K12 Virtual Academy users: What is it like?

[Annabel Lee]

I discovered my state has a free online K12 public school option. I've read there are differences between the private and public options - can anyone expand on that?

 

Do they allow you to pick a number and type (core vs. elective) of K12 subjects you want to use? What is all this accountability I hear about? Do you have to mail in your completed assignments? What role do the "teachers" play and how often do they require contact? What other sorts of requirements are there? Is it really free?

 

Thanks!

[TracyR]

Well there is no such thing as 'free'. LOL But the curriculum and computers do come to you at no charge.

We've used K12 through the public school route.

It has its pros and cons.

You get all the curriculum, but no , you do not get to pick and chose. Of course all state cybers run differently, but when we first began children used to take the K12 placement tests and then were put in the level they were able to work in. This has changed for us and now all children , regardless of ability have to start with the grade level they would be put in in a public school. Once you recieve those materials of course your child can start working in them and if they test out of some work and move on they can get the next level work. They also offer Advanced Placement Classes for all grade levels. When we first started we had as much contact with the teachers that we needed. Now I only have contact with my daughter's teacher on Kmail (their email system). I've never talked to her in person at all this year. We have a family Teacher Coach , who I talked to once and met once when she came to have us sign some paperwork. Other then that we have not had much teacher involvement at all this year. Of course this is different state to state. Yes, once a month we have an assignment, which is always something from the work in the K12 books that must be scanned or mailed in to them. Its not extra work. It was like that when we first started though, but has changed. Again this might be different for your state.

 

K12 is a lot of busy work though. So if your not into that, then you'll be disappointed. I've used K12 for K, 1,4, and 5th grades. I decided to go ahead and try it again with my youngest but I'm finding I'm not using much of it with her, and she's not enjoying it as much as her sisters did. She is my small workbook kid. She loves the small workbooks of CLE and ACE. So I may have to rethink my strategy for next year.

[TracyR]

Well there is no such thing as 'free'. LOL But the curriculum and computers do come to you at no charge.

We've used K12 through the public school route.

It has its pros and cons.

You get all the curriculum, but no , you do not get to pick and chose. Of course all state cybers run differently, but when we first began children used to take the K12 placement tests and then were put in the level they were able to work in. This has changed for us and now all children , regardless of ability have to start with the grade level they would be put in in a public school. Once you recieve those materials of course your child can start working in them and if they test out of some work and move on they can get the next level work. They also offer Advanced Placement Classes for all grade levels. When we first started we had as much contact with the teachers that we needed. Now I only have contact with my daughter's teacher on Kmail (their email system). I've never talked to her in person at all this year. We have a family Teacher Coach , who I talked to once and met once when she came to have us sign some paperwork. Other then that we have not had much teacher involvement at all this year. Of course this is different state to state. Yes, once a month we have an assignment, which is always something from the work in the K12 books that must be scanned or mailed in to them. Its not extra work. It was like that when we first started though, but has changed. Again this might be different for your state.

 

K12 is a lot of busy work though. So if your not into that, then you'll be disappointed. I've used K12 for K, 1,4, and 5th grades. I decided to go ahead and try it again with my youngest but I'm finding I'm not using much of it with her, and she's not enjoying it as much as her sisters did. She is my small workbook kid. She loves the small workbooks of CLE and ACE. So I may have to rethink my strategy for next year.

[Ellie]

I discovered my state has a free online K12 public school option. I've read there are differences between the private and public options - can anyone expand on that?

 

Do they allow you to pick a number and type (core vs. elective) of K12 subjects you want to use? What is all this accountability I hear about? Do you have to mail in your completed assignments? What role do the "teachers" play and how often do they require contact? What other sorts of requirements are there? Is it really free?

 

Thanks!

Nothing is really free.

 

You should understand that when you enroll your dc in virtual academies, they are public school students, not homeschooled students. In Texas, this means that students enrolled in the Texas Virtual Academy, which supplies/requires K12, must do not only the K12 lesson, unit, and semester assessments but also the STARR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness), which is the end-of-year test for gr. 3-8, benchmark testing, and end-of-course exams prepared by a Texas university. Homeschoolers, OTOH, don't have to do any testing at all.

 

In your state, some things may be different, but I'd be mighty surprised if your dc were not required to do more testing and whatnot; charter schools (which is usually what virtual academies are) are accountable to the state for its students' academic achievements. There is usually some kind of attendance requirement, too, since that's how public schools get their money--from the number of students "present" each day.

 

If you buy K12 on your own, you get to do whatever you want, take as long as you want, do standardized testing or not, toss K12 and do something else, whatever.

[SkateLeft]

Do they allow you to pick a number and type (core vs. elective) of K12 subjects you want to use? What is all this accountability I hear about? Do you have to mail in your completed assignments? What role do the "teachers" play and how often do they require contact? What other sorts of requirements are there? Is it really free?

 

Accountability means that you're answerable to the school for your child's attendance and progress through the curriculum. If you don't meet the school's requirements, your child can be dropped from the program or considered truant. When you enroll in a virtual academy charter school, your child becomes a public school student, and you are required to mark attendance and take part in your state's standardized testing.

 

The answers to your other questions will vary hugely depending on which state you're in and which grade level you're considering.

 

For example, if you're considering enrolling a kindergartener, some virtual academies only offer math, language arts, phonics and history, because those states only allot for half-day kindergarten. Some will enroll a kindergartener in those subjects, as well as science, art and music. In CA, there are required face-to-face teacher meetings and submission of quarterly work samples. In MN, work samples have to be submitted monthly according to a specific schedule, and there are quarterly phone conferences with your teacher. There are no face-to-face meetings required.

