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Wilson Hill Academy 18-19 Schedule is up.


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Tremendous excitement at our house once we accessed the schedule.  We could then figure out two options for Gamache's Spanish 3 and send off that survey to him much faster than we expected!

 

I love seeing my dd actively involved in planning out which teachers and time-slots she is interested in for next year, as opposed to last year when she wondered what in the world her mother was getting her into with WHA that we had never heard of before!

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Wilson Hill put the revised/fixed schedule up, so I took off my previous post. You should be able to find the new schedule at this link. (Linked to the announcement post in my previous post. Link above goes right to the PDF.)

 

I don't know anything about the GC teachers as we've never taken any of those classes. Based on what I saw in another thread, Lawrence is new this year.

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  • 2 months later...

I thought the meet and greet was good. The new teachers seem very enthusiastic.

I admit to continue to dislike the college prep advisor.  Maybe I'm a homeschool snob, but her background and attitude rub me in all the wrong ways. (My fingers were itching to type in that thousands of homeschool kids without transcripts from accredited schools get into great colleges every year.) I know some parents will be super excited to have their hand held, but I prefer The Hive's wisdom and don't want the extra cost of her salary to WHA's tuition or her patronizing messages in my inbox.

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53 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

I thought the meet and greet was good. The new teachers seem very enthusiastic.

I admit to continue to dislike the college prep advisor.  Maybe I'm a homeschool snob, but her background and attitude rub me in all the wrong ways. (My fingers were itching to type in that thousands of homeschool kids without transcripts from accredited schools get into great colleges every year.) I know some parents will be super excited to have their hand held, but I prefer The Hive's wisdom and don't want the extra cost of her salary to WHA's tuition or her patronizing messages in my inbox.

 

I wasn't able to attend it--wasn't feeling well. Is it worth listening to the recording?

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13 minutes ago, cintinative said:

I wasn't able to attend it--wasn't feeling well. Is it worth listening to the recording?

They introduced some of the teachers who are new this year or who will be teaching there for the first time next year. If you have a kid who will be taking a class with one of those new teachers (and you should know that from the schedule) or are still deciding on a class with one of the new(er) teachers, it is worth watching. IMO, it is not worth watching for the part with the college advisor (but you could already tell I'm biased against her from my previous post). YMMV. If you are already set with your WHA schedule with established teachers, I wouldn't worry about it.

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On 1/17/2018 at 2:55 PM, cintinative said:

Does anyone know anything about Lawrence for GC1? I am still trying to make a decision but I thought we would be getting Bailey. It looks like if we do T/Th it will be Lawrence.

I looked back through this thread. I'm pretty sure Lawrence was one of the new teachers that talked for a bit. (Bailey was also on there, I think.) So, it might be worth watching if WHA is still on your decision list.

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24 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

I looked back through this thread. I'm pretty sure Lawrence was one of the new teachers that talked for a bit. (Bailey was also on there, I think.) So, it might be worth watching if WHA is still on your decision list.

We are signed up for Lawrence. =) This is his second year. I talked to him on email and also to a mom who had a dd in his class. I hope it goes well! Thanks for letting me know he was mentioned. I might listen after all. =)

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  • 3 months later...

I just noticed that Anne Stublen who taught Pre-Calculus & AP Calculus is no longer listed as a teacher at WHA.  Does anyone know if she is teaching elsewhere?  My daughter is taking Pre-Calculus with Leslie Smith but I have a friend who needs at pre-calc class for her daughter and the WHA schedule doesn't work for her.

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21 hours ago, lbell said:

I just noticed that Anne Stublen who taught Pre-Calculus & AP Calculus is no longer listed as a teacher at WHA.  Does anyone know if she is teaching elsewhere?  My daughter is taking Pre-Calculus with Leslie Smith but I have a friend who needs at pre-calc class for her daughter and the WHA schedule doesn't work for her.

