Opinions on WTMA, TTUISD HS, Penn Foster, IU High School, K12 (MA), Connections Academy (MA)

[YaelAldrich]

My son (going into 11th grade) is trying to make a decision between these schools for the remainder of his high school career.  Can anyone give us their opinions of the schools I mentioned above (or one that you really, really love).

 

[chiguirre]

All of the schools on your list award diplomas except WTMA. Other places that award diplomas are UT Austin High School (they have a bunch of dual enrollment classes available too for about $600/ 3 credit class), U Nebraska, Keystone, Oak Meadow and American School of Correspondence. I don't have any experience with any of them, but I've looked at them at least in passing and didn't reject them out of hand.

 

Trinqueta is enrolled in Memoria Press Online Academy's new diploma program for next year. Their admissions season ended a while ago and requires an exam, plus they're somewhat Christian although they don't require any theology classes, so I don't think it's a good fit for you. But, since Trinqueta is enrolled there I should at least mention the possibility.

 

Good luck finding a school that fits your son and you!

[EKS]

It's not on your list, but I would take a serious look at Oak Meadow.  No screens, which is a huge bonus in my opinion.  Also, it seems like they try to make the work more meaningful than the mainstream online schools.  We used them for Latin for two years, and I liked the format.

 

That said, I was impressed with K12's approach to history in the lower grades, and I used (and loved) their American Odyssey text for both kids when we did high school American history.  I'm not sure about their other courses.

 

 

[Lanny]

DD is in 10th grade in TTUISD (Texas Tech University High School). She began in 6th grade, with 2 Middle School courses, during October 2012, as a Supplemental student.  One can sign up for classes that way, without being Enrolled, as a full-time student. At that time, DD had been in a school, starting in 2nd grade, thru 5th grade, where English was a subject that was taught very poorly, as a 2nd language.  We knew that if she could pass 6th grade English, she could do well and she has.

 

TTUISD courses are Asynchronous.  Until recently, the courses all required purchasing traditional textbooks (I like that, because it is nice not to be staring at a monitor and there is something nice about holding a book in your hands and being able to refer back to it in future years. Just after we enrolled her in Geometry, I noticed that the High School Math courses are now using Ebooks. I think it is $16 for one year.  That will save us $ for shipping costs, but it is nice, for example with Math books, to have them to refer back to in future years if one wants to. Her first experience with Ebooks will be with Algebra 2.

 

TTUISD requires that one have an Approved Proctor. Ours is a lady who teaches in a High School. I think a Librarian might also be able to do that and possibly testing centers.

 

TTUISD goes with the same laws as Public Schools in Texas. There are five (5) EOC exams required  by the State if Texas for High School graduation. 5 of those are for courses normally taken in 9th and 10th grades. DD will take the last 2 EOC exams next month.

 

There are specific requirements about which courses need to be completed, to receive a Diploma and I would URGE you to contact them on their Toll-Free phone number, or via email, if you and your DS are interested in TTUISD.

 

 I believe that any  school in any other state, operated by a state university, will have similar requirements for graduation.

 

Asynchronous courses require a lot of TIME MANAGEMENT and SELF DISCIPLINE from the students.

 

TTUISD courses cover the entire textbook. Front to Back.  I do not think that would be possible in a public brick and mortar school in Texas, using the same textbook.

 

Much good luck to you and your DS on selecting a school he will be successful in!

 

P.S.

I vote absentee in Texas...

 

P.P.S.

I wonder how much credit they will give him for the courses he has completed, in TTUISD and in other schools?

Edited May 14, 2017 by Lanny

[chiguirre]

Just remembered BYU has a diploma program. Their classes look entirely secular and they offer both online and text-based options.

[Lanny]

Follow on: TTUISD courses require the students pass the Final examinations. The Final grade is 25% of the semester grade.

 

Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk

[MarkT]

Are you looking for Honors and/or AP classes?

[Lanny]

Yael: I believe transferring into another school for 1

11th grade may be problematic witth regard to Credit received for 9th and 10th grade courses he has completed. Probably best for you to get a Transcript of those courses so you can send it to any schools you are interested in for them to evaluate. I think in TTUISD he would need to pass those 5 EOC exams in order to graduate for example but I am assuming and I try not to do that. Good luck to him!

 

Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk

[RootAnn]

No help on the schools, but I am glad to see an update on your son. I hope he is doing better all around and I hope this choice of options for the next two years is helpful for him and his outlook.

[AliR]

We are really enjoying K12 English and science courses, and DD will be enrolling full time for 11th grade in the fall. This is using it independently through K12 iCademy, and not through a public free virtual school.

 

Unfortunately Oak Meadow is pricing its teacher-supported courses at $2,000 per full year credit now, which makes it completely outside our budget to continue although DD is using one of their courses for 10th grade now.

[YaelAldrich]

Bumping for more opinions/suggestions please.

