My kids are currently in 9th and 10th grades. I made the decision to take them out of the public high school for two reasons. One reason was that my 10th grader was starving to be challenged academically and her high school had no program for gifted or talented students. My other daughter was suffering from anxiety issues that stemmed from being bullied at her previous school. I had heard nothing but good things about Connections Academy from several parents and students, they seemed to have a huge selection of classes to choose from (including honors classes, which was appealing to us), and they advertise that each student can work at their own pace. They even have examples of students who have pretty high demands on their time, such as child actors and even Olympic athletes. So we thought this would be a good choice. My older daughter would be able to get the stimulation she was craving with their large variety of classes and my younger daughter would get the space she needed to heal from her experiences. It seemed like a no-brainer.
We have been at Connections for 5 months now and I have to say I am not impressed. At all. My kids came down with a flu in February and were each down for a week. They have been struggling to keep up ever since, even though they have been putting in longer days to get caught up. I have contacted teachers, their advisory teacher, and the school counselor. Both my girls were A and B students until they started Connections Academy and now they are getting C's, D's and even F's. Teachers and staff have been very unhelpful with a "sorry we can't help you" attitude. While my kids' friends have time for the fun things, social things, that kids their age should be doing, my kids are stuck at home struggling to catch up from missing a week of school. I worry that they will lose their love for learning completely if they continue at Connections.
Hugely disappointed mother.