Help please - considering online school for 7&8

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is 11 and in 6th, and has been dealing with a really horrible bullying situation for two years now. I'll skip the gory details, but we are most likely going to have to pull her from her current small and decently academic private school. However, where we live (not DC), the local options are not great. The public MS is truly awful - watching videos all day instead of instruction and kids having sex in the bathrooms - and I know at least 6 parents who have pulled their kids because of how bad it is. I won't send her there. There is a good charter that we have a very small chance of getting into, but if she doesn't, I think we are looking at online school as all the other privates are deeply evangelical, which is not us.

I work PT from home and DH works full time from home, but am truly unqualified to homeschool. Not that I ever had the inclination, but Covid certainly taught me that. I don't have the patience or the bandwidth. So we are now trying to wrap our heads around online school for the next two years until she can go to public HS. I am tentatively looking at IVLA, Sora, ICL, Aquinas, and Crimson Global. The Stanford tuition is a dealbreaker - I think we max out around 15K / year, which is what we pay for her private now.

Please give me your best online school for dummies spiel. Pros, cons, what to look out for, good programs or those to avoid - really anything. We're at the beginning of this and just trying to get a grip on what this could look like for us. All input appreciated!

We have our kids enrolled online at Well-Trained Mind Academy, with some in person electives at Compass, the local co-op in Herndon.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone provide a compare / contrast of VAVA with WTMA and Acellus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone provide a compare / contrast of VAVA with WTMA and Acellus?

Acellus is garbage. VAVA is https://www.k12.com/, you can find samples here: https://www.k12.com/online-public-middle-school/middle-school-offerings/sample-courses/

WTMA, on the other hand, uses live teacher-led classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is 11 and in 6th, and has been dealing with a really horrible bullying situation for two years now. I'll skip the gory details, but we are most likely going to have to pull her from her current small and decently academic private school. However, where we live (not DC), the local options are not great. The public MS is truly awful - watching videos all day instead of instruction and kids having sex in the bathrooms - and I know at least 6 parents who have pulled their kids because of how bad it is. I won't send her there. There is a good charter that we have a very small chance of getting into, but if she doesn't, I think we are looking at online school as all the other privates are deeply evangelical, which is not us.

I work PT from home and DH works full time from home, but am truly unqualified to homeschool. Not that I ever had the inclination, but Covid certainly taught me that. I don't have the patience or the bandwidth. So we are now trying to wrap our heads around online school for the next two years until she can go to public HS. I am tentatively looking at IVLA, Sora, ICL, Aquinas, and Crimson Global. The Stanford tuition is a dealbreaker - I think we max out around 15K / year, which is what we pay for her private now.

Please give me your best online school for dummies spiel. Pros, cons, what to look out for, good programs or those to avoid - really anything. We're at the beginning of this and just trying to get a grip on what this could look like for us. All input appreciated!

You both work from home - MOVE to somewhere with either good public, or many choices for private. Online school is not the solution

[Anonymous]

Send her to the public MS. Sounds not ideal but better than online school.

[Anonymous]

See if your state had an online public charter. VA does and it runs on K12s curriculum. It’s free!

[Anonymous]

My kids used Bridgeway Academy Online for elementary. You have the option to have live online classes or to work at your own pace. They have advisors who will grade papers and quizzes. They have the kids take assessments at the start of the school year, mid-year and end of the year. It is a lot of school work for the kids. However, I feel they learned.

If you do an online program protect there eyes. Make sure they take eye breaks, the computer screens have a glare cover, and make sure they get outside time. Sunlight is good for the eyes.

Lastly, there are drop off tutorials in the DMV. You still are responsible for their learning. However, you have the assistance of a tutor who will provide feedback, guidance, and grades.