Some of you may not know this but I do online school. I started out in public school but then, once I got to high school, I began online schooling. I think it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. Today I wanted to do a post over my experience with attending an online school which I hope will help others to decide if they think it is a good decision for them as well.
So I started attending an online school the second semester of freshman year. I wasn't necessarily planning on leaving public school but it kind of just happened. I am glad that I went all the way through to high school, though.
As far back as I can remember I had always wanted to be home schooled (granted you call online public school homeschooling or not). I had always seen homeschooling as a great alternative to the traditional public school for many reasons. A couple being freedom of my schedule and the relaxed requirements for when and where I do my work.
The reason that I started when I did was this: we had moved to a new city and I simply did not like having to go. Plus, the high school that I was having to go to was way bigger than the high school from my previous town where I'm sure I would have done just fine at. The schoolwork was never an issue for me it was just the other things that go along with it. I did not like being told when to attend a certain class, when to start/end school, what I could wear/do, when I could take breaks, when I could talk, where I could sit, and the list could go on further. Now, you might be thinking "Why couldn't you just get over it and deal with it like the rest of us?" and yes, that is a valid question but, since I had the opportunity to start online school, why not do it?
After telling my parents about how much I dreaded going to school I started doing some research. I wanted to see if I could actually start online school how I had always dreamt of doing. I came across multiple different programs and, after thoroughly reading about them, I finally chose the school that I am now with. I would share with you what the name is but, since it is still a real school and for privacy reasons I won't but, if you are serious about looking into it yourself, do some research and I'm sure you will find one that works best for you.
I came back to my parents and told them about the new school that I had found. They did their own research, thought about it a lot, and finally gave the go ahead and said that they think it would work well for me. After signing me up and going through the registering process, I started the next semester.
Now that you know the how and why of the process of me starting online school, hopefully now I can answer some of your questions. I know that before I started online school I didn't completely understand how it all worked but now that I do, maybe I could help with the answers.
First and foremost, like mentioned before I go to an online public school. The reason it is defined as public is because, the program that I use, also offers a private school. The private school is paid with fewer students and the public school is free with more students (just like brick-and-mortar schools). Now that you know that, I'll move onto if it is a privately owned company. Well, in my case, the school is considered a part of another school district in my state. So, even though it is online, if someone asks what district I go to it would be the school district that my school is with. Whatever requirements and rules they have in their district, also applies to me. Even when they have events at their schools I am also invited. Basically, my school is in that district which means I have to abide by that district. So, yes it is legal and legit and yes it is recognized by the state just like any other school.
The program that I am with offers the same thing with many other states as well. The online schools are partnerships with school districts within the state which means that they are legitimate alternatives offered within the district.
Because the schools have the same laws that any other school does, there are still certain requirements such as attendance. I have to have a certain amount of hours just like everyone else. One reason that I really enjoy online school is that I get to start whenever I want, take breaks whenever I want, and can end whenever I want (of course still putting in enough time to get my work done). For example, if I have somewhere to be in the morning then I can hop on and do my work later in the day or get ahead altogether. The teachers are available at normal office hours (8am-4pm Monday-Friday) but the students can get there work done at any time since there is 24hr access including weekends.
Throughout the week there are lessons with the teacher that are live. The students can go into the online room and watch their teacher give a lesson on whatever lesson is scheduled for that day. There are chat pods and you can even talk or use your camera to interact with the other students or teacher. It is cool because it acts just like a classroom but you can attend them no matter where you are.
To contact your teachers you can call them, send them an e-mail, or attend a lesson. Pertaining to the schedule, all of your classes have assigned days in which to do specific lessons so whenever you log on you can see the list (and check off) lessons that need to be completed that day. It is really nice to have it all laid out. If you get behind it is not a problem as long as you work to catch up and get what you need to get done. My school also offers school events (field trips) for certain areas of my state where I can go and meet my teachers and fellow students.
Overall, like I said, I am so happy that I decided to start online school and I am so thankful that God gave me the opportunity to do so. If you are interested in online school I highly recommend it but I would have to say that it works best with motivated people. You have to be able to motivate yourself since there is no one looking over your shoulder at all times making sure you are getting your lessons done.
I hope that you liked this post! Maybe it answered some of your questions? If you have any more questions that I did not answer then make sure to leave them below and I will be glad to answer them. ♥
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