Connections Academy

I joined this school in late 2021 as a sophomore and I'm a junior (11th) now and I wouldn't ever consider leaving, it's asynchronous so I can still communicate with my teachers and choose to join and I don't feel cornered to do my work everything is flexible but not in a lazy way, this school really does care for their students the teachers listen to every kids needs, and helps them in any/every way they can, I passed my freshman year with about a 0.587 gpa after switching I've passed sophomore and will pass junior year with a 3.5+ average I've learned so much, the teachers don't take 3 weeks to grade something, this school gets students ready for the future and let's them be creative this school isn't discriminatory it's so welcoming, this school celebrates black history month, women month, and more, they talk about successful people related to those months, this school is the best I would never choose to leave, I figured out what I want to be when I'm older and the teachers motivate me whenever I feel a little down, I've become good friends with my teachers especially biology she's amazing, thanks to this school I've become a successful student, I went from not wanting to grow up, being unmotivated, failing, hating school to loving it, wanting to go, I've learned a lot, I've learned self discipline, I've become a great person and student going here.

My son will be getting a few Fs and a few other low grades because... his homeroom teacher, other teachers failed to ACTIVELY respond to his cries for help.

Positives were at the beginning of the year when some teachers had time to call and encourage him. Near the end of online high school, he got some automatic responses because teachers were busy part of the time with Istep or other projects.

He also likes the independence of homeschooling. We will be giving it one more try! And hopefully he can still graduate on time.

But... he struggled all semester to get his homework transmitted to Connections. Yes, the teacher was informed... but to no avail. People there are good at telling you to "call someone else". He will be getting an F in a class where he did the work... but it dropped out of the system.

The principal, assistant principal gave no ground. Too bad... So sad. Factually (and I am sparing much detail here) I estimate Connections as 80% responsible for the failures to heed my son's cries notably the last few weeks... and thus responsible for his 2 Fs and a couple other too-low grades. (And he was on the way to get possibly all or mostly As and Bs... before the last few assignments and exams!)

I have worked in customer service for a technical sales company and a major world bank. We NEVER treated cries for help from customers like Connections treated our son and us. Basically, no one was his advocate when he repeatedly said "I am having problems submitting stuff in all my classes".

So... if Connections works for you... fine. We liked part of it. But you need to dog their steps with emails and repeated calls IMMEDIATELY if something goes wrong. It took a week (about4-5 actual business days, with a couple of phone calls and SEVERAL emails) before an administrator called us back.

I really do not know where to begin with this awful school! If it is not the horrible customer service lieing to you about EVERYTHING and not knowing a damn thing about anything, they seem as if they don, t give a damn about your student at all! Where in the hell do they get these teachers from?! The enrollment process is a NIGHTMARE and then they look at your file and go home and nothing is being done at all! Although they will tell you it will be handled, it NEVER gets done and you have to continue to call and call and call and call until something may or may not happen! Really ridiculous! If you are seeking homeschooling options, if I were you, I would skip the aggravation and go somewhere else. This school does not care about students and will not care about your child and if you ever get enrolled this lifetime, your child will be ignored and mot taught a damn thing! They need to be reported to the state education department and BBB, just look at some of the many bad reviews concerning the enrollment and how the students are "not being taught". I ABSOLUTELY HATE THE FACT THAT I CHOSE THIS SCHOOL AS A HOMESCHOOLING OPTION FOR MY CHILD AND WILL BE RESEARCHING OTHER OPTIONS SOON.