 

The middle school and high school programs vary from state to state also. Some virtual academy middle school students have one teacher assigned to them, while other states assign a homeroom teacher and separate teachers for each subject.

 

In other words, if you let us know where you live and what grade levels you're looking at, we can probably help you out more. :)

[In2why]

I haven't used K-12, but I am responding because ar seriously considered it for next year before deciding not to use it. So I can list my thoughts and reasoning.

We live in Virginia and our county offers it free as well. We don't fall under the state virtual academy which is good because if we did ar would need to pay a fee to that county. I have one child going into 8th grade and was a bit overwhelmed at the idea of high school which is what initially started our research. The Pro is that it is free and that he will get an "actual" state issued diploma. The other positive is that he would be able to participate in sports, clubs, or band if he wanted to, which he cant now.

 

The negatives. Everything is on the computer and while I like some computer learning I didn't think that much time spent on computer learning was ideal. Especially for my other son going into 4th grade. The other big thing is accountability. I don't mind having video chats with a teacher in another state every week or so, although that might seem strange at first. I really don't mind sending in samples of work or end of the year testing, but what would make me crazy is keeping track of our hours. For the state to get federal funds each student must have certain hours and those must be documented. I am sure we educate plenty of hours but I don't keep track or hours and times and it would feel like punching a time clock to me. The other negative is the loss of the freedom to choose subjects. Math and LA they test and place according to results. But as for the other subjects they follow grade levels. I teach Science and History as combined subjects and adjust for both kids to their abilities. I would hate it if they were in separate areas of study because we immerse ourselves in these subjects as a family. I would imagine art and music are also based on grade level and would be separate. So for us that was a deal breaker. I am not ruling it put forever, but right now we enjoy what we are doing, are self motivating, can handle it financially, and neither boy has a burning need to participate in school activities that cant be met elsewhere.

[kbpaulie]

I discovered my state has a free online K12 public school option. I've read there are differences between the private and public options - can anyone expand on that?

 

We were enrolled in k12 through OHVA. Each state is different, but I'll answer for us....

 

Do they allow you to pick a number and type (core vs. elective) of K12 subjects you want to use? We have a choice of all or nothing. no picking or choosing. What is all this accountability I hear about? State testing 2x/year, Study Island (test prep on-line prgm), Scantron testing 2x/year, quarterly teacher conference/ calls, about 2x/year sample submission - this is one of the biggest reasons we won't be returning next year w/ our 3rd grader. Do you have to mail in your completed assignments? We don't. we just complete on-line assessments to say we've met the objectives. What role do the "teachers" play and how often do they require contact? I don't want contact w/ our teachers. They do offer classroom time about 3x/week which is optional time you can attend for various lessons. Beyond the quarterly conferences, we lay low. But they do seem to be avail if we want their help. What other sorts of requirements are there? Is it really free? Others have said nothing is free, but there is no $$$ expense w/ the state charter school

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

We've tried k12 3 different times w/ my older son (3rd grade). This is our last time and we will not be returning. I don't like the accountability I have - the testing prep is overkill. I understand that they need to do well as a school district, but they don't take into account the individual student. I don't care for their math prorgam. History is great. Science is good. LA is better than average. But it's a lot of busy work. And even though you don't have to do it all, it's just time consumong for us to trudge through and pick and choose what we're going to do. If I really, REALLy could have it for free, it would be high up on my list of choices.

 

Best of luck!

[Annabel Lee]

Ack! That's not what I was imagining. Since their site mentioned that they send you the books free, I thought there might be a little computer presentation, then the bulk of the work in the books. It doesn't fit my family right now, but I guess it would be a good option in some situations. I asked about it because "free" sounded like something good to keep in mind with upcoming cutbacks at my dh's place of employment. Sorry, I don't want to state my location on the public forum, so if I want to learn state-specific info. I'll just nose around their site more or contact them. It doesn't sound like it's a good match for us, though. The amount of computer time alone would drive the dc & I batty.

Thanks for sharing!

[Tidbits of Learning]

It will all depend on your state. In the younger grades, the amount of computer time is considerably less. If you are seriously considering it, then you should go to an in-person meeting so that you can see and view the amount of busy work, computer work, and requirements for your specific state.

Every VA is different and the best way to get a feel for your state's VA is to attend an in-person information meeting.

[momtoamiracle]

the computer time is annoying. For K we only have teacher guides for Phonics and math. Phonics is the only subject completely offline. I like it because I can take the books outside and do our work in the yard. AFter we do the online part of math then I can take the book and go elsewhere. Everything else I'd have to print to do somewhere other than the computer. And that's not always a good option due to the format.

 

For LA, I skip almost all of it, except the stories. I really did not care for LA K, way too much busy work, it's mostly preschool stuff IMO and my son did NOT like the poems, at all.

 

some people like the rigidity but for me it's not really a good fit either, and I'm looking forward to finishing it up in a month.

[KinderSafari]

In WI there are virtual school programs available to anyone in the state, or individual districts might offer their own students a virtual option - each district being different.

 

In our district we can currently either choose one of their pre-packaged curriculums, or submit a wish list of curriculum and they will choose what curriculum they approve. They do NOT approve Christian materials. So, for example, they will not buy our Apologia textbook or workbooks, but they WILL buy the Apologia science kit. We are also required to take the reading and math tests that all WI students take in November starting in 3rd grade and up. Other than that, we are pretty much left on our own. Neighboring districts approve more than our district, but open enrollment is not allowed except to the specific state-approved virtual schools.

 

The state ones I checked into require a lot of regular checks, using their curriculum, and sticking to a strict curriculum/assignment schedule. Not for us at this time anyway!