 

Ugh. I had emailed Greg Lawrence with some questions and it turns out (after all my research and talking to parents about him) he is not teaching the session we signed up for anymore. Now we have Joel Varono, who I know nothing about and for all I know was hired this summer.  I can switch him to the morning session so I can still get Lawrence. I don't know if there is a fee for that. My son had said he preferred not to do the morning session. Advice? Help?  

@ScoutTN @lbell 

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2 hours ago, cintinative said:

 

Ugh. I had emailed Greg Lawrence with some questions and it turns out (after all my research and talking to parents about him) he is not teaching the session we signed up for anymore. Now we have Joel Varono, who I know nothing about and for all I know was hired this summer.  I can switch him to the morning session so I can still get Lawrence. I don't know if there is a fee for that. My son had said he preferred not to do the morning session. Advice? Help?  

@ScoutTN @lbell 

Would it help to ask your questions of the new teacher? What are your main concerns?

I guess you can either trust their hiring process/vetting grid (pretty tight on both theology, knowledge and skills) and hope for a personality/style match that works for your son. How confident are you in Greg Lawrence? Is the reading list different across GC sections? Or the writing assignments? Maybe let your boy decide? Which is more important, a somewhat-known teacher or the time slot?

I understand your frustration! Feels like bait and switch, even though online schools cannot prevent teachers' last minute career changes. We had a summer teacher-switch with WHA's preA class last year and Dd had the new teacher, who was excellent. I was frustrated by the lack of communication from WHA and the uncertainty, but it worked out well. 

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41 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Would it help to ask your questions of the new teacher? What are your main concerns?

I guess you can either trust their hiring process/vetting grid (pretty tight on both theology, knowledge and skills) and hope for a personality/style match that works for your son. How confident are you in Greg Lawrence? Is the reading list different across GC sections? Or the writing assignments? Maybe let your boy decide? Which is more important, a somewhat-known teacher or the time slot?

I understand your frustration! Feels like bait and switch, even though online schools cannot prevent teachers' last minute career changes. We had a summer teacher-switch with WHA's preA class last year and Dd had the new teacher, who was excellent. I was frustrated by the lack of communication from WHA and the uncertainty, but it worked out well. 

 

Part of it is I spent what felt like a good amount of time emailing Mr. Lawrence and then talking to parents in his class so I could get a feel for his style and if I was comfortable.  I sort of feel like I am back at ground zero. Also Mr. Lawrence now has two years of WHA under his belt, and this guy is new. How much should I let that sway me? My son would prefer to do the afternoon slot, really only because he values his morning free time (we don't normally start until 9), however he is rising 7th and I knew that time frame would creep earlier eventually. 

Mostly I am just feeling unsettled at the moment.  

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On 7/11/2018 at 11:46 AM, lbell said:

I just noticed that Anne Stublen who taught Pre-Calculus & AP Calculus is no longer listed as a teacher at WHA.  Does anyone know if she is teaching elsewhere?  My daughter is taking Pre-Calculus with Leslie Smith but I have a friend who needs at pre-calc class for her daughter and the WHA schedule doesn't work for her.

 

No, she's not. I asked her. ?

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14 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

WHA's schedule shows LOTS of changes! 

They still don't list adds teacher for Spanish 4. That would make me nervous. I don't know how many spots they had for it, but it doesn't look like many signed up for it. (Originally had two sections scheduled, now down to one with only a couple kids signed up.)

No AP US History or Environmental Science (or, at least I saw a section of each cancelled).

Cintinative-  There is likely no fee to switch since there was a teacher switch-  assuming you tell them the teacher change is why you want to change. I have no advice on if you want to change. Those GC classes are a lot of $$, so you want to have a good experience. You'll want to check if the other section has space, too. (We like smaller class sizes so would likely stick with a new teacher in a smaller class than a beloved teacher in a big class.)

