Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storyThe
Connections Academy is a fully accredited public charter school. It has all of the regular curriculum, like Math, Science, English, and even P.E.
So what's the difference? The students learn from home -- and it's all free.
Connections is what is known as a Virtual Academy.
“I turn on my computer in the morning and we know what we have to do for the day, all of the lesson plans are right there," said Sandra Patton, a Valley mother with two kids enrolled at Connections.
What separates Connections from traditional home schooling is that students have actual teachers.
“The teachers have live lessons, which are online lessons,” said Rebekah Patton, a 6
th grade student. “There’s a chat pod, everyone has a microphone, so if you have a question, you can type it in, or you can say it in the microphone.”
The teachers are also available via telephone and web mail to offer any help that is needed.
“All of the papers get e-mailed into teachers and they do all that kind of grading,” added Sandra Patton.
Rebekah likes the fact that she can do school in her pajamas if she doesn’t wake up early enough.
Her sister Bethany, who is in 7
th grade, likes that she can work at her own pace.
“Before I wasn’t being challenged enough,” said Bethany. “I’d finish in 10 minutes and have to wait another 20 minutes for the rest of the class to finish.”
Because it is a public school, it is all free. All of the books and supplies are sent to the student by UPS.
The Connections Academy will even loan the student a computer if needed.
The school takes all of the holidays and vacations that regular school takes.
There are also monthly field trips that the school puts on for the students to meet their teachers and each other.
The Connections Academy offers information sessions for anyone interested in learning more about the program.
You can visit the
Connections’ website for a video demonstration, or find out about live sessions that you can attend.
