Hello, I am moving to Puerto Rico in June and I am looking for an Internet Home School curriculum. I have two children that will be completing 3rd & 6th grade in Florida this June. My job will have me traveling all over the island (GIS related work) and fortunately, my kids will be able to be with me all the time. Below is a list of things I am looking for in a Home School/Virtual program: • Internet based or CD/DVD based • Set curriculum for each subject • Child can learn at own pace with minimum set target achievements and dates (this can be adjusted by me if I want to push them a little) • Child can work ahead on subjects if they are able without hampering the other subject (if the child is great in Math, the child does not have to wait for his other subjects to be at the same level • Curriculum is accredited and meets and/or exceeds all US public school standards Basically I am looking for an accredited virtual school curriculum that the kids learn by themselves but have targets they must meet. They each have their own laptop pc and are very proficient in using them and the internet. Hopefully this curriculum can be tweaked by me if I feel they could do more. My role would be mostly to tutor or explain things they do not understand from the program. The program has to be accredited in every state in the US and have tests that certify them at a certain level as they progress in the program. I will be returning to the U.S.A. in 2 years and really hope that they are actually ahead in their schooling when they return. I know it is a lot I am asking for but I hope there is such a program for parents on the move. Thank you all for any help or suggestions in advance. Hope to be very active here once I am settled in Puerto Rico. Charles
If you are ok with a Christian-based curriculum, Abeka might suit you. It's challenging, and in my limited observations, those who have used Abeka and then entered the P.S. system have done so at an advantage. The "accredited" part is throwing me though. Colleges are accredited, but are public elementary and middle schools? Do you just want to know that all public schools will accept the schooling you provide and advance them to the appropriate grade? The charter schools that are basically online public education will not allow the flexibility that you are seeking. Personally, I'd buy a good math curriculum like Saxon then have them journal daily, read lots of books from various genres, write reports, letters, etc. I think at this age, if a child learns to research, read and write well (and compute well too), he or she will be ready for anything.
Hm. Public elementary/middle/high schools are accredited (I participated in the process at a couple different schools). But I honestly have not heard of a homeschool curriculum being accredited. Accreditation is more about the institution - it's not just what is presented, but who's doing it, how they're doing it, resources available... The only thing (in the sense of being accepted at all 50 states) that I can think of if k12.com. IIRC, this curricula is the one that is used by many states' virtual homeschools. While I have never used it myself, however, my understanding is that your children would not have the flexibility to work ahead...I honestly am not sure though. Someone else here will know.
Eyeofthestorm...must elementary/ms/hs be accredited in order to operate? I searched to see if our local schools were but found nothing. I did find a public high school that proclaims that it is accredited as if there were a note of distinction from other schools. Sorry...I know this is a little off-track from the orignial post, but I'm curious now.
Abeka Academy, Alpha Omega Academy, and BJU all have "accredited" programs...some use DVDs, have an internet streaming option, or use a hard drive program. All would satisfy what you're looking for but are Christian based. Your 6th grader could use Keystone National Middle School (private online middle school/high school program) that is secular. I've heard good things about their high school program.
