Have you used Calvert through a Public Online/Virtual School?

[umsami]

So, we're moving to an area with a public virtual academy that uses Calvert for the younger grades. With three kids to school next year, it's tempting. Have any of you used an online virtual school that uses Calvert? What did you think?

 

The negative is my kids (at least the eldest) would be subject to the state standardized testing because the online school is viewed as a public school.

[Mom2OandE]

We were considering it for my older child when she decided she wanted to be homeschooled. Our district used Calvert up until this coming year now it's just k12. One of the issues I had with K12 was that they wanted you on the computer the entire time and on the same days at the regular school. It just did not give me the flexibility I wanted. When dd reaches junior high there is another virtual we can do that will allow us to select courses to be used in a homeschool environment versus full load public school. We may do that then.

[Tarreymere]

I used a year of Calvert through Pa Cyber. I was not impressed with Calvert and we did not use it again. We didn't have to use the computer except to check email from the school and that kind of thing but we still got one. We did have to do all of the standardized testing and assessments that Pa Cyber required.

[AimeeM]

Our state offers Calvert (for free, through the public virtual option) through grade 8. We have considered Calvert, but will only do it privately (paying full tuition, in other words) because...

 

Doing it publically not only means you are subject to state testing but, depending on your state, your child's "teacher" is a state public school teacher, not a Calvert teacher.

 

Your child is still subject to the public school requirements for subject content.

 

If you look very closely (and ask the right questions) you will notice that the state public Calvert option tends to differ in curriculum and content compared to the private Calvert option - they (the public option virtual) follow their state's scope and sequence, not Calvert's (which is more nationally aligned and generally seen as a rigorous program). For our state the literature, history, and science was different; it was aligned to our state standards (which, known largely, sucks), not Calvert's standards. It used different books for literature and history and used a different scope/sequence for their science books.

[UmMusa]

I used Calvert in Texas through Texarkana ISD Virtual Academy. All of the books were Calvert books and we also had a Calvert teacher who graded DS's tests and wrote notes back to him. That was separate from the teacher assigned to us from the Texarkana school district with whom we had to check in each day for attendance (just log into their moodle room), and she's the one who recorded the checkpoints from the daily lessons.

 

DS loved the structure and independence. There were opportunities to do more work if we wanted to, but we usually did the minimum.

 

I just started another thread asking about using this in WA state b/c there is an organization here called CVA that offers Calvert for free, but it doesn't look as good as the one in TX due to not have the ATS feature.

 

We'll use Calvert again this year for 6th grade.

[umsami]

Thanks everybody!