Connections Academy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Connections Academy in the United States is a free public school that students attend from home. It combines aspects of homeschooling with those of traditional public education.
Connections Academy is a virtual educational program (also known as virtual school or cyber school) serving students in grades K-11, with Grade 12 being added in Fall 2008. Certified teachers work with students and a parent or other adult, referred to as a "Learning Coach," to deliver instruction. Learning is done both asynchronously and synchronously (i.e., independent work and real-time instruction online). The curriculum is a compilation of texts, materials and on-line resources drawn from a range of publishers and educational content providers, along with lesson plans and instruction developed by in-house curriculum specialists. The Connections Academy program is accredited by the Commission on International and Trans-regional Accreditation (CITA).
There are Connections Academy programs in fifteen states (as of April 2008): Arizona, California--Southern and Central, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Maryland (Baltimore County only) Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Each school's teachers and administrators work from centralized offices and communicate with students and parents via the Internet, telephone, and mail, and in person. Teachers and local community coordinators also conduct field trips and other in-person activities where students and families interact with one another and school staff. In most states the schools are charter schools overseen by independent boards of directors. In a couple states the schools are offered in partnership with a school district or state department of education.
[edit] Features
Special features include:
- Livelessons (tm), where the students interact live with other class member and the teachers.
- Special Resources, such as sending computers, books, etc.
- Gifted and Talented program.
- School Barometer, by the students, for the students.
- Electives, such as foreign languages (Spanish, French, etc.), Home Life skills, and Technology Literacy
