Sent in by S. Stoudt
This may be a question biased toward the Pennsylvania residents on our list... I'm thinking about doing PA cyberschooling for homeschool, perhaps even as early as January. I know there are many options under that umbrella -- what ones have you all tried? What have you found to be the strengths/weaknesses of the program you've used? What have been the overall pros/cons of doing cyberschool as opposed to doing your own thing?
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Hi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteI used PAVCS (pennsylvania virtual charter school) for Will, K thru 3rd grade. They use the K12 curriculum. Luke is presently enrolled in the K4 program through PACyber (pennsylvania cyber charter school) In general, what I like is not having to keep a portfolio or keeping records of what we do for the local school district. You do have to login everyday, and send specific work samples on a regular basis- determined by the charter school. I really liked some of the online classes Will took, a writing class, novel discussions, and a how to use Power Point class. I liked having a built in structure to follow, even though I sometimes treated the program as an outline and did our own thing. I also liked having Will take the PSSA exams which as a "public school" is required. This gave me confidence to see how he performed relative to other schools in the state. Since we have only started using PACyber and for their preschool program at that, it is hard for me to compare the 2 schools, apples to apples. We chose PACyber for Luke primarily because PAVCS doesn't have a preschool level. In general, I get the sense that PACyber is a little more relaxed. You have a couple of choices of curriculums to choose from, Calvert is one of them. They also have some additional flexibility for art, music, and PE. They offer online instruction, classes at their regional center, and also will reimburse you up to a certain amount for approved programs.
I didn't mean to post my comments annonymously, but didn't know what the other profile options were.
ReplyDeleteKami O.
S~
ReplyDeleteHave you seen this chart from CHAP?
http://www.chaponline.com/start/educational_options.html
Just thought I would pass it along.
KAM :)
Posting from Gwen Plut:
ReplyDeleteMy 16-yr-old niece has been with PVCS since Sept. 2008, and she loves it. Her 8-yr-old sister (Olivia) was just pulled from school and since this past Sept. has also been enrolled in PVCS. Olivia apparently wasn't moving at the pace of the rest of her class, and was being considered as "below grade" for math, however, when she took the PVCS qualifying test, she placed two grades above her grade level! PVCS is more intensive for the younger grades, but Rebecca (the 16 yr old) is mostly on her own; doesn't need Mom to be with her for her to get her work done. Here's what Rebecca has to say in her own words:
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Re: pa cyberschool opinions
I've found that cyberschooling is more relaxing; I learn at my own pace. My grades have been better than they ever have at public schools. (yay!). My school is PAVCS- Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School. The teachers are very helpful, guiding and working with each individual student instead of demanding that things be done only one way (usually the way you don't understand at all!)
Aunt Gwen, if you'd like another opinion, you can ask Olivia. She went from having to be pulled back a year for reading (in public school) to going almost two years ahead! Mom finds that teaching her third grader, again the relaxed environment- the cirriculum is set up for you to follow easily; they send you everything that you could possibly need (all the books, computers, printer, ink, etc.) and they pay you a small sum towards your internet bill. They have a lot of social outings that are geared towards learningas well as social.
I think, maybe, the only downfall (con) of homeschooling is not being able to communicate with your teacher face to face (unless you meet them at an outing). However, the teacher is always just a phonecall away- classes are live through the internet.
If you need to anything else, or just more details, let me know!
Love in Christ and good luck to the homeschooling momma!,
Rebecca
Our family has done public school, homeschooling, and this fall changed to PAVCS. We are having a banner year so far. We LOVE it! I have enjoyed the many benefits of homeschooling these last nine years, and I find that most of those benefits remain using the cyber charter. Our kids can move along at their own pace, I am still heavily involved in their learning, and we still have some flexibility of schedule. The added benefit that I'm enjoying is that I have to do no preparation. I miss choosing our own curriculum, but their curriculum (K12) is excellent, and I really like it, even though it lacks a Christian worldview. I'm finding wonderful opportunities for conversation with the kids on those few occasions when we encounter material that is contrary to our beliefs. Another benefit is that it is absolutely free, computer, materials, and all! We have found the staff and teachers to be very helpful, but not invasive. I am glad we made this switch. There is some public schoolish things to put up with. You have to follow their school calendar (although there is no minimum requirement for a given school day). The kids have to take PSSAs every year and the school, like all schools, are worried about preparing the kids for that. There are lots of announcements and administrative posts to sift through on any given day, most of which can be ignored. But, if you can put up with that, PAVCS is a great option to consider. As I said earlier, we love it.
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