K12 and OK Virtual Academy

[BryRon]

Has any of the other OK mommas heard about this? Apparently K12 is starting a virtual academy for HS through the White Oak School District. I am checking into this because I really loved what K12 had to offer, but not the price tag.

 

Applications are due in by April 1st - here is the link to go check it out.

 

http://k12.com/okva/who_we_are

 

Thoughts?

[gardening momma]

Bumping this, and also adding that, while I'm not in OK, I did look into it because we can do it in OH through the school system also. I decided that I didn't want to "homeschool" through the public school system. Also, since that decision, I've met people who do online schooling--not just K12 virtual academies, but other online schools too--and they don't like the schedule & deadlines they have to stick to.

[SheWillFly]

I'm not in OK but we looked into K12. Friends of our had all three of their children in it when they first moved from homeschooling to a cyber. If we didn't have such a non-traditional family schedule I think we would have gone with K12 instead of what we are doing. But with an inconsistent family schedule the set up of K12 wasn't going to work. Part of the reason for schooling at home is for us to have more family time than we would have with the kids going to school. K12 didn't provide that for us.

[BryRon]

This is something that I'm trying to work out - I really enjoy the freedom of being able to go do something else and skipping a few days...but then again, I feel like I need the discipline of a schedule and making sure that she gets what she needs.

 

I am hoping to find some kind of happy medium. If not, I can always pull her from the VA and go back to the search for "the perfect curriculum". Which while fun, is too time consuming!

 

Thanks again -

[gardening momma]

I think that here, if we enroll in K12 through the school system, then my dc would be considered to be enrolled in ps, even though we're schooling at home. That was one reason I decided not to do it. If you start K12 through your school district, then if you decide to pull them out, I don't know what the process would be, or how it might be different than pulling them out of ps, but you might have to notify the ps that you are pulling them out and plan to homeschool. It would be worth looking into.

[Ellie]

This is a clever way for public schools to have control of hsers without actually having to change any laws, especially in states like Oklahoma which have minimal oversight, if any. Children enrolled in a government-funded charter school, such as a virtual academy, are public school students, not homeschooled students, and are subject to public school laws.

 

It would not be worth it *to me* to trade the freedom of hsing in order to get K12 or any other curriculum (e.g., some states provide Calvert).

[Murphy101]

This is a clever way for public schools to have control of hsers without actually having to change any laws, especially in states like Oklahoma which have minimal oversight, if any. Children enrolled in a government-funded charter school, such as a virtual academy, are public school students, not homeschooled students, and are subject to public school laws.

 

It would not be worth it *to me* to trade the freedom of hsing in order to get K12 or any other curriculum (e.g., some states provide Calvert).

 

:iagree:

I received an email from the director of K12 for this Oklahoma virtual high school program. He is extremely clear that by enrolling in this program, one is enrolling thie student in the public school and said student is considered a public school student. It very clear that the intent is NOT homeschooling at all.

 

I'll try to post it later if I didn't delete it ... gotta take care of baby.

[happyWImom]

This is something that I'm trying to work out - I really enjoy the freedom of being able to go do something else and skipping a few days...but then again, I feel like I need the discipline of a schedule and making sure that she gets what she needs.

 

I am hoping to find some kind of happy medium. If not, I can always pull her from the VA and go back to the search for "the perfect curriculum". Which while fun, is too time consuming!

 

Thanks again -

 

That's exactly where I'm at. The k12 curriculum is great, and I like the accountability, but I also like to be able to have a field trip day, or nature day-whatever-when we want. The planning is the tough thing for me-in theory I like getting all of the books & ideas, I just can't put it all together!

[Melabella]

:iagree:An online K12 program through the ps system would be a last resort for me. But, that is just me.

[BryRon]

I am really, really struggling with this. I pulled her from PS because they weren't able to give her the stuff she needs: she is in 1st grade, but working at a 4th and 5th grade level for math and LA, respectively.

