My 15 year old daughter is a student at a new virtual high school in our state. This is actually one of the first ever allowed in our state. I am very excited to be a part of such a ground breaking opportunity.
So far we love it. The flexibility is awesome. She has a teacher for each subject just like a brick and mortar school. There are other students in her classes who she is able to communicate with.
The school tracks her grades, attendance and participation through a sophisticated array of software programs. Just so you can get a better idea of her school week I'll share her schedule below.
Monday- 11:30am to 12:30am Spanish & 2:00 pm-3:00pm Algebra
Tuesday- 9 to 10 am Economics
Wednesday- Physical Science 5pm-6pm etc....
These are the hours where the teacher is actually teaching the class live. If she misses her assigned classroom hours she can do one of two things.
*Listen to the recorded class session and answer specific questions for a participation grade.
*Attend another class that the teacher is teaching (ie, later time that day)
All of her assignments are given for the entire year. She has access to her on-line textbooks at anytime. She can complete and submit her classwork, homework, quizzes or test anytime before or by the due date.
So far we are really enjoying the school and the fact that they supplied her with a laptop and flatbed printer, copier, scanner doesn't hurt either.
Here are the pro's
-small student to teacher ratio
-the teachers work from home and can still spend time with their families
(one teacher gave the students a 10 minute break during class while she attended to her baby)
-materials are supplied by the school, laptop, pedometer and resistance band for walking fitness classes, printer, etc.
-Local office available to meet with the Guidance Counselor, Principle and other staff.
Here are the con's
-none as of yet. This is her 1st semester which has only been one week so far.
If you have any questions about Virtual Public School, feel free to leave me a comment.
Monday, February 2, 2009
4 comments:
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One of my son's friends attends a Virtual School. He loves it and it seems to be the best fit for him. He has been enrolled in it for 3 yrs. now and will graduate this spring.
ReplyDeleteHe was not always a good student but VS has allowed him to focus on his studies better since he is no longer having to deal with all the distractions in a reg. public high school. He does get plenty of socializing outside of school, so he misses none of the normal teenage stuff.lol
His mom has had a hard time though with the local school district, as they aren't keen on these virtual schools. It's sad that they can't see beyond their own noses on this. Not all kids learn best in the regular old-fashioned mold of high school. You would think they would truly want what was best for each kids rather than want to fight something that takes away from their perceived 'power base' and bites into the amount of federal dollars they receive for their school district.
Anyway, enough of my rant....
I wish the best for your daughter in her new School setting. What an exciting adventure!
I think these programs are terrific! A friend of mine has her son in one and he is doing so well, much better than he did in public school or even at home with her teaching. Maybe one day this will be an option for more and more families.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really neat. My children are small yet and I'm happy with our homeschooling curriculum but I can see this being an interesting option especially when they get to high school age. I'm eager to read how your experiences continue to go :)
ReplyDeleteMy 8th grade daughter just started Cyber Academy which is through our public school system. She does her courses on-line at home and has just started this semester. She was always an honor student in the past, but the first semester of this year was horible with lack of disrespect amongst students and teachers who didn't care. She is back getting A's and B's and is my happy girl once again. She may continue this through high school if she desires and for me the best of all is that if she chooses to continue, she will be graduating from an accredited school.
ReplyDeleteblessings,
Nancy
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