Georgia Connections Academy (Virtual)

My son was separated, bullied beyond belief and teated cruelly at his local "school". Georgia is #48 or 49 each year for good reason. We pulled out in second grade after receiving NO SERVICES for ADHD/LD/severe anxiety. We then home schooled and paid for all of our own services through grade 6.
Enter grade 7 and pre-algebra. I was having trouble scheduling courses through our local coops and decided we needed school all in one place while using the coop just for enrichment. I liked the fact that GACA would keep all the records too.
I'll start with the CONS: I've had two kids go through public school already so I can honestly say that this is WAY more work than they ever did in grade 7….period. However, it is not busy work. GACA is very project based and as hands on as a virtual school could be. The technology can be glitchy at times….but not to a ridiculous extent. The curriculum and answer keys have a few more errors than I am used to seeing. It's still homeschool even though you are supposedly in public school, so be ready to put in some elbow grease and hard work with your student.
Now for the PROS! The teachers are great but stop thinking of them as teachers who are at your beck and call…..think of them as your help desk and you will change your attitude quickly. They are great and the live lessons are good. My son thinks they are fun:) My ADHD son is able to get his lessons done during daylight hours….this is HUGE for us!!!! No fighting at 10PM like I've seen in other families in my neighborhood. I won't lie….our first three weeks were a nightmare and we still have bad days here or there, but for the most part, It's great for myself and my son to SUCCEED in school once again. He is an A/B student so far and is very proud of himself. I feel great that I prepared him well in our homeschool. There are many in person events and field trips…..more than he'd have in public school. We still have time for our homeschool coop although we've pulled back on it a bit. The negative socialization he was experiencing in school is gone and because he finishes his work during the day, he has more time for extracurriculars at night…..rock climbing and swimming are his favorites. The teachers respond to both emails and phone calls QUICKLY despite their own heavy caseloads.
All in all, we like GACA. You get out of it what you put in.

Georgia Connections Academy (GACA) is an AMAZING virtual charter school for our family! The teachers are caring and responsive. The curriculum is robust and frankly extraordinarily better than the private school our child attended attended previously. Before she entered GACA, our child struggled in reading, but her teacher Ms. Gilbert provided us with rich reading resources. At the beginning of the school year, our child read below grade level, but by the end of the school year she was above grade level! Our child is engaged in her education, and actually asks to stay up passed bedtime to continue her studies.

Before Connections, I was against public or charter schools. I believed that they were all inferior to a private education. GACA is the exception! The teachers are wonderful communicators, and books and materials are excellent. (The school provides art, math and science supplies for free, in addition to all of their books. All you really need is a laptop or desktop computer to get started.) They also offer countless extracurricular clubs, field trips, and social activities.

I have never experienced a school with so many multi-modal resources to personalize the learning approach for our child. The teachers seem to stop at nothing to provide more resources and tools to help the child be a success at their own pace (while meeting the requirements of a planned curriculum). Although we maintain a daily routine, our student loves the ability to have a flexible schedule. So, if our student wants to spend more time on a topic or work through a holiday or a snowstorm, she can. Then, she can go to the museum or sleep in late during the time she has available. We also like to travel, so we can take a day trip without losing any time away from school, as long as we have internet or Wi-Fi services and her tablet computer.

GACA is an example of how all educational institutions should be led. I have been 99.9% satisfied with the 2013-2014 school year! If you have the flexibility to be your child's virtual learning coach (or you have a trusted relative or friend to be one), I would STRONGLY encourage you to look into Connections. Virtual schooling is not for everyone, but it is indeed the best solution for our family.