E.B.
My daughter attends an online school. We frequently attend events with other online schools, and Connections Academy is one of them. It seems like a good school.
Here are some pros and cons and thoughts:
Online schooling for middle schoolers and high schoolers is not just doing some casual assignments and watching some videos. Classes meet (virtually) on a regular schedule, where the kids attend a live class and can talk with their teacher and other students. The students will be required to turn in assignments, not just dump a bunch of junk into the teacher's mail system at the end of the term.
There are benefits and drawbacks to online schooling. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks in my opinion. Sometimes the curriculum seems a little out-of-date, but the teachers have the flexibility to adjust the curriculum and criteria and requirements. Sometimes my daughter's teachers will tell the students that they didn't like a particular assignment and they change it to be better.
Just like you might go to a parent/teacher conference in a traditional school, it's important to get involved in the online school. Email the teachers, sit with your child while she's in a class, and learn how to look at the gradebook. It's a little complicated at first, since there are new and unfamiliar terms like dropboxes, and it's important for you as the parent to learn to navigate the system. You will be able to see how often your child logs on and how she's doing. Some parents assume the teachers are artificial robots and the classes are just videos, but no, the teachers are real and the classes and curriculum are more than YouTube demos. My daughter's friend tried online schooling, but after 2 months, his mother did not even know that the teachers had names, and he assumed he didn't have to do anything other than submit a few assignments. It was a failure. I have met my daughter's teachers, and I know how to check her grades and attendance, and I keep her teachers informed if there's something going on, like if she has a lot of doctors' appointments that week and won't be feeling well.
I have been surprised by the types of kids choosing online schools now. There are many who were bullied and who are more sensitive to and supportive of their classmates as a result. There are elite athletes who travel and compete around the world, single moms, teens who have parents in two different school districts due to divorce and who spend half their time in each district thus making consistent school attendance difficult, teens helping out at home due a sick parent, kids on their own with no home support, kids with medical issues (that's why my daughter attends an online school), kids who are advanced and want an accelerated program while they also attend some college classes ... you name it.
There are real-life events to attend, like bowling parties, proms, cyberschool rallies, etc., and I suggest you get involved with those.
But I think the most important thing is for everyone (student, and family members) to realize that there's going to be a lot that the student has to assume responsibility for. She won't be handed a schedule on paper, and a map like before. But, on the other hand, she won't have to fight to get in line for the bus, or struggle to get the teacher's attention, and if you have appointments or family events, there's no penalty for missing that day. Just watch the recorded class session later, and do your homework when it's convenient. You can travel to grandma's house, take the laptop, and go to school from there.
But the most important thing is, to sit down together and watch the tutorials on online schooling and how to get around once you've logged in. Let me know if you have any questions. This is our fourth year of online schooling, and for us, it was a lifesaver.
