we’ve done nothing for 2 weeks, but on top of going to Hogwarts everyday, we’ve been doing a bit of schoolwork on the side, preparing for the Louisiana LEAP and trying to stay sane.

K12 finally sent out information about the placement tests they are giving, and their e-mail did not inspire confidence. I knew that they still have job advertisements for local directors and teachers, and so I have no idea how they are doing structurally. When you send out a blanket e-mail to your potential parents saying that you have no facility to use as a testing center and asking if we had any leads . . . uh . . . well . . . I think maybe you don’t have all your ducks in a row or even all of your ducks present to line up in said row.

Nation-wide K12 seems to have their act together a bit better than Connections, but on a local level, I’ve been more impressed with Connections Academy as far as being professional, keeping in touch with the parent (a.k.a. me) and making sure that I get everything they need turned in.

Connections does placement tests too, but theirs are on-line, short and to the point. Of course it is Connections academy who are making Jojo take the Louisiana LEAP in a state provided testing environment, but I can’t really fault them there since the LEAP is required for all students entering 9^th grade.
 
And the forms! As soon as I think I have all the forms they need faxed in, they add one or two to the list. That’s true with both schools. Then it takes forever for them to acknowledge that I send them in.  Somehow we will make it through this process, and I still don’t know how we will end up.

8th Grade LEAP Test Freak-Out

Got a letter in the mail yesterday for Jojo from Connections Academy saying that she’ll have to take the 8^th grade LEAP test before she can start 9^th grade. Arghhh! I’m still on the fence as the whether or not to homeschool her for high school.

On my side for homeschooling, I think Algernon got a much deeper education in some area being at home. She certain read more classical literature (do you know of any other 21 year old who’s read The Brothers Karamazov twice?). She certainly did more writing than the average school student. Her math wasn’t too bad – she made it through advanced algebra with an okay understanding. She knows history better than a few people with history degrees.

On the side against homeschooling, I admit I was too light in science. Prepping them for standard type tests was nearly non-existent. Deadlines . . well, I need to figure those out myself.

I feel that I’ve made several mistakes in homeschool, and I don’t really know how to compensate for or correct them. Jojo is a special case: late reader due to dyslexia, about a year behind in math due to H. Katrina and many moves, but still very bright.

Having to take the LEAP throws a monkey wrench into the plans of her doing high school. Technically, she is old enough to be in 10^th grade, but we lost a great deal of time moving as often as we did after the hurricane. I’m more comfortable having her in 9^th grade next year, and she’s perfectly fine with the idea. 

All this LEAP stuff forces me to realize it’s my fear of failure, not hers.  I fear the LEAP because I don’t want to be seen as a failure of a homeschool mom. She’s certainly capable of passing, but she may need a bit of prep.  Writing can be honed a bit. She’s not a bad writer as far as concepts go, but grammar needs a bit of work. Her math skills aren’t bad, and she learns quickly.

OK, there’s no question on whether or not to LEAP. I just filled out the registration, and I’ll have it faxed tomorrow. So why all the worry? It’s in 4 weeks, and there is no make-up date.

There lies problem: time. We have two weeks of Hogwarts summercamp, and then she has a week long Girl Scout camp after that. The test is at the end of June, and most of June is eaten up with camps and other activities. This test must take priority though.

Terribly frustrated now! I asked both virtual schools about having to take the LEAP in order to start 9^th grade, and I was told no that she would not have to take it. They both said that they would do their own assessment tests in order to place the children where they need to be. So this notification is kind of last minute.

I understand that the virtual schools have not been doing it long in LA. I understand that their hands are tied as far Louisiana’s regulations are concerned. If I had known about this a month ago . . . what? Would I have backed out of Hogwarts? No. Not registered for Girl Scout camp? Probably.

Calming down a bit. They are only testing her in English and math, and she only needs to score Basic in one and Approaching Basic in the other. That’s like a C and a D. OK, I think she should be able to do that.

The question is what I do if she doesn’t pass. Then I guess we are back to where we are right now: a bit behind but catching up via homeschooling.  That’s not really all that bad I suppose.

