At the park on a school day
Author's note: If you are a parent who has concerns about your child's safety in face-to-face public school, then I encourage you to read this article about an alternative which may help ease fears of both you and your child.
On a Friday morning at the start of the school year, my 14-year-old was swinging at the park rather than discussing the associative property of multiplication in his algebra class. I made no comment to him about his absence from class, in fact, I drove him to the park myself.
For this year and maybe for the entire four of his high school career, my son may spend a lot of days outside rather than cooped up in an overcrowded classroom in an institutionalized setting.
We aren't homeschooling. But he is attending public high school through business innovation which has figured out that some families want other options to deliver education to their kids.
Across the country, hybrid and online models are on the rise both in public school districts and colleges and universities. The most recent stats indicate about 700,000 students made use of online public school education. Common themes among families for choosing online education include some students need more individual attention and fewer distractions to learn effectively and many parents want to feel secure about their children's learning environment. Baltimore, Md.-based Connection's Academy is one company which has expanded its model into New Mexico and is the group we selected for our son.
As a public charter school, Connections receives state funding. These funds are then spent in providing free (returnable) computers, textbooks, and teachers who meet all Department of Education standards. Students follow the same curriculum that face-to-face students study with, perhaps, more choice for electives. My son is taking Chinese--something not offered in our rural district--and entrepreneurship as electives. He is required to be clocked in for a minimum of five hours a day but can select any five hours he wants. His learning coach (me) records his attendance and confirms he's completed all of his work--a task which is easier to do through this venue than it was when I had to rely on my son to bring home all of his paperwork from his school a block a way.
Teachers and students communicate via e-mail, telephone, and live video sessions. Daily lessons with an explicit progression through subject matter are completed on-line. As the school year ramps up, group projects with other students are required and face-to-face interactions are organized throughout the year to encourage camaraderie among students and teachers.
Is this model for everyone? Absolutely not. Some children come from families where the highpoint of the day is to leave the house and go to public school where it's safer than their own families. But for other kinds of families that have the willingness, ability and structure to monitor their child's education then this is a situation which offers an alternative that public schools have lost the capacity to fill.
Connections Academy
Gun violence in schools
On a Friday morning at the start of the school year, my 14-year-old was swinging at the park rather than discussing the associative property of multiplication in his algebra class. I made no comment to him about his absence from class, in fact, I drove him to the park myself.
For this year and maybe for the entire four of his high school career, my son may spend a lot of days outside rather than cooped up in an overcrowded classroom in an institutionalized setting.
Across the country, hybrid and online models are on the rise both in public school districts and colleges and universities. The most recent stats indicate about 700,000 students made use of online public school education. Common themes among families for choosing online education include some students need more individual attention and fewer distractions to learn effectively and many parents want to feel secure about their children's learning environment. Baltimore, Md.-based Connection's Academy is one company which has expanded its model into New Mexico and is the group we selected for our son.
As a public charter school, Connections receives state funding. These funds are then spent in providing free (returnable) computers, textbooks, and teachers who meet all Department of Education standards. Students follow the same curriculum that face-to-face students study with, perhaps, more choice for electives. My son is taking Chinese--something not offered in our rural district--and entrepreneurship as electives. He is required to be clocked in for a minimum of five hours a day but can select any five hours he wants. His learning coach (me) records his attendance and confirms he's completed all of his work--a task which is easier to do through this venue than it was when I had to rely on my son to bring home all of his paperwork from his school a block a way.
Teachers and students communicate via e-mail, telephone, and live video sessions. Daily lessons with an explicit progression through subject matter are completed on-line. As the school year ramps up, group projects with other students are required and face-to-face interactions are organized throughout the year to encourage camaraderie among students and teachers.
Is this model for everyone? Absolutely not. Some children come from families where the highpoint of the day is to leave the house and go to public school where it's safer than their own families. But for other kinds of families that have the willingness, ability and structure to monitor their child's education then this is a situation which offers an alternative that public schools have lost the capacity to fill.
Connections Academy
Gun violence in schools
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