Virtual Academy Frustration-Please help!

[enjoythesilence]

To start this off, I will say that I am really an unschooling mom at heart, but due to circumstances, I have the need to keep my kiddos in some kind of 'structured' setup for the rest of the school year.

  We have been using K12 virtual academy, and I am less than pleased. We are having issues getting DD1 any special ed testing. which I feel she desperately needs, and for the last couple months, have been having tech issues where some of our attendance is not getting logged. I spoke with tech support, but the problem persists, and the administration is threatening to 'take action' against me.

  If it were up to me, I would just pull the kids out and do it on my own, but I am concerned about being scrutinized more if I do. From what they told me, the school can call CPS on me for truancy, and in my present circumstance, this is the last thing I need.

  We have been working hard to keep our progress up, but there are big discrepancies between what we are accomplishing, and what the system is showing, and I am getting frantic.

  Should I find another online school for the remainder of the year, and then re-evaluate? Should I continue to stick it out with K12, and risk them 'taking action'? Has anyone had these problems, and just want to share? I'm not the only one having these problems, am I?

[ALittleBitCrunchy]

We used K12 last spring, just for one semester. I'm not sure if I'm reading your message right but it sounds like the transition might be new for you, too? In the beginning, I was incredibly overwhelmed and I felt like we were behind on everything. Once I talked to the teacher and she was able to help me get things sorted out and we had some work cleared out, it helped...but the biggest improvement came about a month in when I felt I finally had a schedule (a loose one, but still a schedule) worked out and had the system figured out. I finally felt like we were on track. In the end, we finished a month early and had to have more stuff sent to us. I thought K12 was difficult to deal with when it came to this - they seem to work on a 'this is the timeline for everyone so just follow the schedule and leave us alone' mentality. It eventually worked out.  I will also say that the teacher makes a huge difference - DD's K teacher was hard to work with but DS's 2nd grade teacher was fabulous. I didn't have any evaluations done so I have no advice. I wanted to reassure you that the 'keeping up' part can be overwhelming in the beginning.

This year, DD did public school for the 1st semester. It wasn't a good fit and she asked to homeschool. For various reasons, I decided to go with virtual school again but I switched to Connections Academy. Again, the transition was a little hard but it wasn't nearly as bad as last year! I do think CA pushes teacher involvement a lot more, which I'm not a fan of, but it's workable. There are other schools and it's worth a look around but just keep in mind that you would have to start over in each...and that can be stressful!

For the attendance logging, can you send an email to the teacher every day and document the work? They should be able to enter the hours for you and you can have the daily documentation in your emails. When we first started with CA, my attendance part wasn't working and I had the teacher enter the info for about 2 weeks. They eventually worked it out and I took the task back but it was an easy solution.

Good luck!

[enjoythesilence]

Thank you. We did have issues with the keeping up with all the busy work at first. Now I have learned how to streamline the process a bit more, and teach to the objectives, so we are not going over and over things.

  My biggest hurdles have been with the attendance feature not working properly, and despite my being proactive, and trouble shooting with the teacher and tech support, there is no solution so far, and we are getting 'in trouble' for it. Also, my older DD is having some learning difficulties, and I don't know what to do to help her.

[AAK]

Where are you located?  We are in WA and use CVA (columbia virtual academy).  I make my own timeline, my own goals, my own everything.  I do a monthy input that highlights things that we have done and connects them to our 'goals'.  We check in once/week with our "teacher" via email OR phone.  This contact is supposed to be with the teacher and the kids.  We don't have to sign in for attendance or anything like that.  Sometimes getting materials is a PITA because they aren't that organized, but really that is my only gripe.  

So, while I don't have advise about K12, you might check into other virtual programs since it doesn't seem to be working for you right now.  With CVA, I could unschool as long as I can put into words what the kids are doing/learning and how it connects to our "goals".  

Amy

[enjoythesilence]

Originally Posted by AAK 

Where are you located?  We are in WA and use CVA (columbia virtual academy).  I make my own timeline, my own goals, my own everything.  I do a monthy input that highlights things that we have done and connects them to our 'goals'.  We check in once/week with our "teacher" via email OR phone.  This contact is supposed to be with the teacher and the kids.  We don't have to sign in for attendance or anything like that.  Sometimes getting materials is a PITA because they aren't that organized, but really that is my only gripe.  

So, while I don't have advise about K12, you might check into other virtual programs since it doesn't seem to be working for you right now.  With CVA, I could unschool as long as I can put into words what the kids are doing/learning and how it connects to our "goals".  

Amy

 Thank you very much! I am looking into that program now. It looks like it may be a bit more 'parent friendly' than k12. Do you know how they handle children with special educational needs?  The website says it accepts students with IEPs, but we don't have one yet. I wonder if CVA would be helpful in us obtaining one?

