My 12 yo is being homeschooled this school year because of some issues with the school. It's very hard to keep up with since my son is home most of the time, too. Between his therapies and appointments, it's hard for me to teach her the way I'd like to. Are there any moms who use cyberschools? WHich one do you use, and how do you like it? Are there any to stay away from?
Thanks in advance!!
After reading all the responses and doing a little research on each of the suggestions, we've made an appointment with PA Cyber. I like the fact that my daughter can work at her own pace. Since we homeschooled half of this year with the same curriculum used by her class at the school, she's WAY ahead of her peers from working at her own pace.
Thanks so much for all of your replies. You were all VERY helpful!
I use PAVCS with K12 for my daughter.. its ok... the corriculum is very advanced ,but you do have a teacher assigned to help you. Also everything as far as books & computer is supplied. There is very little out of pocket expense.
My daughter just graduated from Pa.cyber school Its the best. You can get virtual class for them, this is where they have to be on at a certain time everyday for different classes or there is another program my daughter was in its go at your own pace. i like that one better because she did it on her time she had. All she had to do it print her work papers out do the papers and summit it back in . They send u all the books they need. The virtual class they are one on one with a teacher, its just like being in a class room but at home u listen to what the teacher says. My niece was in that. you can talk to your teacher as well through aol if u don't under stand things she will also give examples to them on how to do things. I think Pa Cyber is better then school because u get to see what they do and there grade on the web sight login also. hope this helps u . here is the web sight for the PHONE NUMBER TO THEM:
888.PA CYBER EXT 1163 IF YOU just want to ask about it.
The name is The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School
Hi B.!
YOU ARE SO BUSY! Congratulations for committing to homeschooling among all the other things you are going through!
I actually looked into the K-12 program a few years back, and found it to be solid academically. The thing that kept me from it was that it was absolutely school-like: there was a set amount of work that must be done each day, and there were set "holidays," and it is a 180 day school year. My style of homeschooling isn't like that--I prefer to be able to table a concept until the next day if my child just isn't getting it for other reasons. Also, I like to homeschool year round in order to work in days that are "Life Training" (spring cleaning, play days, field trips, recovering from illness. etc.). The K-12 program wouldn't allow that.
There is not one correct way to homeschool. This is what's right for our family, and it shouldn't be a goal for others to attain to unless they believe it is right for them. The K-12 program will be ideal for a student who performs best in the structured environment of school, doesn't mind sitting for 45-60 minutes at a stretch, and will receive correction from someone they can't see fine. It will also be best for home teachers who need someone to share the burden of planning and grading.
I wish you only God's best as you do your daily life in a very dedicated way. Many women would not have taken on what you have.
Sincerely,
C.
We used PACyber Charter this past year for my 12yo son. Middle school wasn't working for him. We have been very pleased with the school. This year he has 2 classes that are self paced and 2 classes that he logs into a live classroom 3 days a week. We have already re-enrolled him for the 2008-09 school year. Another family had recommended it to us, they have 3 out of their 4 kids enrolled through PACyber Charter. Their eldest child had learning disabilities and they have bben very happy with the support that they have received.
They provide you with everything that you need. A computer, printer, text books etc. Your child even get an IS (Instructional Supervisor) who is somewhat like a guidance counselor. They check in every 2 weeks to make sure that everything is going well. They also have online, live tutoring available 7 days a week. We have been working with their Springfield office 1-888-722-9237, they have other offices throughout PA. Give them a call, and set up a time to go and look at the programs that they offer.
I was also looking into charter schools and was impressed by the agora charter school they seem to use a more self-paced hands on curriculum. There learning approach seems to be tailored to different learning styles and they let them take a test to decide what learning style is best for them. I love that approach because I think alot of kids problems is schools trying to fit everyone into one learning style. I hope this helps Good luck. www.k12.com/agora
We have used PaCyber Charter School for four years. My oldest two are enrolled in it, and I homeschool my two youngest on my own.
PaCyber has self paced classes that are easier to schedule around than their Virtual Classes. It is not as flexible as homeschooling, but has worked for us. My two oldest were in public school for several years and are used to that kind of schedule.
We have been very pleased with the school.
There is also the PA Virtual Charter School (PAVCS), which is the school that I teach at. You can check out our website at www.pavcsk12.org . If you have any questions about it, feel free to contact me.
Have you checked out www.pacyber.org?
One thing you have to remember is that this IS Public School it is NOT homeschooling even though your child is at home so you have different rules and regulations and not the same ones that protect you through the PA Homeschool law. You should check out the Hslda website to get more info
I used Connections Academy for 3 years.
We are finishing our second year with PA Cyber. Overall I have liked it. This year we did have some issues with the server that they used, but they assured us that they are being resolved and will not be a problem next year. I would be more than happy to answer any specific questions that you have about it. Let me know if I can help.
Hi B.,
we use PAVCS. My son is finishing up his first year there and he loves it. We do lessons throughout the day. I'll do things like History, Science, Art etc. with him in the morning and afternoon and when my husband comes home he does Math, Language Arts and Phonics with him. This works really well for us because honestly we don't have the time to sit down for four to six hours straight and do lessons, there's too many other things going on.
For the most part it's self paced, for example, my son is really good at math and completed the curriculum for Kindergarten math halfway through the school year. They simply sent out the workbooks for first grade math and started him on that.
They use the K12 program/materials so I know from doing research into homeschooling that they use quality.
for the year my dd cybered we used.