[chiguirre]

Calvert high school

 

NARHS but this doesn't actually have classes, I don't think. They review your classes and issue an accredited diploma.

 

Your local community college probably offers online classes as well as in person classes that would work for high school. They may have one semester basic intros to Chem and Physics, College Algebra and PreCalc, English comp, first year foreign languages, American and world history surveys.

 

Mother of Divine Grace is accredited and assigns a teacher to oversee your work. You don't have to follow their lesson plans and they will probably accept your religious ed in lieu of their theology requirements. Kolbe might also work but their accreditation is NAPCIS. That's not fatal since many physical Catholic schools don't have regional accreditation but it's something to consider. These wouldn't be my first choice in your circumstance but they might be flexible enough if they're good fits in other ways.

 

Does your state university offer high school level classes like UT Austin or Texas Tech? Those are good options in Texas if you want a diploma that conforms to state standards.

[City Mouse]

My DS son does Connections Academy through a charter school. I agree with Lanny, that if you go with a charter school or other online public school, there may be problems with credit for the HS courses done as a homeschooler. Our school requires students to take the semester final and pass to get credit for home school course work.

 

That being said, Connections has a private school where courses can be bought individually or students can be enrolled full time. I have been thinking of moving over to the private school to avoid state testing. The course work is the same, but thee is a bit more flexibility with the private school that with our state charter school.

 

In general, I like the courses that CA has, but at the HS level no physical textbooks are provided. Many parents will purchase books on their own, but as the courses are updated, some are going to a no-textbook format where there is not even an ebook. According to CA, parents are the ones who want physical textbooks, and the teens prefer ebooks or no textbooks.

[Lanny]

@City Mouse  My concern is that I believe the OP is on the East Coast of the USA and that if her son enrolls in a school operated by a Public University in another state (TTUISD, for example) there will be graduation requirements for 9th and 10th grade courses her DS will need to comply with. He was previously in a Private school.  How many of his 9th and 10th grade courses that he has completed successfully will he get credit for, in another state is something of concern. Which 9th and 10th grade courses (and 5 EOC exams) would he need to have, for example, in TTUISD?

 

With regard to eBooks, my DD up to now has used traditional textbooks for her TTUISD courses. They changed the High School Math courses to eBooks, starting in September 2016. We'd just enrolled DD in the old Geometry course (uses a traditional textbook), so her first experience with a course using an eBook will be with Algebra 2.  We are Overseas, so for us the eBooks have advantages, but I like holding a traditional textbook in my hands and having it available for reference. One advantage of an eBook is that I assume if they find an error, they can update the eBook. Pros and cons to both eBooks and traditional textbooks. 

 

My guess is that Yael's DS will have less of a problem, transferring into a Privately run school, than into a school that follows state laws, such as TTUISD.

Edited May 24, 2017 by Lanny

[AliR]

Adding a bit to my earlier post about K12 (as an independent).  DD is enrolling full time in the fall and it is clear from the documentation required that to go in at 11th grade without a transcript from an accredited institution for 9th and 10th grades would be very difficult.

 

It looks as though checking on the transferability of existing credits should be one of the key questions for the OP.

[YaelAldrich]

The question several of you are posing is the main issue in the decision.  His former school is new and is not accredited yet.  I have to see if any of the schools that give diplomas will take the credits from that school.  If not, we will have to do HSing a la carte and he will get a mommy diploma.  I still do not plan on directly teaching him.  

 

I am leaning toward Oak Meadow (thanks EKS!) as it is textbook based.  He's also somewhat interested in Calvert and WTMA.  Thanks everyone for their help!

 

As an update, he was expelled two weeks ago, but the school has arranged that he can finish out the school year remotely.  He had to hire a tutor for Jewish studies from his own money.  The secular studies are all remote.  He obviously has to pass all his coursework to move on to the 11th grade. We'll see what happens.

[Lanny]

@Yael:  If your DS was going to begin  9th grade, I would strongly encourage you to contemplate enrolling him in TTUISD.  But he is trying to go into 11th grade and I assume that if he did that in TTUISD (and probably some of the other schools you might consider), that he would need to take a number of required 9th and 10th grade courses and pass mandatory examinations.. He would probably like to avoid that...

 

Regarding your mention of you Home Schooling him.   There are some threads on WTM about American School and how one can request courses that are more difficult than their normal courses. They would issue a Diploma to him. I believe their Diploma is accredited by a Regional Agency?    Possibly consider combining something like that with Home Schooling?

 

Changing schools during High School is very problematic, so you need to investigate thoroughly, any school that you think might be viable for your DS.  

 

I googled and possibly this is the American School that has been referred to on WTM:  https://www.americanschoolofcorr.com/

This is about accreditation:    I think Middle States is one of the Regional Accreditation organizations  https://www.americanschoolofcorr.com/accreditation