Virtual Schooling at home?

Krissy - posted on 02/09/2011

I know this is a tad old, but I am in Missouri, and live near Deanna, (she's the one that told me about circle of moms)

Anyway, the state of Missouri doesn't support connections academy. St. Louis (the other side of the state) has some virtual schooling they support, but I've tried and they don't offer it outside of the St. Louis area.

It would cost approximately $4K-7K per year per kid to enroll them living here in MO. However, there ARE states that are set up with them. I know because I used to use connections when we lived in Ohio. It's free there, too. Not here :(

Richelle - posted on 12/22/2010

We just pulled our oldest son from the public middle school because of bullying problems. We're going to homeschool him for the spring semester then enroll him in an online academy for next year. Hopefully it will help with the problems he's been having with severe anxiety and moderate depression. We're looking at CO Calvert Academy or CO Connections for next year.

Lisa - posted on 12/15/2010

We are in Treca Digital Academy. My daughter is in kindergarten. We chose this because there is so much curriculum out there we were overwhelmed with trying to decide. So far we really like it. I like that we have a online teacher over seeing us. My daughter just started in an online reading group with 2 other students and she is enjoying that.

Andrea - posted on 12/10/2010

I had to pull my son out of public school in 7th and 8th grades due to his adhd and behavior issues. Simply, he was failing in the public school system, and they didn't care. We used Arizona virtual academy. It was free as it was considered a public charter school. We were given all the books and materials for free. My son was able to easily pass all the subjects, and I found it to be ok as a single mom who worked nights. I was able to view his learning plan and keep up on all his school work. He had online classrooms and instruction, and did not depend on me entirely to teach him. He excelled on the state testing in reading and writing (which he did the worse on in public school) and performed poorly in math (which he was in advanced math in the traditional school). He decided to try regular high school, and has struggled to keep up with the work at his instructors schedules. He has a C average right now. We will see how he does on the state testing this year. Overall, its a toss up. He has more resources at the traditional school, but more flexibility with the virtual school. I say, do what seems to help your child excel. Try the virtual school, if they do well, and they like it, stick with it. If they struggle, and its not right for your family, try something else.

Jessica - posted on 11/30/2010

I was also wondering that. We do Pacyber. I had my daughter do it for one year, and I decided to take her out. They gave us the option if we wanted to accept the free books and I would teach,me or do it online, and we chose to teach her. I found the virtual class to be more work, and alot less time to get it done in.
I also have 3 younger ones and teach them all.. its exhausting, but rewarding.

Latisha - posted on 11/16/2010

I have my two daughters enrolled in Colorado Virtual Academy. We love it! I have been doing it for 4 years and my daughters are doing great. I have an 11 yr old brother-in-law (6th grade) and my oldest daughter (3rd grade) actually helps him with his homework when he visits. It is sad to know that his school is letting the students down.

Rachelle - posted on 11/15/2010

Deanna....ours too is "free" through the public schools. However, b/c our neighborhood public school doesn't yet offer virtual school, we had to go through another nearby county and got charged a $500 transfer fee....they charge for the first two, then nothing after that. SO, you night want to look into it. what state are you in? I don't know about Connections....but if you go to your state, plus virtual school, you'll probably get a lot of things pop up on google. Good luck!

Tiffany - posted on 11/13/2010

Deanna, Connections Academy is a tuition-free, online charter school. Two of the reasons I chose it was that it IS a public school (dimplomas, state testing, etc) and that it is tuition-free.

Deanna - posted on 11/13/2010

we aren't yet but we only plan to put ours in virtual school when they hit high school. We prefer the diploma rather than the GED when they graduate. That and the nine thousand dollars or more for all 3 to be in virtual school is just to much for us to do for the next 15 years. :)

Tiffany - posted on 10/20/2010

I'm actually wondering the same thing. We're in Connections Academy and have been for 3 yrs (my twins are also in 2nd grade). I've been wondering when we would (and by 'we", I mean "I") would prefer actual home-schooling instead of virtual schooling. Not looking forward to the STAR testing that we'll be doing this year. Not to mention all the required school work. Lately, I've been feeling like we are working so hard just to keep up with scheduled work that I don't have the time to actually WORK with my kids on the areas they need more help in.