Taking a deep breath now and letting Jojo know. Oh she won’t be pleased that her next few weeks will be filled with LEAP prep, she won’t be able to work at Hogwarts and Girl Scout camp might be canceled, but life is as life is and not as I will it to be.

Connections Academy vs K12: Virtual Charter Schools

How rude! I start a new blog on homeschooling, and the first real post I make is about an alternative to home-schooling: public virtual charter schools.

Well, it's a hot topic in our state right now, and many home-schooling families and families thinking about home-schooling are really confused. So, I thought I would give it a little review.

Louisiana is now offering an alternative to the normal brick and mortar public education on the form of virtual charter schools, and it’s giving parents a choice between 2 of them, both run by nation-wide companies. Louisiana Connections Academy is run by Connections Academy (www.connectionsacademy.com), and Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy is run by K12 (www.k12.com).

In practice this "too good to be true" answer to the school system is just that - many parents who pull their kids out of school thinking that they'll be doing "school on-line" are greatly disappointed.  In talking to the people at both K12 and CA, they aren't forthcoming with lots of specific answers, just reassurances - and reassurances make me nervous.

In my 14 years of home-schooling the 5 kids, we have tried the range of home-schooling methods, from the traditional all-in-one curricula to unschooling. We spent several years following Charlotte Mason’s ideas, and finally settled into the relaxed homeschooling we’ve been doing for a while.   

 I’ve been curious about the state sponsored charter schools since I’ve heard of them years ago, and I’m seriously considering doing one or both with the 3 kids I’m currently homeschooling.  I’m still not completely decided about what to do, but I wanted to be more informed nonetheless.

Part of what bothered me is that, although these two schools are often operating in the same states, on the surface they look the same. Next, I couldn’t find any true, semi-objective direct comparison of the two, despite that many people have used both. 

Both are free public schools. So yes, you are enrolling your child into the state provided education.

Both stick to the state required test schedules for L E AP, iLeap and G E E .

** side notes:

• K12 is a much larger school. More people who've used it = more feedback to pull from.  I'm not slanted, but that's why I've written more on it.
• Where did I find my info: I mainly looked for reviews written by families who actually used the schools (not just researched) and lots of personal blogs (gotta love these things!). I gave more credence to those who used it longer than a year and with multiple kids. I also called both schools several times each.
• I do not vouch that this information is 100% correct. Each time I called the different schools, I often get a different answer. So if a point is really important to you, call, verify, get it in writing, etc.
• If you have contradictory info, let me know and I'll check it out.

CA = Louisiana Connections Academy

K12 =  Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy

K12         

General Information            

• Starts Aug 17
• Couple weeks before school starts, teacher contact w/ dates & locations for tests
• Scan-tron type assessment (on-line) at beginning of school year
• Child can be promoted or retained based on scores – decision is up to teacher
• K-8 students assigned 1 teacher: s/t ratio 30-40/1 – most curricula done at home w/ learning coach.

Courses:

• 3 levels in each
• Beginner
• Intermediate
• Advanced

            http://www.k12.com/courses/k-8-courses/     

            http://www.k12.com/courses/high-school-courses/high-school-course-list/   

Electives                     

            Middle School           

                        Spanish

                        French

                        German

                        Latin

                        Chinese

            High school    

                        a-lot

Curricula                    

            Most curricula is K12 specific (i.e. not like Saxon Math)

            Foreign Language

                        Power Glide

                        Con: no teacher

Communication:

• Contact trough e-mail and an occasional face to face meeting.
• Most communication is through learning coach, not student
• High school, students assigned a teacher for each subject.
• More virtual classroom stuff

Attendance                

• log daily: 6 hours / day
• flexible in hours you choose to school, but a minimum hours per, any day
• must be met    
• High school    
• 1 live lecture per week per class (NOT recorded & viewed later)
• Must attend the virtual classes
• a 2nd optional lecture if extra help is needed
• Computer Time          
• 20% lower grades
• 30-40% middle school
• 60% high school

General comments from users (can be either a pro or con)                     

