So, initially when I first looked into homeschooling Harrison, I looked up lots and lots of websites that were for virtual (or online) schools. Doing this I found out that Utah DOES have a public virtual school, so I signed Harrison up. I didn't think much of it because there was a waiting list, so I figured if anything, he wouldn't be enrolled until next fall, if we decided to homeschool next fall.
Well, last week, I got an e-mail telling me that they had a spot for Harrison. Since I had pretty much not planned on hearing anything, I was surprised! Then, as I thought about it, I wasn't sure it I wanted to go through with it, but as I thought about it more, I thought, why not? I mean, it's free (as in, my tax dollars pay for it), so why not try it? If we decide it's not for us, then we can go back to the more traditional methods of homeschooling.
As I was thinking this through, I looked EVERYWHERE on the internet it seems, trying to find a review for the Utah Virtual Academy. NOTHING. Only one blog article that said they were going to try it out. So, here is the overview, and then after we have tried it, I will tell you my initial reaction in another entry.
So, here are a few things that I have learned, for those who are wondering. There are two online public schools (Utah only has one), and the main one is called K12. K12 in and of itself is not public. If you wanted to buy the curriculum yourself you could. If you lived overseas and wanted your child to use K12's international private school, you could. A lot of states have formed a charter school that uses the K12 curriculum and Utah is one of those. Again, because they are public, they are FREE.
As I was reading different reviews about K12, I realized that they really didn't apply for the most part to me. Mainly because each state has it's own rules and regulations for public schooling. The charter schools have to follow these rules. For example, in some states (Utah), you are assigned a certified teacher, and you have contact with them (phone/e-mail) about once a week to make sure everything is going okay, lessons are being taught, etc... In other states, the teacher goes to the house. In Utah, if you want the teacher to come to your house, that is up to you...not required.
Being a part of the online charter school, you HAVE to follow the state guidelines of teaching your child for 180 school days per year. You sign in online, and attendance is taken. For people who have a difficult time being consistent with homeschool but want their children homeschooled, this could be a good option for them! For me, it's not that big of a deal, since our homeschool is more structured anyway. Using the online academy your child is expected to do 5 hours of schoolwork every day (M-F).
For some, this seems excessive. For me, at this point, it doesn't matter. Harrison does a lot of work anyway since I am trying to get him up to a 5 hour a day curriculum. (He's basically there.) Some days he stays on task and has no breaks, so he gets done early. (This is his choice, not mine). On days where he is a little more distracted and has more breaks, it takes him longer.
So, we will see how that works out. For the younger grades most of the coursework is done offline with textbooks, etc... Here is what is appealing to me... We will get all his coursework...free. He will have the use of a computer and printer that will be loaned to him. Free. The coursework includes all the core subjects, including an elective foreign language, which I chose as Spanish. If Harrison wants to do a different one next fall, I'll let him. His records will be kept...I won't have to worry about it. He will be on task with his peers who are going to regular public school (or most likely ahead once he gets going) and that is fine! I think that is great! An added bonus is that since we are still at home we can still do the religious things that we have been doing every day.
I will definitely keep you posted on the pro's and con's of using this system!
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