[2lilsweetfoxes]

Originally Posted by enjoythesilence 

 Thank you very much! I am looking into that program now. It looks like it may be a bit more 'parent friendly' than k12. Do you know how they handle children with special educational needs?  The website says it accepts students with IEPs, but we don't have one yet. I wonder if CVA would be helpful in us obtaining one?

I tried to enroll my son, who has an IEP, but, since it was so extensive, CVA was unable to accomodate his needs, that we ended up leaving him in his public away-from-home school.  We wanted to get him out of his school (they put him in a life skills class instead of functional academics--and just renamed the class without a plan to give him the academic

s he needed) so he'd have more time for therapies.

[AAK]

Originally Posted by enjoythesilence 

 Thank you very much! I am looking into that program now. It looks like it may be a bit more 'parent friendly' than k12. Do you know how they handle children with special educational needs?  The website says it accepts students with IEPs, but we don't have one yet. I wonder if CVA would be helpful in us obtaining one?

I have a friend with a dd who just enrolled.  She has an IEP--I will see how that went for her.  As far as obtaining an IEP, call CVA and find out how that would work.  You don't have to be enrolled to ask questions.  

My question to you though (and I don't mean to discourage you) is:  will the IEP have much purpose since you are homeschooling?  I am sure it does for some students.  If my dd was still in our local public school, I would hope to have one by now.  But, since she is home, I have been able to accomodate her without the need for an IEP.  My dd's needs may not be as extensive though.  

Amy

[enjoythesilence]

I have found that in the k12 program, I can't always tweak things enough to accomodate my DDs needs. It might be different with other online schools. We have already moved her down one grade level in phonics and LA, which I think was warranted, as she is below grade level in reading. (Which is fine with me.)  The teacher suggested we move her down in math, but I don't think would be necessary. It's not that she cannot grasp the information, but that she struggles with memory and concentration. What makes me sad, is that before we started the online school, she loved math, and now she says she hates it.

  Her reading has greatly improved being in k12, which I'm grateful for, and I know she is excited to read things for me now. Thing is, I know how she learns things, and it is very much on her own time table. Always has been. In some things, she has been slower than 'average' though I do not believe this is related to intelligence, just her style. Once she gets something, it is usually in her own way, and her own time, and I have grown to accept, and even value this about her. The school, unfortunately, does not. They want her to parrot back information in a very rigid way, and this does not suit her, at all.

   If I had it to do all over again, I would find some basic phonics and math curriculum, and do it on my own. Now I am in fear that if I withdraw one or both kiddos now, the school will report me to CPS, and I will have a mess on my hands, and have to justify my educational choices to them. Is it better to just white-knuckle it through the rest of the school year, or take them out now, and deal with repercussions as they come?

[myjo]

Originally Posted by enjoythesilence 

I have found that in the k12 program, I can't always tweak things enough to accomodate my DDs needs. It might be different with other online schools. We have already moved her down one grade level in phonics and LA, which I think was warranted, as she is below grade level in reading. (Which is fine with me.)  The teacher suggested we move her down in math, but I don't think would be necessary. It's not that she cannot grasp the information, but that she struggles with memory and concentration. What makes me sad, is that before we started the online school, she loved math, and now she says she hates it.

  Her reading has greatly improved being in k12, which I'm grateful for, and I know she is excited to read things for me now. Thing is, I know how she learns things, and it is very much on her own time table. Always has been. In some things, she has been slower than 'average' though I do not believe this is related to intelligence, just her style. Once she gets something, it is usually in her own way, and her own time, and I have grown to accept, and even value this about her. The school, unfortunately, does not. They want her to parrot back information in a very rigid way, and this does not suit her, at all.

   If I had it to do all over again, I would find some basic phonics and math curriculum, and do it on my own. Now I am in fear that if I withdraw one or both kiddos now, the school will report me to CPS, and I will have a mess on my hands, and have to justify my educational choices to them. Is it better to just white-knuckle it through the rest of the school year, or take them out now, and deal with repercussions as they come?

I haven't been following this discussion until right now, so pardon me for jumping in.  But I just wanted to mention that you shouldn't have to fear anyone calling CPS on you as long as you have filed the proper paperwork with the local school district.  Homeschooling is perfectly legal, and CPS has no business messing with legally homeschooling families.  Earlier this year I removed my son from an online public school, and it was very quick and painless. I just filed the intent to homeschool form with my local school district right away, and that was that.  Is there some other issue that K12 has with your family besides school attendence?  If not, I wouldn't worry. 
 

[enjoythesilence]

I don't think there is anything else the school has against me. From our correspondence, our teacher should see that I am very concerned for my childrens learning needs. I do fear repercussions from her a bit, though, because I tried to go around her to get my DD services for her learning difficulties. I also fear repercussions from the childrens abusive sperm donor if he catches wind that the kids are no longer in a 'real school.'