• more advanced academics than CA  
• fast paced       
• need to be strong in basics to excel   
• a-lot of subjects          
• Not as much teacher interaction as CA         
• Less use of technology than CA - more work w/ at home books, no skyping or dvd-like tutorials  
• sequential       
• all curricula & supplies shipped to you
• daily agenda & prep list for teachers (but you don’t have access to this before school starts)
• required “meetings” with teachers
• Not much learning coach pre-time, but be prepared to spend a large portion of the day assisting
• Appeals to the kinesthetic learner through the use of manipulatives and flash media.
• Auditory learner through the use of reading room stories and CD's
• Allows a steady pace for reluctant learner
• Or skipping ahead for the motivated learner.
• A-lot of activities per lesson, but once the student has mastered the object, he can move ahead without doing all activities.
• As child gets used to it (may take a year or more), they become more independent

Pros               

• student can test out of lessons they know     
• If finishes a year's course early, can start on next grade level's course - maybe nly for paid curricula, not free public schools
• mastery based rather than letter based - 80% or higher on end of lesson eval to progress    
• lessons can be accessed through any internet connection on any computer  
• Optional activities for each lesson to help with mastery
• Gets the child ready for college like classes w/o the classroom environment (something I lacked before) – tests, deadlines, expectations (part of life)
• 8^th grade and below, you have more control over meeting objectives. The teacher is there to help, not dictate.
• Can view lesson plans a couple of weeks before school starts
• Has a Study Island your child works on for a few minutes each day to help prepare for state tests, which I like better than teaching everything for the test
• Found more positive on K12 than CA, but I think K12 is a bigger program (more people = more feedback)

                       

Cons              

• High School   
• schedule a little more rigid
• less flexibility
• Virtual classes have to be participated in at the time scheduled
• a bit difficult for students who are behind    
• may take longer than 6 hours a day for kids who are behind
• Would be very hard for a family who had no structure to their day
• Will need a computer for each child, even if the child is not on it all day. Otherwise multiple children have difficulty “scheduling” their school work
• Impossible for a single or working parent.

General thoughts                  

• Will be time consuming, rigorous and at time hard, but it will bring children up to speed for their age
• Better education
• If you starting out w/ a young child or pulling a child from school, K12 would work well and serve you better in the end than CA
• If your child is very self-motivated and works at an accelerated pace, K12 is better
• Very systematic in its approach. If you did well in regular school and think your child would do well in regular school, it’s not bad especially if you start them in K12 young
• You’ll be overwhelmed the first month. If you can stick it out, it’ll get better.
• Mixed reviews, either loved or hated, but I see a common thread.
• Those who love it
• Have self-motivated learners
• Learners that catch on fast and work at a fast pace
• Start out in K-3^rd grade or
• Pull their kids from school or have always used a traditional curricula for their kids (Classical hs’ing or prepackaged curricula)
• Those who hate it
• Have children “behind” for their age/grade level
• Children who have to be cajoled into schoolwork regardless of the source
• Children who have been homeschooled for several years with little or no traditional structure (un-schooling, relaxed home-schooling, Charlotte Mason approach or even unit-studies)

Connections Academy

General Info:

• School starts Aug 15
• Online placement tests for middle & high school kids to place them – about 30 min tests for each math & language arts
• Teacher will contact to figure out where the child should be placed and can have child work above or below grade level
• Student/teacher ratio under 30 to 1
• K-5 has one teacher
• Above 5^th one teacher for each subject
• To progress to the next lesson, they have to be passing 67% or higher (not mastery)

Courses                                                         

• doesn't look like it has extra curricular classes, but if doing well in core, after 30 days can enroll in extra curricular. Therefore it focuses first on the core subject.
• if finish one grade's curriculum, can move ahead into the next grade's
• Subjects

