Am I understanding this correctly? K12 offers an online public school. and since it is "public" education, it is tuition free? supposedly a top notch curriculum. :shock: http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/online-public-schools/ what's the catch here?
We used it for one year and the catch is that they choose all your curriculum, your due dates, and the speed at which you will work. If you don't mind having someone else in charge of your homeschool then it may work well for you. After one year I was eager to pick my own curriculum, work at our own pace, and choose our own school schedule. It all depends on why you have chosen to homeschool. I have several friends using this program who are very happy because they pulled their kids out for safety reasons, but were not unhappy with the public school curriculums.
Yeah, that's the catch. It IS STILL public school. You don't have the freedom that you would with your own curriculum and schedule. Like she said... it depends on the reason you're homeschooling. If you're happy with public school, K12 would probably work for you.
You may also have to testing - we are with a public charter (not online) and while we have control over everything, we do have to do state testing.
They give you the schedule and you must follow it. I looked into this for DD, but I did not want to have to do school on their schedule. The curriculum looked incredible though and it is always an option for us if we need it!
It probably depends on your state, but I did not do because I did not like the testing they require, even in K. But I know MANY families around it really like it.
The 'catch' is it's NOT homeschooling. It's public school. It's just public school at home. I think it's a great option to have out there. It's a perfect fit for some families. It all boils down to WHY you want to homeschool. Most homeschool families I know have some issues with PS curriculum or the scope and sequence, educational philosophy or religious reasons. If these are reasons why you are considering homeschooling-you're not going to be happy with K12. If you want to homeschool just because your kid is getting bullied or has social anxiety and just want them home, but your okay with the curriculum contents and work load of PS-then it might be just perfect for you. IF the draw is simply the fact that it's FREE (which is why we looked into it) you can homeschool for free as well. If you have a library card and an internet connection-the options are limitless.
I am actually thinking of enrolling Rachael in an e-school next year. I'm being told that if she were to take one class (ie: French) with them on-line, she could simultaniously enroll in the local junior college and get credit, and the public school system would pay for it.
