Country Girl Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 I need to find an accredited Geometry course for my daughter and have found these two options for live classes. However, I can’t find much info on either, especially the VPSA. I’d love feedback on ANY classes you’ve taken from either provider, how easy is the administration to work with, what is the teaching format like, how are the classes structured, how easy is the technology to use, how accessible are the teachers, etc? If you have experience with a specific Geometry teacher, that would be great too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 My DD took upper level math from WHA with Mrs Leslie Smith. She teaches many of the geometry classes there. My dd loved her. She's funny & sweet & cares about her students. The classes at WHA are twice per week (M/W or T/Th). I think 1 1/2 hours a piece. In between, there is homework, of course. The student is expected to post questions on a message board if they are stuck. Other students or the teacher will answer those questions. Students have to check their own homework & they do not turn it in. Just about every class involves an in-class quiz - 3-6 questions - some from the homework - to see how much they are understanding. I'm not sure how geometry tests are handled. With Pre-Calc & higher, tests are a mix of multiple choice & worked-on-paper problems (like FRQs for APs). The m/c part is graded right away while the other problems are scanned in & submitted. The textbook WHA uses is top notch but that also means it is difficult. The class goes REALLY fast. Don't get behind or you'll drown. You can email the teachers anytime, but I think they prefer you ask questions on the message boards. You mostly don't have to deal with the admin. The office staff & dean of students are all great people to interact with. I assume you know how pricey WHA has gotten with the added student services fee, so I won't touch on that. There are a lot of extras WHA offers to the kids now: a "house" system with virtual meetings, in-person meetups, and other student-led initiatives. WHA uses Canvas which is easy to get used to. My DD used several course-management interfaces for her online classes & ended up liking Canvas the most. She'll actually be using it at college in just a few weeks. So, she found it useful to get to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 We love WHA math classes. DD will be taking her third this year. Mr. Reini & Mrs. Smith are both excellent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialkmom Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 We used WHA for Algebra 1 last year. My Ds's teacher was Kaye Pepin. I thought she did a great job teaching. You can contact WHA to see a sample class for how it works. I thought Canvas and Adobe Connect were very easy to use. I don't know how Geometry homework is graded, but for Algebra 1, the parents checked the homework and gave the student a second chance at a problem if they missed it. At the end of each chapter, the teacher provided a spreadsheet for the homework grades and averages. At least one section homework from that chapter also needed to be scanned and sent in. The teacher graded tests on her own. I think the Algebra class towards the middle of the year started to use discussion boards for questions on the homework (as far as I know you could still contact the teacher with questions too). AoPS also utilizes a message board/discussion board for their math classes and it works very well. Multiple students can get help and work together to think through a problem. I would imagine that it also helps the teacher to answer one question for many people rather than the same question over again for many students. I don't have any experience with VPSA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirabillis Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 DS took Geometry with Leslie Smith in 9th grade. Good class, rigorous, learned a lot. 2x weekly live instruction is good. Teacher was not my ds's favorite, but not really sure why. He adored Mr Reini (Alg II) and liked Mrs. Stublen (no longer there) better than Mrs. Smith. Like Rootann said above, prices have gone crazy high so we've now changed providers for same ds's upper math courses and for his younger sibs... (Geometry with Myhomeschoolmathclass for my dd & now next year, my next ds). Same ds moved to AP Calc with Derek Owens (fantastic!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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