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11 hours ago, RootAnn said:

Cintinative-  There is likely no fee to switch since there was a teacher switch-  assuming you tell them the teacher change is why you want to change. I have no advice on if you want to change. Those GC classes are a lot of $$, so you want to have a good experience. You'll want to check if the other section has space, too. (We like smaller class sizes so would likely stick with a new teacher in a smaller class than a beloved teacher in a big class.)

 

They told me there would be no fee to switch since this is my first switch.  I'm not sure what happens after that. There is space in both. I'm still waffling. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/13/2018 at 6:27 PM, cintinative said:

 

They told me there would be no fee to switch since this is my first switch.  I'm not sure what happens after that. There is space in both. I'm still waffling. 

When you do switch I would make sure to mention that it is because of the teacher change.  I had to change a course for the second time this year, with both times being because they changed the teacher's schedule.  I was not charged either time.  

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  • 1 month later...

I advise caution for anyone considering Wilson Hill Academy. One of the teachers we liked chose not to return for the upcoming school year. We had already signed up for this course months in advance. Apparently, she resigned long before families were informed. I wish they had just been honest with us and upfront. And we were not able to receive any money back either even though the reason we took the class was because of this instructor. This year they also began charging a "student services fee" of $250. This was not an option, even if students had no need for the types of things covered, like college advising and transcript services. Most students are already registered with an umbrella program that provides those services.  We were also put off that they did not tell anyone until the day before registration. It would have help families to have known in advance just how much extra would be charged when the student services fees were so pricy. The amount adds up with multiple kids.  We have used multiple online companies, and Wilson Hill has the most restrictive return policy by far. The registration will list two payment options. One of them is "subject to a refund policy." However, what they don't tell you is that the fee is not refunded after 2 weeks of payment. to find that out you must go to the terms and conditions page. There is space to put this on registration and it's kind of disturbing that that they do not include it right there for everyone to see. Just be careful with this company. I think there were a lot of good teachers, but some shady business.

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17 hours ago, jones said:

I advise caution for anyone considering Wilson Hill Academy. One of the teachers we liked chose not to return for the upcoming school year. We had already signed up for this course months in advance. Apparently, she resigned long before families were informed. I wish they had just been honest with us and upfront. And we were not able to receive any money back either even though the reason we took the class was because of this instructor. This year they also began charging a "student services fee" of $250. This was not an option, even if students had no need for the types of things covered, like college advising and transcript services. Most students are already registered with an umbrella program that provides those services.  We were also put off that they did not tell anyone until the day before registration. It would have help families to have known in advance just how much extra would be charged when the student services fees were so pricy. The amount adds up with multiple kids.  We have used multiple online companies, and Wilson Hill has the most restrictive return policy by far. The registration will list two payment options. One of them is "subject to a refund policy." However, what they don't tell you is that the fee is not refunded after 2 weeks of payment. to find that out you must go to the terms and conditions page. There is space to put this on registration and it's kind of disturbing that that they do not include it right there for everyone to see. Just be careful with this company. I think there were a lot of good teachers, but some shady business.

 

jones, I am sorry you were so disappointed and about your teacher change. 

If you attended the open house, they did discuss the student services fee well in advance of the registration.  Also, I don't know what you mean about most students being under an "umbrella program." Those don't even exist where we live. The student services fee was discussed on this forum, and based on that, some parents opted away from WHA because they have an a-la-carte approach to their online schooling and use multiple providers.  It was discussed that we should email WHA and let them know that is the case so that they can possibly consider an alternate track for those who don't want to use WHA for everything.  We were not required to pay it this year since my student is in 7th, but I did email them telling them that if I only take one class a year due to expense, the fee is cost-prohibitive. 

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As Cincinative said, the WHA fee was discussed at some length here and on the HS board when it was announced. Their tight refund policy is also commonly known here. If you have ethical concerns, I suggest you discuss them with WHA in person and not by email. I have had several phone conversations with faculty there and found them to be thoughtful, honest, and understanding of my concerns and questions. 