 

I don't know if I can continue to challenge her, by myself. I am absolutely horrible at math, and although we've been looking into MUS, that is expensive stuff. Not to mention the fact that I myself am not that regimented about her schooling and feel like I need to be.

 

There are thousands of choices out there...it's like being a kid in a candy store (only without any money!) And while I realize religion plays a huge role in a lot of people's decision to homeschool, my belief system is very, very different. So, trying to find a good, comprehensive and secular curriculum is HARD. I hate piece-mealing stuff - it's messy.

 

So, is it more important to be a part of a school system and abide by the "law" and have structure and accountability with a somewhat pre-determined curriculum, or is it more important to have the freedom to choose what you want, when you want, and hope for the best?

 

My dd is brilliant - do I have the ability to grow and nurture this myself? There are facets of her education that I am confident I can teach, like life skills (you know, cooking, cleaning, balancing the checkbook, etc), but the core stuff? LA (spelling, vocab, grammar) - up to a point. Math - I still count on my fingers and do long division the hard way; I suck at subtraction and can't imagine anyone doing mental math. Science - not so worried about this; I like science and it's relatively easy to teach. Latin - I feel that I have to teach her this to give her a good foundation of vocabulary, but who in the world knows how to pronounce some of that stuff! History - also not a problem because I dig history, myself.

 

I know this is an insanely long response, but I have read countless posts and replies on several different subjects on TWTM and have come up with a tangled ball of information. Maybe I am making a mountain out of a molehill; I don't know...

 

 

That's exactly where I'm at. The k12 curriculum is great, and I like the accountability, but I also like to be able to have a field trip day, or nature day-whatever-when we want. The planning is the tough thing for me-in theory I like getting all of the books & ideas, I just can't put it all together!

[Melabella]

Don't give up. You can do this. First, even if she is advanced, she is still very young. The most important thing is the 3 R's and that should not take but a few hours per day.

 

Here are my thoughts:

 

1. Go to the library weekly and get lots of books of all types. Think 20 or 30 per week. Encourage her to read a lot and read aloud to her every day.
   
2. Look for curriculum that is scripted. A few that come to mind are First Language Lessons, Writing With Ease, and Saxon Math (I think is scripted in the early grades). I am sure there are some scripted phonics programs out there, too.
   
3. Look for a homeschool group, co-op, or other families in your area. Perhaps once you build some relationships with other homeschool moms you can trade subjects. She teaches math, you teach history.
   

Relax! Just encourage her love of learning. Start with one or two subjects, and add the others in as you become more comfortable and confident. You will not ruin her if you wait until next year or the year after to start Latin.

[littlebug42]

K12 may not be the answer to your problems, at least not through a VA. My 7 year old daughter is also working ahead in some areas. I think the most they will let her work ahead is 2 grade levels for math and LA only. Sweetpea is a very accelerated reader but her writing skills are not at the same level and the books she was reading were far too easy to match with her reading skills. She liked the science and history but we did not like the "assessments" that she had to do and I had to fill in on the computer daily to show that she had mastered each specific task. I felt that the math program was terrible and it did nothing but confuse her. I find that they are very good at saying that they can tweak the program to fit your gifted child but at the age of 7, I just found this to not be the case at all. Also, the expectation of 25-30 hours per week was too much for us when my dd could finish all of her assignments for the day in 3 hours.

 

There were some positive things about the program and if I were faced with sending my child to ps or keeping them home and using a VA again, I would do it but I much prefer ourn eclectic approach even if it does cost us a lot more money.

[Murphy101]

Obviously I disagree with the company man's company line.

Here's that email in its entire form, which is interesting because I've never been a "home school leader" and I've never contacted the company, so I wonder how he targeted ME?:D

 

Dear Homeschool Group Leader,

 

Within the next twenty-four hours, word will come that the Oklahoma Virtual Academy is being launched. This new public school option is powered by K12 Inc.

 

K12 is a curriculum company that provides its curriculum to families in many different settings. Families have the option of using K12 via Homeschool, single-course purchases, private school and virtual public schools.