[mattemma04]

Since online schools are public schools it should not be an issue with the father. I would tell the school(go up the chain) that unless the bugs of attendance are worked out you will need to remove your child from that school immediately.Truancy IS an issue even with online schools.Hou could get fined by the county.Although I have never heard of any online school reporting a family.Makes THEM look bad and they don't want to get shut down.

I don't even think you can get into a new charter at this time of year,but you could pull out and hs for the remainer of the year,and try a new online charter next year.I pulled over winter break and did iowa testing with my kids(at home) to fufill our hs requirements.Also if you do switch schools now many times the online charter will start you at the beginning of the years work(fall),so your kid will have a lot to work through.

Best wishes!

I would tweak and demand the attendance issue gets fixed.The whole reason I wanted to get my dh to agree to an online was so I would not have to worry about attendance issues,so your post was a suprise to me.

[Momma Aimee]

i have not read all the thread, but i did just want to pop in and say:

1.  are you keeping all the e-mail you send, and get from tech?  I'd print them in date order, and high light the dates and staple and keep

2.  are you keeping a log of all your phone calls to tech, date, time and person spoken to and generally what they told you? -- if necessay for legal reason you can request your own phone records to show calls made

3.  I assume you are keeping you own copy of 'attandance" in paper form and sample of work too -- if not start.

and also copies of all corrspondance re: DD's learning needs -- ??

all good CYA things just in case ...
 

Originally Posted by enjoythesilence 

To start this off, I will say that I am really an unschooling mom at heart, but due to circumstances, I have the need to keep my kiddos in some kind of 'structured' setup for the rest of the school year.

  We have been using K12 virtual academy, and I am less than pleased. We are having issues getting DD1 any special ed testing. which I feel she desperately needs, and for the last couple months, have been having tech issues where some of our attendance is not getting logged. I spoke with tech support, but the problem persists, and the administration is threatening to 'take action' against me.

  If it were up to me, I would just pull the kids out and do it on my own, but I am concerned about being scrutinized more if I do. From what they told me, the school can call CPS on me for truancy, and in my present circumstance, this is the last thing I need.

  We have been working hard to keep our progress up, but there are big discrepancies between what we are accomplishing, and what the system is showing, and I am getting frantic.

  Should I find another online school for the remainder of the year, and then re-evaluate? Should I continue to stick it out with K12, and risk them 'taking action'? Has anyone had these problems, and just want to share? I'm not the only one having these problems, am I?

[enjoythesilence]

Originally Posted by mattemma04 

Since online schools are public schools it should not be an issue with the father. I would tell the school(go up the chain) that unless the bugs of attendance are worked out you will need to remove your child from that school immediately.Truancy IS an issue even with online schools.Hou could get fined by the county.Although I have never heard of any online school reporting a family.Makes THEM look bad and they don't want to get shut down.

I don't even think you can get into a new charter at this time of year,but you could pull out and hs for the remainer of the year,and try a new online charter next year.I pulled over winter break and did iowa testing with my kids(at home) to fufill our hs requirements.Also if you do switch schools now many times the online charter will start you at the beginning of the years work(fall),so your kid will have a lot to work through.

Best wishes!

I would tweak and demand the attendance issue gets fixed.The whole reason I wanted to get my dh to agree to an online was so I would not have to worry about attendance issues,so your post was a suprise to me.

Oh, I think I wasn't too clear in my last post. I meant that if I pull the kids out, I would worry about repercussions from the kids father. As far as attendance issues go, I am now printing out the weekly plan, and checking off lessons as we complete them on paper, as well as on the attendance feature on the website.

  I think you are right, that starting a new school at this point in the year would be more hassle than it is worth. We will just stick it out the rest of the year, and decide from from there what is the best option.

[enjoythesilence]

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee 

i have not read all the thread, but i did just want to pop in and say:

1.  are you keeping all the e-mail you send, and get from tech?  I'd print them in date order, and high light the dates and staple and keep

2.  are you keeping a log of all your phone calls to tech, date, time and person spoken to and generally what they told you? -- if necessay for legal reason you can request your own phone records to show calls made

3.  I assume you are keeping you own copy of 'attandance" in paper form and sample of work too -- if not start.

and also copies of all corrspondance re: DD's learning needs -- ??

all good CYA things just in case ...
 

 

I have not printed the emails from tech support, but all emails within the school are archived, and not able to be deleted. I think you are right, that I should print them, anyway. I have also not been keeping a record of phone correspondence with tech or the teacher, but I will. I guess I didn't think it was necessary, and that things would be resolved, until recently.

  I had not wanted to print attendance logs due to the expense of ink and paper for each kid each day, but that is a good idea. From here on out I will document all school correspondence, and keep it in a folder for easy access.

  DD will be getting a referral for an evaluation for her attention difficulties soon, and luckily the person I have lined up to do the eval is NOT going to push pharmaceuticals as the only solution if it turns out DD is diagnosed with something. I have spoken to this person about DD, and I feel pretty good about them.

  Thanks everyone for the input. I will update and let you know what happens with the school.