Online schooling is a great way to bridge the gap between traditional school and homeschool. There is a great support network for you as the parent and your child. Someone else for your child to be accountable to and to teach the lessons. It can really lighten the load for parents, especially parents of multiple children or lots of high school aged children.
Online school is quite often thought of as something for the high school years but many online schools actually cater to all ages! It is truely a wonderful thing.
How Much Does it Cost to Homeschool Online
Online homeschooling can be free if it is funded by the state government. There are many online public schools that you can work through. Your state education department will have theses listed on their websites.
Many charter schools also offer online delivery as a part of their curriculum
Once you move past the free online schools you can expect to start paying from $1000 upwards in the private sector for an online school. From my research the average seems to be around $1400 a semester per student for a full curriculum.
The elementary years are often offered at a lower price point than high school level classes.
Online schools can also offer selected classes only. For example you may wish your child to do history and science online while you tend to the remaining subjects.
How Do I Start Homeschooling Online
The best way to start homeschooling online is to first write down all the parts of an online program that are important to you. Do you want an accredited program? How much input do you want from teachers and the school? Are there other benefits come with being enrolled with that school? What kind of flexibility do they have.
Once you have nailed down the important aspects head an online homeschooling support group. This is where you are going to get unfiltered and honest advice and opinions from people who are actually using the curriculums. Facebook is your best place to find these groups. Enter “your state/religion/area/lifestyle” + homeschooling and you will be presented by countless groups to join.
In these groups you can lay out what you want in an online school and if they have any recommendations, or schools to steer clear of. They will help you to write a shorter list of schools to further investigate. If you start with looking at every school without asking for input you are going to have a very very long list and potentially waste a lot of time if 3/4 of the list isn’t what you are looking for.
Go now and research the schools that stood out to you the most. A lot of these schools have physical campuses as well so you could perhaps go and look around and get a feel for the type of school it is. If you have any queries don’t hesitate to send an email or ring the administration team for information and advice.
When you have finally picked a school you simply need to enrol your child. A guidance counsellor will often give you a call so that you can go over what you want in terms of classes and scheduling and to start to build a relationship with you .
What is the Best Online Homeschool Program
When people are first thinking of homeschooling a lot of parents jump at the chance to do online school. The most popular and usually the first choice in online school is K12. K12 is in essence public school at home. It is easy to sign up to, and it is also free. There is a lot of support but many parents also remark on its high work load.
Moving on from K12 there are so many other online schools. They will just take a bit of research into finding the one that works best for your family. What works for your friend down the road may be a complete disaster for you! If your child is already enrolled in a good school you may want to see first if they offer an online option. More and more schools are heading in this directions. This option gives you child the chance to have the best of both worlds so to speak. They can undertake homeschooling and all its benefits but still have access to sports programs, social events and elective classes at the school. I know a family who are road school and traveling the country with their children and doing online school. Their oldest child was able to complete her final year before heading off to college at the same school she attended at home. She even attended prom, homecoming and graduation with her peers.
If your child’s current school doesn’t offer this then you can pick a school that best suits your needs. If your faith is a huge part of your life search for a Catholic, Christian, Latter Day Saint, Jewish online school. Or if there is an industry that you are particularly interested in look for schools that have a heavy lean towards that area. Those are what are going to make an online school the best school for you.
Are Online High School Diplomas Legitimate?
Yes they are, but only if they come from an actual online school. Be aware of scams that will simply compile a transcript and diploma for a bit of cash and very little work.
What you will want to do to ensure that you are getting an education from a legitimate school is ring them and ask about the accreditation. An accredited school will quickly and easily be able to provide you with all the information you need. A questionable school with avoid the question, be slow to respond and generally suspect.
You may also like to go down the road of asking the college that you are intending to apply to if they accept diplomas from the said school. The state attorneys office will also be able to give you a yes or no answer as to whether the school is accredited or not.
At fully accredited school will require a good amount of work from your child, they will be closely monitored and you will receive plenty of correspondence from the school to track their progress.
If a school is an accredited school then the diploma they issue will be legitimate and be able to be used just like a traditionally received diploma.
Do Colleges Accept Online High School Diplomas?
Yes colleges readily accept diplomas from online homeschools. They have done this for many, many years now and you will not be looked at strangely by submitting one.
The only way they will not accept your diploma is if it does not come from and accredited school. If you are in doubt, be sure to use the steps mentions in the previous section to ensure that your online school is trustworthy and accredited.
Can You Transfer to an Online School Mid Year?
In many cases yes you can. It also depends on the school. A lot of online schools are work at your own pace type education plans. This means you can go as fast or as slowly as needed through the work so long as it is completed by the end of the year or semester.
Online schools are often quite individual focused so you will find it much easier to find an online school that will be able to start when you are ready.
It would be ideal to start at the school at the start of a semester but it does not matter which semester you start at.
If you can no not start at the start of the school year or start of the semester or the school that you want to start at does no accept mid year enrolments you could consider more traditional homeschooling for the period in between. Or even a bit of deschooling. If you haven’t heard of deschooling, it plays a very important part in the transition from public/private school into homeschooling. You can have a read about it here.
