Does anyone use k12.com?

Question

If so, then what do you like about it, and what do you not? My son really wants to be homeschooled but I don't have enough information about it. His friend does k12 and likes it a lot but she won't give him enough information about it. Also, is there any other online programs that you would recommend in California?

Thank you.

Answer 1

I am still in K12 and I HATE IT. The teachers are so rude ! I think its mainly because you never get to see then only talk on the phone.

Answer 2

I did K12 and it was OK. I havent done any others. But this school is more for K to 2nd  gaders because of how much the parent is supposed to be involved. If you do not work and want to have to do all your sons studys with him then go for it.

Answer 3

i took k12 for about 1 and a a hafe years, i would highly recomend homschooling. i wasnt crazy about the math( thats why i droped out) but if you want a Structured programe than its prob. good for you

Answer 4

k12 is awesome the best program and teachers just like being at school with pers nice my son is 14 he loves it there are clubs outtings on line elluminate sessions its great try it your son will love it

Answer 5

I would recommend connectionsacademy.com if you want to go the online route for homeschooling in CA. It has a lot more flexibility and is a lot more fun than K12. K12 requires that parents follow very rigid lesson plan schedule which takes a lot of time, much more than Connections Academy does. Very few parents finish all of the curriculum they give you for the year and many describe it as a "treadmill" with endless worksheets and busywork. Some students and parents do really like it because they feel that it is thorough and they like having everything laid out for them.

Personally, we are going to go through CHEP, which is offered for Orange and neighboring counties and gives us pretty much total freedom so long as we meet state standards and check in with our master teacher at least once a month. I have a Master's in Education so I feel comfortable designing my own curriculum, but if I didn't have a background in education I'd definitely go through Connections. They're friendly people and the kids in their program always seem to be very well educated and to be having a great time.

Answer 6

We've used K12 for five years, but as independent HS'ers, not through a virtual school/academy (like CAVA).

I love the depth and breadth of the courses, especially in history and art!  My son loves them, too!  The entire scope and sequence of K12 is amazing!!!

The online planning and progress tools are *so* beneficial!!  I also like the online activities that balance out the text/book work.  Unlike what someone said, it's not lots and lots of worksheets.  You do not have to make your student go through every part of every lesson.  It's like a buffet -  you take what you need/want (to master the lesson & unit objectives) and you leave the rest.  It's a mastery-based curriculum, so they test mastery - usually every lesson, or at least every unit.

I don't know what grades you're looking at, but we've done most courses from Kdg to 8th grade (currently Advanced Physical Science).  I can answer any questions you may  have.

Also, not to be technically correct (like my engineer husband!) but using an online "program" (I think you mean CAVA) is *not* homeschooling.  It's using a virtual *public school*.  Parents who use K12 via a virtual school have to know they won't have the freedom that independent HS'ing does (like me).  You do have to conform to the school's progression rate, schedule, and testing requirements.  I know many people who use K12 virtual schools and love them.  Others don't want to be restricted.  That's where we're at - my son can't be restricted to only advancing two grades, which is the limit of some virtual schools.  So we purchase K12 on our own just like buying any other curriculum:  Abeka, Sonlight, BJU, etc.

Let me know if you have other questions or need input.

Answer 7

We use it, but are switching at the end of the year.  The curriculum is very comprehensive, but I use it more for the scope and sequence and teach to the objectives.  Our contact teacher is a huge fan of k12 and we don't agree on the methods of teachign to the objectives.  I like the comment that it is like a treadmill of workseets (my daughter has unspecified motor delays and just can't do this).

I heave never liked the Language Arts with k12 though.

Answer 8

We have been using the program here in Texas thru the TXVA a free virtual public school. I like the program. Its structured and helps keep us on track.

Answer 9

I had one of my four children enrolled in Arkansas' virtual from 4th to 7th grade. He adores anything related to computers, so it was a perfect fit. The rest of the kids were homeschooled traditionally and this is our 15th year homeschooling - with one now graduated to college. I found ARVS (now ARVA) to be very easy to work with. I imagine CAVA will be similar. The K12 curriculum is very good overall. My son that was in ARVS is now schooling online via Virtual Homeschool Group because ARVS doesn't go beyond 8th grade here and he was already topping out on the pre-high school level class options.

Experience - K12 curriculum: excellent language arts, science, and history! My son loved it and he scored out the roof. All three of these were very interesting, varied in activities to reinforce learning, and had fantastic content.

I wasn't as impressed with the math (they use another publisher's currciulum), but my son still scored fine. The music wasn't a big hit here. We were saddled with levels that seemed too babyish for my son's age. In 4th grade the assignments had him doing little dancish body motions to the songs. Perfect for kindergarteners who love to wiggle, but very embarrassing to a 4th grade boy. We dropped those. It had excellent voice training though. Attempts at an instrument were a waste two years ago. I was so excited when they sent a recorder thinking that my son would learn the instrument by the end of the year. All that was done was one unit and about 4 notes with it. sigh. Last year's music was a big hit though. It came with Music Ace and some very enjoyable CDS to learn the life stories and music of famous composers.

Working with the state ARVS - I had very good experiences working with ARVS staff. Staff teachers do not directly teach. They support the teaching parent. We had a different support teacher each of the four years. Some support teachers became good friends, some were excellent at finding great resources, some made me feel like the best mom in the state (LOL). Many of the support teachers were homeschoolers themselves. None made me feel uncomfortable.

I did not like the state testing we had to do. As homeschoolers we would only have had to take the IOWA test. As a virtual student, by state law, my son had to take the Benchmark in addition to the IOWA just like any public school student since that is his classification with this program. Last year, 7th grade, it was a total of 8 days of testing counting both tests. That is just too much in my opinion. The Benchmark only gave scores in four categories (below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced). There were no details so that I could use the tests presecriptively, unlike the IOWA. It felt like a big waste of our time. Only just this week did I get his scores from last March's Benchmark (we got the IOWA scores within a month or two of the test). Too long taking the test, too long getting the results, and results that tell you so little you cannot work prescriptively with them. But, it is Arkansas state law if your child is classified as public. I don't know how Washington does their state level testing.

So, in summary, We had an overall positive experience those four years. I would recommend giving it a try for a year to see if you enjoy it. If you find that you love the curriculum, but hate working with CAVA, use the time to save up to buy it as an independent homeschooler. If you decide to skip both, stop on in to the Virtual Homeschool Group and take a look around. VHSG is at http://www.virtualhomeschoolgroup.com/. We are homeschooling moms getting together to offer free online classes for each other's families - an online course co-op.

Answer 10

Well my brother is in k12 and we also live in california, he loves it im in the highschool program which is great my grades have been really good and this school is going really well for me and him. search the site caliva.org not any good programs like thing one so far that i have seen in cali have been as good, email me if you want to know more, [e-mail].