 

As Director of Consumer Outreach for K12 (our Homeschool Division) and a fellow homeschooler myself for the past nine years, I wanted to reach out to you and establish a line of communication as another option becomes available to families in Oklahoma . We already have families in Oklahoma who have used our curriculum for their Homeschool needs for the past eight years and now families will have another choice.

 

I know full well there will be some within the Homeschool community that follow the lead of HSLDA and promote some misconceptions about what this new option really means. So, my hope within this e-mail is to share with you who we are and what this new public-school option does for Oklahoma :

 

 

• We are not targeting homeschoolers within Oklahoma . We are trying to communicate to ALL families within Oklahoma to share with them about this new option available to them. We believe that when families are presented with all of their options, they can decide for themselves what is best for their individual families.
  
• Close to 80% of our families in our virtual schools come from a background that is other than Homeschool.
  
• Having a virtual public school option in Oklahoma is not a “slippery slope” to allow legislatures to tighten Homeschool laws. Facts are that in other states where virtual schools powered by K12 have opened, Homeschool laws have either remained the same or even been relaxed.
  
• Virtual public schools are not Homeschool. Within all of our communication to any family we make it as clear as possible that this is a public school. It is neither our intent nor desire to misrepresent this in any way and we have not done this. There are no “hidden” sacrifices as purported by HSLDA in our offerings. We are not trying to hide anything from families. In fact, we are trying to make families understand clearly what this new option is, what it is not, and what it means by enrolling in a virtual public school.
  
• Families do not “give up” their freedoms by enrolling in a virtual public school powered by K12. Again, virtual public schools are public schools and must adhere to the public school regulations within each state. We communicate this to families in a variety of ways throughout the process. If a family enrolls in a K12 virtual public school, they are fully aware of what is expected of them as it relates to attendance, testing, etc.
  

 

For K12, it comes down to providing families with a choice. Again, we believe families deserve the right to have educational choices. From there, we believe they deserve the right to know what all of their options are and fully understand those options. Once they do, it is our belief that they will be able to make an informed decision that is best for their family, even if that is choosing something other than K12.

 

We invite you and your group members to explore this new option and find out for yourselves what it means to the State of Oklahoma .

 

You will find us online at www.k12.com/okva. We are hosting many online and in-person sessions over the next two weeks around the state. Come join us and bring your questions. We will do our best to answer them.

 

In addition I invite you to contact me at any time with questions about K12 and any of our offerings. Or if you have concerns about this new virtual public school, feel free to contact me. I am also available to come and speak to your group and answer any questions and/or concerns they might have too.

 

You can learn more about our Homeschool options by visiting here:

http://www.k12.com/schooling_programs/k12_direct/for_homeschoolers/

 

The lines of communication are open and I invite you to use them.

 

 

 

 

 

Houston Tucker

Director, Consumer Outreach

 

K12 Inc.

 

2300 Corporate Park Dr .

Herndon , VA 20171

 

 

 

office

email

 

 

 

 

901-605-2630

 

htucker@k12.com

 

 

Edited March 26, 2009 by Martha
don't know why it's dividing the quote like that, can't fix it but none of the text is missing.

[noah&emmasmommy]

I know what you mean about the cost of MUS. It's a little bit pricey. However, let me just say, that it is well worth it. And you can also find MUS second hand in a lot of places. Have you tried looking for it on sale and swap boards?

 

As for teaching the math, and being horrible at it, MUS is making me math confident. I have always been horrible at math, and was scared to death to try and teach it to my kids. But the way Steve Demme teaches it, and presents it with the DVD's and in the teacher guide, I have actually brushed up on my math skills, and feel very confident to follow most of the way through, if not all of the way.

 

I feel very strongly about keeping my kids out of the public school system, for many reasons, and I would encourage you to continue looking for curriculum that is scripted and easy to use. There's a lot out there. I think some have suggested Saxon math too, and that would be an excellent choice.