edelweiss Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 I've searched, but I didn't find anything on the board. Does anyone here have a child who uses International Connections Academy? Or has anyone researched it or in any other way become familiar with it? International Connections Academy is a version of Connections Academy that is self-paced and much more flexible than Connections Academy. My 9th grader is going to leave her private school after this semester, so I'm trying to research the various options, but I'm not coming up with much on this one. If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 I was curious, so I googled for "International Connections Academy" (without the quote marks). On the first page of the Google SERPS, it shows this: National Connections Academy Website Directions Private School Address: 5th Floor, 1001 Fleet St, Baltimore, MD 21202, United States Phone:+1 877-804-6222 So, to start with, they may use a number of different names, which may or may not be a Red flag. As with any school, I strongly suggest that you THOROUGHLY investigate everything you possibly can. OT: My DD is a Distance Learning student in TTUISD. This is her 4th school year in TTUISD. That might also be something for you to look into. GL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweiss Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Thanks, Lanny. Connections Academy is one of the popular choices for online school here in Ohio, so I'm sure that it is reputable. The International Connections Academy is just an arm of Connections Academy that is supposed to be more flexible for the student. We definitely need flexibility and so many of the online schools are anything but flexible. Jen-- Thanks for offering your opinion on their curriculum. Yes, I definitely need to look into how flexible the program is. Do you know of any other online schools that offer more flexibility for me to research? I am new to this online school thing, and I am quite overwhelmed. My DD won't be returning to her private school in January so I need to figure something out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliR Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 We are using Calvert High School and University of Missouri at the moment, and will continue with Calvert. I would be happy to recommend either. Flexibility is incredibly important to us too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 (edited) OP be aware of the huge differences, between "Online" courses that are Synchronous and those that are Asynchronous. If you need flexibility, you need Asynchronous. Courses from TTUISD and other schools are Asynchronous. GL P.S I hope the free courses of Connections Academy are much better than those of K12. Most comments I've read about the free K12 courses are very Negative. Edited December 2, 2015 by Lanny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I don't have experience with K12, but I've been mostly happy with CA. Ds likes it. It would be a better program if my state didn't allow teachers to drop or modify lessons. They are making it easier. Ds is already hitting finals in 2 classes and should be ready for another set of finals in 2 weeks because he's been able to accelerate so much. I know some kids are not built for online school and are stuck there, but to lower the standards for Honors classes, I find frustrating. I chose it because it is more rigorous than K12. That I knew. Oh well, we're off to full-time dual-enrollment next year. Wow - a big problem with many schools - hold that quality line especially for strong performers Hope they at least meet current CA Common Core standards! End of semester finals or EOC? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I don't have experience with K12, but I've been mostly happy with CA. Ds likes it. It would be a better program if my state didn't allow teachers to drop or modify lessons. They are making it easier. Ds is already hitting finals in 2 classes and should be ready for another set of finals in 2 weeks because he's been able to accelerate so much. I know some kids are not built for online school and are stuck there, but to lower the standards for Honors classes, I find frustrating. I chose it because it is more rigorous than K12. That I knew. Oh well, we're off to full-time dual-enrollment next year. Your experience with the free CA sounds great. Far better than most comments I've read about free K-12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 We are using Calvert High School and University of Missouri at the moment, and will continue with Calvert. I would be happy to recommend either. Flexibility is incredibly important to us too. Is it true that Calvert High School uses the same program as Time4Learning which uses Compass Learning from what I recall? What do you think of Calvert High School? Is it the same as their k-8 or substantially different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliR Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I have no idea whether it is Compass Learning/Time4Learning as I have not seen either of these. However, two of the courses we are using (Algebra 1 and World History) have a close relationship with Holt materials. Although texts are not required as all of the materials are on-line, the optional texts are Holt and chunks of these are recognisable in the on-line materials. So we are finding they are quite useful to have as a reference. Spanish 1 links in with Rosetta Stone. I was not expecting to go with Calvert for high school although DD had successfully used it from 3rd to 6th grade. I did not feel that a fully digital platform sat well with our blend of requirements. As we have an odd mix of learning issues, it did not seem that it would work at all well. However, both DD and I are thriving with this. The content is interesting and well-presented, the workload is manageable without a pile of busy work, and the support is very professional. We are not using the live sessions, as to do so ties you in with a traditional school year and pacing which we did not want, but do have teachers available for each subject who mark assignments so the credits will be 'accredited'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antsmom Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 We are using Georgia Connections Academy right now. The online all day thing is not a good fit:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antsmom Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) I should add that the curriculum is solid though and the teachers have been great:) Edited March 9, 2016 by Antsmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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