·         Math

o       Scott Foresman enVisionMATH to 5^th grade

o       Prentice Hall Math 6^th grade

·         Language Arts

o       Scott Foresman Reading to 5^th grade

o       Glencoe Literature 6th

·         Social Studies

o       Scott Foresman Social Studies to 5^th

o       Glencoe History 6^{th ,} 8th

o       Online 7th

·         Science

o       McGraw Hill Science to 5^th

o       Glencoe Science 6^th

Gifted

·         Gifted classes 3-8 in LA, Math & Science

·         High school: basic, standard, honors & AP

Communication                                

• homeroom teacher weekly talks and updates
• Contact by phone w/ students 1/week
• live classes - weekly (all ages, more often for high school kids)                   
• can have one-on-one live lessons if need extra help  

Attendance                            

• log daily: 5.9 hours /day
• Any time, any day of the week                     
• certain lectures that must be watched by the high schoolers; if they are unable to be logged in at the time of the lecture      
• Minimum time for each class but it is by the week and can be done at any time, even on week-ends
• Live lessons mandatory:
• 1 per week per subject – all depends on specific teacher
• Recorded, but want students to participate as much as possible (again depends on teacher you get)

Pros               

• Provides 1 computer / family
• more interaction w/ teachers & other students          
• teacher actually determines at what pace the student learns
• ability to work ahead, a 3^rd grader doing higher math
• if behind, can be at a lower in a course
• Virtual classes are recorded, and though encouraged to attend all, can be watched later

Cons              

• grade based rather than mastery based. Need a 67% to pass.           
• High School   
• schedule a little more rigid
• Sounds more like “school at home” than K12 w/ the on-line classrooms & required attendance
• Less flexible about days/times
• Assignments determined by individual teachers. So like with public school if you get a good, organized teacher, then YEAH. Otherwise, frustration.

General Thoughts:

• Easier than K12 for the child, but doesn’t teach as much
• If your child is behind for his/her age, is not used to a structured school day or is an older student, starting w/ CA wouldn’t be bad. You can always switch to K12 the next year

• Probably more like regular school at home.
• Several complaints that you can not move ahead grade levels in subjects or even work too much ahead of the rest of your cyber class. When I ask the help people, they say that you can, but it’s at the teacher’s discretion. That also may be different state by state.

If I had to sum up the differences, in a few short statements (and again, this is from no actual experience):

Lower Grades & Middle School

CA is more of an actual virtual school where the student interacts with a teacher on-line, and that teacher, like a public school teacher, has a great deal of decision power on how the student’s education goes. It’s a grade based system, just like a normal school. The student has the lesson which is mixed between parent taught, skype-like lectures and on-line activities, and then he takes a test. Pass or fail, he moves on (at least that’s my understanding).

Most complaints on CA seem to be because the teacher, who has a great deal of control, doesn’t do what the parent wants (move a child ahead, hold a child behind, isn’t terribly professional, waits until the last minute to give assignments, etc).  Some of these complaints are valid. The teachers are human and may be very competent and helpful or not.

K12 is more like the traditional all-in-one curricula where the parent is responsible for 90% of the education but reports back to an outside arbitrator.  The parent teaches the lessons either how it’s presented in the material or however else they see fit (and yes that is encouraged). All the arbitrator (aka teacher) needs is to know that you are covering the material adequately. They even tell you that the “hours you log” are subjective. As long as you claim to have worked 6 hours a day, they’re happy b/c the state is happy.  The student has some supplemental stuff on-line and tests. It’s a mastery system, so the student has to know 80% of the information before he can move on.

Most complaints on K12 have to do with the amount of the work presented. Parents are nearly always overwhelmed at first, and they do expect that. Because it’s a mastery system, the parent eventually figures out that the students don’t have to do all the work – just until they master it. Every student needs a different amount of practice & review, so they present the max they think you’ll need.

Despite that K12 isn't technically home-schooling, on a day to day basis it looks identical - at least 8th grade and below. The parent spends a great deal of time teaching, reviewing and testing.  You do get support though that an otherwise home-school family wouldn't get. In exchange for the support though you are held accountable for how much your children learn.  I found this interesting

High school:

Both schools are very similar once the kids reach 9^th grade. More and more classes are on-line. The teachers are more involved with the students on a day to day basis. The main difference at this level seems to boil down to the assessment system. CA is still a graded system. After a lesson, you take the test and get a grade. K12 is still a mastery system – you don’t advance until you know 80% of the material.