Considering K12 (Georgia)

[jlpumkin]

Wanna help me think my way through this?

Pros:
*cost (I'm not trying to scrimp on my dd ed but can't beat free)
*teacher contact (dd thrives with this) & outside assessment isn't all bad
*solid curriculum
*can work at a diff level for each subject
*testing (I'm a weird hser that enjoys having the testing results to show our progress in certain academics)
*Love the technology mode of delivery
*Public school - bc we take this yr by yr if next yr is the yr she goes back I feel more solid about her being on grade level.

Cons:
*Biggest one is the emphasis on teaching to a test which I don't care for at all!
*switching math - MUS really works for us and I don't really want to leave it.
*Not religious (I get they have character building but we prefer to have a strong Catholic influence in our studies)
*Follow school calendar (which I thought would be a huge problem for me but I'm feeling better about it these days)
*Oversight - I don't really like having someone telling me they know better how to provide for my child so I'm hesitant that if I got an abrasive teacher assignment it wouldn't go well.

just to add - we have decided to go boxed for next year for various reasons. So we are deciding between Seton & K12. Do you see any Pros or Cons that are not accurate - any rose colored glasses? Maybe little tweaks one way or another that would help make one or the other curricula work better for us?

[kittie313]

Well, I just finished up this school year today, we use k12 through the Ohio school (OHVA). I really enjoyed it and the kids learned a lot. Honestly, for me personally the oversight was a HUGE bonus because having that teacher calling every month to touch base with us and see how things are going really helped me stay motivated. Following the school calendar really isn't much of an issue either, the online school is available even on non school days (weekends and holidays). We did just math and phonics from Thanksgiving to Christmas because that's the worst time of year for us, and through Christmas break I picked up extra history and science so we stayed kinda on track. I did K and 1st grade this year with my two, and didn't feel ANY teaching to the test. It was all about getting them reading and writing, and doing math.

We were going to leave the k12 school after this year, but we changed our minds last week and are going another year because we like the curriculum and need the structure and support it offers us. I don't know how 2nd grade will go since dd1 is doing phonics 1 (we start it next week, she spent all of last school year doing phonics K and dd2 only did half of phonics K so they both are doing phonics through the summer)

[Satori]

There's several huge K12 threads if you do a search to get a feel for what its like to use K12. You can still use MUS if you want, just don't tell K12 and mark off the lessons as done in that subject daily. Just make sure you do the 1 page thing from K12 materials you need to turn in at the quarterly meeting. It really doesn't matter what you use to teach the materials as long as your teaching to the objective. We've been using K12 for 2 years and usually end up looking at the objective and finding other resources to teach it. Its been more of a guide then something we actually use. As a result were not going to stay with it next year, we hardly did actual school work this year and dd still passed her end of the year stuff and showed a years progress so I'm not to worried.

[elizawill]

i'd join a k12 GA yahoo loop. they'll be able to give you state specific answers & all the support you need... not to mention they'll tell you about local area classes, activities, field trips, etc. my sister's best friend (in alpharetta) is enrolled in k12 and loves it. hth.

[jlpumkin]

Good thought elizawill - thanks!