We had a last minute (May) teacher switch at WHA last year due to higher than expected registrations, which prompted WHA to add a new section. The new teacher was excellent (though with a different style from the original one) and we were very pleased. Generally I trust their judgment to select a capable and engaging teacher. Signing up for courses, live or online, with an unknown-to-us teacher is always a risk. Not every student-teacher match is a good one. I hope your student has a great year, despite being disappointed with the instructor change.

 

 

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I have one kid taking one class with WHA this year and she is required to pay the one-time (although discounted this year) student fee. We are not using any of the college planning services (including Naviance - although we've gotten several messages about how we need to sign up for it). We likely would not be using WHA for this class except my kid specifically requested it (with this teacher). We're fortunate this teacher is still there as another one beloved by many left - possibly even the one you are speaking of. (Jones, I'm not sure if you heard, but WHA just had one of their beloved teachers die. I think it is a really tough time for the WHA staff right now.)

I disagree with the student services fee and all the additional things that WHA added (like the house system, for example - which doesn't add much for us) that have added more cost to their classes. These additional levels of cost and encumbrance will likely mean none of my other kids will take classes there, which is too bad, since the teachers are great and the classes are awesome. 

However, I don't think the admin is out for their personal gain. I think they are trying to protect their teachers and their business model by making sure they have enough money to pay their teachers a fair wage and not go under $$-wise. They have run a class with only four kids - and there is just no way to pay a teacher enough for a whole year of teaching with only four paying students, so I would hope the non-refunded money for other classes is helping out to supplement the lower enrollment classes. (Obviously, I wish their refund policy was better, but if they are keeping the money, I hope they are using it for the good of the people who work for them.)

I have met the WHA owners and many of the teachers. I believe they are doing what they believe is best although I definitely don't always agree with them. I hope they continue to receive feedback from people like you, jones, and the rest of us - to help make their business model better. One thing I'd like to see them do is give some sort of a package deal for taking 4-5 classes (capping the $ per kid if you take a "full load") and a family discount for multiple kids.

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An "umbrella school" is an extension of a private  school opened to local homeschoolers. In our area they do everything that a guidance counselor would do, as far as testing, transcripts, and general advising. Students have a graduation ceremony and earn  their diplomas as independent scholars. I never said the student services fee at Wilson Hill Academy is a bad idea. but rather,  inappropriate to charge those of us who are already paying hundreds of dollars each year for these services. Families were not given a choice. Several of you mentioned that the student services fees were discussed on this forum. But it is not the responsibility of The Well Trained Mind to inform parents. Yes, there was a Wilson Hill meeting, but it was held in late January and registration began February 1st. These changes were very sudden. And it was setup so that parents could pay full price for a class without paying the student services fee, only to find out later that they would still owe $250. My point was that this was not clear on the registration page and I think that is deceitful. And as far as one of you mentioning that you personally received a waiver from the fee, count yourself lucky. I can't speak for everyone, but this was not offered to us.

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21 minutes ago, jones said:

An "umbrella school" is an extension of a private  school opened to local homeschoolers. In our area they do everything that a guidance counselor would do, as far as testing, transcripts, and general advising. Students have a graduation ceremony and earn  their diplomas as independent scholars. I never said the student services fee at Wilson Hill Academy is a bad idea. but rather,  inappropriate to charge those of us who are already paying hundreds of dollars each year for these services. Families were not given a choice. Several of you mentioned that the student services fees were discussed on this forum. But it is not the responsibility of The Well Trained Mind to inform parents. Yes, there was a Wilson Hill meeting, but it was held in late January and registration began February 1st. These changes were very sudden. And it was setup so that parents could pay full price for a class without paying the student services fee, only to find out later that they would still owe $250. My point was that this was not clear on the registration page and I think that is deceitful. And as far as one of you mentioning that you personally received a waiver from the fee, count yourself lucky. I can't speak for everyone, but this was not offered to us.

