S C.

I have a 7th grader on an IEP for all subjects (averaging about 1-2 years behind). We started Oregon Connections Academy this year because he continued to get further behind in his Brick and Mortar school. With his ADHD, it was difficult for him to pay attention. This is not Home Schooling except in the literal sense, he is going to school at home but it's an accredited public school. The curriculum is challenging and fast paced but I was able to take 2 years off to be his personal 1:1 staff assistant. If you have (or are) a motivated middle-high schooler with no support during the day, this program could work. Otherwise, without a personal assistant, my son would never be able to keep up or even be motivated to want to. I wish there were more days off, as we do need a few hours in the weekends to catch up but Oregon connections academy teachers have been very attentive and helpful. It takes a while to adjust to the program, and it can be confusing at times if you're not organized (I am not organized). It's almost all online. We haven't had any issues with technology, nor any grading issues. They do send text books, but we still need the computer for most assignments. We have a little flexibility, but not much. If you're looking into Connections Academy keep into perspective that every kiddo is different. I see a lot of negative reviews about teachers (there are poor teachers everywhere), difficult curriculum (It does seem advanced in some ways than the schools I've taught, but my kiddo has me to help him. This would not be the right school if he didn't have me), Lots of hours spent on the curriculum each day (You can modify, it's an online school and only portfolios and quizzes are recorded, see below), No social life (It's the one bummer about online programs but we knew that going in. My son isn't into the field trips and "chatting" at the beginning of live lessons isn't "connection". He does after school programs through the rec center 3x a week for the social). All schools have pro's and con's.

Here's our experience of tips: We only do about 5-6 hours a day of work and take a lot of short breaks. I will have him skip some parts of lessons that I don't find relevant to the main concepts of that particular lesson. Just like in a brick and mortar school, he wouldn't be doing 100% of the lesson (because he's lazy and off task), but if he's reaching 70-75% capacity it's a win win. Understanding the main concept is the key and I draw lots of pictures. All his notes are written on the chromebook with voice to text. Nothing is hand written for the sake of time and some teachers are allowing him use of notes on tests, which he's finding he doesn't usually need. I sometimes make him do all the math problems if he's struggling, but most of the time just enough to really understand. His worst subject has always been math (HATED IT) He's now averaging 94% and actually told someone the other day he's good at math (that was an amazing moment). He listens to audio for his books in Language Arts and otherwise I read almost everything, including the quizzes and tests. After every lesson is a quick check quiz that is 3-4 questions, to check comprehension. Quizzes are 10 points and generally every 2 weeks and there's a test at the end of the unit. In some classes he can correct tests and quizzes for full points. He finds (and I at times reading them) the Social Studies tests tricky but the other courses are pretty self explanatory if you've studied and can narrow down. He is required to watch a live lesson, call a teacher or email a teacher twice a week. He doesn't get a lot out of watching Live Lessons, he tends to turn his brain off, so I often have him call or email. Language arts is always a 2 day lesson, Science is most of the time and Social Studies and Art sometimes, that averages out to 3 1/2 classes a day. We average getting through about 3 a day. On two day lessons we'll do 3-4 pages of the class on the 1st day then finish it up the next day. If we're going to get behind (this curriculum would be impossible for our family to do on vacation) I focus on keeping him up in Math and Science. P. E., Technology and Art he does without my help (currently getting a D in Tech because he doesn't try but I want him to have classes I don't micromanage). Also, a lot of our portfolios are dropped. I'm not sure if that's an Oregon thing or if it's because he's on an IEP... but we would be swamped if he had to do all of them.

I would love for my son to be magically attentive and take charge of his education, but we have a lot of bad habits to chip through first and even then he may never be fully motivated. He still doesn't like school, it's still hard, he still fails tests, he still complains, but my kiddo used to hide in the back of the class and not participate during lessons. He's currently getting the best education of his life. It works for us.