Virtual School - How it Works

  Last year we started with Texarkana ISD Virtual Academy.  I talked about some of the reasons we made that choice in my last post, but the biggest reason ended up being the features and flexibility of the program.  I'll explain a little bit about how it all works. 

  In this program, we use the Calvert School curriculum.  Calvert has been in the business of homeschool curriculum for over 100 years.  We were impressed with the curriculum - it's plenty challenging and includes lots of critical thinking skills.  It gives the parent (or "learning guide") the opportunity to discuss many issues with their child without glossing over or cutting out important facts.  Some of the other curriculum programs we researched seemed to focus on a religious-based approach to the subject of science at the exclusion of all else.  We believe that God created the world, but we don't know exactly how He chose to do it, and the scientific principles that we see are all a part of God's creation.  Our son wants to be a scientist, and we want him to understand all of the different views that people have, and we want him to learn to think for himself.  We felt confident that this curriculum would not hold him back in that area. 

  Calvert is used by many homeschooling families, and they provide all of the textbooks, daily lesson plans, additional books, math manipulatives and science lab kits.  They have an "Advisory Teaching Service" that allows tests to be graded by a teacher so that the child receives extensive feedback about each subject.  In addition, Calvert has excellent online services that include many reference materials, the Discovery Channel's online subscription service, daily online checkpoints to make sure the student has mastered each lesson for the day, and online versions of most of the books and manuals with links to supplemental lessons and videos.  The general format is that you complete 10 lessons, one each day, followed by a review lesson.  After 10 more lessons you complete a test that is submitted to the grading service. 

  We considered purchasing a Calvert curriculum several years prior, but were hesitant to take the plunge.  When we found out they were partnering with school districts in different states to provide Virtual Academies, it eased some of our concerns about being entirely responsible for our kids' education. 

  With the Virtual Academy program, in addition to the services provided by Calvert, we have a principal and teachers who work directly with our kids.  They provide a calendar and "pacing guide" through the school district to match the Calvert lessons to the traditional school year.  Each week, there are videoconference classes in the various subjects so that the kids have interaction with both their teacher and the other kids in the class.  Texarkana ISD provides an additional "online classroom" website where the teachers communicate daily with the students.  Each week they let us know what lessons we should have completed, and there are assignments of daily work to be turned in for a grade.  The teachers are available by phone, e-mail or messaging through the website.  If a student needs additional help in a lesson he can request additional time to videoconference. 

  Through Texarkana ISD, we also have field trips around the state throughout the year.  We submit a PE log each week to keep track of physical activity.  The students still take the STAAR test and get a report card at the end of the year.  The nice thing about still being in public school is that it makes it much easier to transfer back into a different public school without having to take any tests or fighting to have your credits be recognized. 

  While we receive a pacing guide about what lessons to complete each week, we have enormous flexibility about how we choose to complete the work.  It's really great to be able to customize based on how your child learns - if you want to focus on a particular subject for a day and work through several lessons, you have the freedom to do so.  If your child responds better to working on practicing each subject each day, you can arrange it accordingly.  If you know you have a day or week that will be busy with other activities, you can work ahead in advance so as not to miss anything.  Being able to set your own pace gives you far more flexibility in other activities.  As long as you have the lessons completed by the time assigned on the calendar, you are good to go.  

  Knowing that we have flexibility of schedule was a major factor in deciding to put both of the kids in Virtual Academy this year so that we could learn through travel.  We've started a little early on our lessons so that we're ahead in case there are days where we are busy.  We have the online versions of most of the books and lesson manuals (but we are taking most of our books on the trip for the times when we are away from the computer.)  We'll make sure to schedule our time to be somewhere with internet when the kids have a videoconference class. 

  The number of books and resources was a little overwhelming when we first got started, but the program is actually pretty simple once you get the hang of it.  I like that I am a facilitator, but not the primary teacher.  I'm also really impressed with the way the kids are learning how to use technology as part of their schooling.  If there is any downside, it is that we have to have some discipline to stay on task with the work and not fall behind.  It's a tough curriculum, and it would be hard to catch up if you missed very many lessons. 

  I know that it isn't for everyone, but it has been a great fit for our family.  I really believe that as more people realize that different options exist to provide a more customized education for their kids, programs like virtual school will only increase in popularity.