Online learning has grown much more popular from when I first started homeschooling my boys. Over the years I created my own curriculum, used box curriculum, co-ops, private umbrella schools, and most recently, Acellus Academy.
I’m happy to share our experience with Acellus. Not all students learn the same way and many people have different needs. Our experience is just one of many and I encourage parents to try different things than just use one experience as a blanket for all homeschool kids.
Online Learning with Acellus Academy
My son started his 9th grade year at a private charter school, the one with the lottery system and ridiculous mandatory parent volunteer hours. Thankfully, after the 1st semester he wanted to come back home to homeschool. But I had zero curriculum for high school and less confidence in myself to teach high school classes for an Honors student. I immediately looked for a self-paced online platform.
I paid $79 a month to enroll in Acellus. This is a flat rate if you pick 1 class or five. I chose Acellus Academy because they offer year round enrollment. We didn’t have to wait for classes to open and we could go from one right into another. I was originally pretty happy with the price for not requiring any books as well. My son was ready to “knock out” a few classes with all intentions of finishing high school a year early. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
The first hurdle we experienced was needing help in Geometry class. Henry had a few questions but we could not find extra help from the teacher or even some answers to questions which he needed to “move on” to another lesson or tests. I ended up hiring my friend, a former math teacher, to tutor my son. So we paid more than just Acellus tuition.
Henry also did not enjoy the Ancient History teacher, and sadly that was the same teacher for Geography in 10th grade. My son begged me not to enroll him in American History the following year with that same teacher. I went to Outschool and supplemented a lot! Again more than just Acellus tuition.
Once a class is finished the student is automatically enrolled into the next level. So there is a little paying attention to what’s next if that’s not the order in which you want to take classes or when you want to start another class. However I had no problems dropping classes and adding new ones.
Our second hurdle was finding interesting electives. Sadly, there are not a lot of electives for my creative student to choose from. They offer plenty of “technical education” classes for students going into those fields. My son wanted Creative Writing, Speech & Debate, etc. Again, we had to find (and pay) other opportunities for him.
He will tell you the classes were boring. Especially Health. Classes are a straight lecture and assignment type style of class. Zero creativity and no “fun projects” a homeschool kid might be used to enjoying. Especially if they had a hands-on teaching mom for so many years. (shrugs shoulders, no regrets). He eventually grew very tired, and stiff, sitting at his laptop subject after subject after subject. I believe it’s a big reason he was much more interested in attending public high school because he was so bored looking at his laptop all day long.
I do think if a student wants to finish the core classes quickly, Acellus is a decent option. I don’t think I would pick it a second time around though. It would be convenient if one was traveling (all you need is internet access) or had used it during Covid.
I am incredibly thankful they provided an official transcript so when Henry entered 11th grade public school the local high school accepted all of his Acellus credits! It was an easy quick download. Withdrawing was also an easy process as well. But again, you might end up paying for classes you’re not taking during the summer months.
Acellus provided a semester of 9th grade and a full year of 10th grade education for my son and he was not “behind” entering public high school.
Questions I Wish I Would Have Considered
Now that I can look back, I wish I would have considered asking a few questions about online learning and what we were needing at that time.
- Will we have access to the teacher, or is this a pre-recorded video with no teacher assistance?
- Is there a group forum or way to discuss topics with other students? (since we were using a self-paced format there was not, but I didn’t realize how beneficial they would be. Self-paced can feel very lonely.)
- Does my student need more engagement than lectures? Are there assigned projects, unique assignments, videos, etc.?
- Are we just trying to get a credit or truly learn the information?
- Do parents receive test answers, question guides, etc. in order to help explain when a student gets stuck? I did not have access to those things.
- Are there numerous teachers or does the same (History) teacher teach all (history) levels?
- Can I pause the enrollment through summer months? I did not figure this out and paid for “summer school” when we did not take a class one entire month.
- What type of electives, clubs, groups, etc. is offered to get the “high school experience”?
Online Learning is a great option for students AND parents! Especially when we get to the high school years and feel certain subjects are intimidating. Online Learning is perfect for traveling families or working parents. For some families, turning over teaching during the teen years makes for a smoother home life. The dynamics changed in our home during the teen years and I was happy not to have to nag my boys about school work. I was nagging them about personal hygiene, washing sporting clothes, not leaving towels on the floor, getting to places on time, and bringing back spoons to the kitchen. I was happy they had someone else to answer for school work.
I encourage all families to do their Online Learning research and try out different opportunities. My kids have switched co-ops, public schools, and online learning mid-year. Don’t be afraid to quit something once you have 1/2 a credit. Thankfully, credits transfer!