@jones : I wish WHA would give families the option of opting out of the student services fee, too. However, I will point out that it doesn't just cover the new college planning person they hired. Part of the fee also goes into the activities they added that are supposed to help kids feel more connected to other students at the school, i.e., the House Activities. Now, having said that, I believe those should also be opt-out-able since some kids don't have any interest in participating in the House activities, especially those who are only taking one class. 

I thought it was clear in the registration that there would be a registration fee - but you had to read all the verbage at the beginning (login to the class registration area) and the small print before you paid. I agree that it was easy to miss, however, if you had no idea it was coming.

I don't know if anyone said they received a waiver, only that some of the students were too young to have to pay the fee. I said ours was discounted because my student is a senior and she was a WHA student last year. (I can't remember which one of those is the reason the fee was only $100 instead of $250.)

I think many of us would be happier without the fee (and some of us would be happier without the services). We can only vote with our wallets. 

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On 8/30/2018 at 4:01 PM, RootAnn said:

However, I don't think the admin is out for their personal gain. I think they are trying to protect their teachers and their business model by making sure they have enough money to pay their teachers a fair wage and not go under $$-wise.

 

I completely agree with this. There is no real money in education; nobody would go into teaching to make money. I think most teachers at WHA, WTMA, TPS, Lukeion, and the other reputable providers teach more as a labor of love, hoping to make enough to make ends meet. Nobody does it to get rich. I cringe when I see people complaining about paying $600/year for a class. That's $67/month to teach a complete subject!  A good, diligent writing teacher I know once told me that, when she calculated what she was really making after factoring in class time, prep time, individual help time, and reading/grading/feedback time, she was making about $7/hour or something like that.

I don't agree with all of WHA's policies, either, especially the new student fee or the house system since we don't need those. However, I understand what they're trying to do and I think they have the best intentions and the highest hopes for improving the overall experience for their students, I'm just not the particular market segment that that sort of thing appeals to or is useful to. I'm a la carte all the way. Being able to pick and choose is why we homeschool rather than use a private school. (That and the fact that $49K/year/child for local private high school is out of our range! That same school charges $32K for full day PRESCHOOL!!) 

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11 hours ago, yvonne said:

I cringe when I see people complaining about paying $600/year for a class. That's $67/month to teach a complete subject!  A good, diligent writing teacher I know once told me that, when she calculated what she was really making after factoring in class time, prep time, individual help time, and reading/grading/feedback time, she was making about $7/hour or something like that.

WHA usually has ~ 15 kids in each class. (Some classes seem to run fairly full - close to 20. The math is easy @ 15, though.) That's $1000 to the provider per class per month. Not sure how much the teachers get of that $ (75%?), but assuming you teach 4-5 sections, that's $3,000-$3750 per month for prep, classtime, homework, and admin tasks (answering emails). They definitely aren't getting rich off these classes.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Just bumping this for current WHA families. There is a parent satisfaction survey. Make sure if you don't like the extra fees, you mention that in the survey. There are multiple places to bring it up. Or, if you want them to offer a multi-course discount or a multi-child discount, mentioning that in the "what would improve WHA" section would be good. Maybe if they see it in multiple places, they'll consider it.

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16 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

Just bumping this for current WHA families. There is a parent satisfaction survey. Make sure if you don't like the extra fees, you mention that in the survey. There are multiple places to bring it up. Or, if you want them to offer a multi-course discount or a multi-child discount, mentioning that in the "what would improve WHA" section would be good. Maybe if they see it in multiple places, they'll consider it.

Thank you for this reminder. The survey got buried in my inbox. 

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3 hours ago, RootAnn said:

Just bumping this for current WHA families. There is a parent satisfaction survey. Make sure if you don't like the extra fees, you mention that in the survey. There are multiple places to bring it up. Or, if you want them to offer a multi-course discount or a multi-child discount, mentioning that in the "what would improve WHA" section would be good. Maybe if they see it in multiple places, they'll consider it.

I did mention the fee and asked for it to be only for those who use the services it covers. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

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