*Sigh* Where do I begin? This school is certainly great when it comes to the quality of the courses. The material is really well done. I am done with the school so this is my little final review after being in the school for like 7 years and now finished high school. If you have sleeping issues or have issues getting up early then this school is for you. But here are the main issues of the school. The workload is huge like pretty huge. I know someone who went to a good college and she saw the workload and was shocked. I mean we are young people, we like to get out and enjoy our lives you know? And not sit at home all day doing school work. When I was in public school it was much different. Second, the math courses are not a good fit for the online school. It is very lousy on how they teach it. It is very vague which you have to result in watching YouTube videos or research the type of math or possibly having a tutor... Teachers can be very rude at times. When I was in this school I have had these panic attacks or just get anxiety when it is time for CBA's. The teachers get a bit rude when you get a single question wrong but if you get others right you still get credit and pass. Now the worst part about this school is that you can be ACCUSED of cheating when you didn't First of all, literally 99% of the students in this school or online ones in general cheat anyway. And the teachers know it. They are just in it for the money. If a student is asking a question on a website that is on the test and gets the answer from that person on that website and gets away with it, then if you actually answer the question correctly and legitly, and the teachers find that internet question, they will give you a zero for the test. That is absolutely absurd so if one actually cheated then the other gets in trouble. But of course, there is nothing you can do about it. If you have a good argument it doesn't matter. Online school sounds great in the mind, but in the end is it truly better than public?

I am a learning coach for two students at Connections Academy in California. It is our 2nd year, and we are very pleased with the teachers, and courses. This year has been much better than last year. It TRULY IS HARD WORK! I believe hard work pays off in the end. I don't think it is good to be stressed, and believe me some days I feel like pulling my hair out. Lol. That's when we put it on pause, go for Ice cream, maybe a fieldtrip, or do something else. We come back, and research, take notes, A LOT OF NOTES! Do the very best! The kids 4th and 5th grades now tell me, that they prefer this school over the regular brick and mortar school, because they are no longer bullied, and they have one on one time with me, and their wonderful teachers. I am learning right along with them. I'm very grateful for this school. The only problem for me is the fact that if they get stuck on one assigment, that they cannot do other assigments, and then go back to the one they were stuck on. The assigments do accumulate, and then, you have a bunch of overdue lessons. Sometimes communicating with teacher's can be very helpful! For example, there was a Science Portfolio that was overdue. We could not complete it, due to us needing potting soil, and the stores did not have any, due to it being out of season, never knew soil went out of season! Anyway, informed the teacher of our little problem, and she skipped the Portfolio! We were so grateful, and relieved, because the stress of having all these assigments pile up is not fun! I really hope that the school fixes this problem overall. Kids cannot grow and learn in a stressed out environment. I feel for all of the student's who are a bit older, and have not had a good learning experience. I will see how we do the rest of the year, but so far so good!

I think Connections Academy is perfectly fine if you're using it as a trial run before you decide if you're truly ready for an online academy. The key is; It should NOT be your permanent solution to homeschooling. I think that this is amazing if you want to try online school, but if you decide to stay within the realm of homeschooling, you should switch to a school that is paid-- Such as James Madison High, which I'm hoping to attend next year.

It isn't the best school. I will not sugar coat the fact that the math lessons are incredibly vague. However, most of the gaps that the systems have can be filled. EG, Since I can't use the math lessons, I use Khan Academy. I also purchased an Algebra 1 Review book for study. I basically don't use their math platform at all, and I come back to the lesson when I am prepared to do the Quick Check; A small test at the end of every lesson.

My teachers have always responded to my 'webmails,' and I've only had one issue with this when the school counselor didn't respond to my webmail for ~3 days. She eventually did and we worked things out pleasantly. The tests are easy if you study and read closely, and each lesson provides extra work to ensure that you understand the topic before you move on. Sometimes, they do throw in a random question in the Quick Check that you're almost certain not to know, which I do hope they fix. The unit tests are fine, everything is fine; As of this year, books etc are digitally provided. Live Lessons are essential for classes like math where the in-book explanation is very vague-- I use them whenever I need extra help in a specific area.

ALSO. The workload is NOT overwhelming if you stay up to date on your work. DO NOT fall behind; It's hell.

TLDR; Its great to use as a first go. I would not recommend it as your forever school.

This is our second year with Reach Cyber Charter (PA's Connections Academy School). I was a cyber school student myself back in the early 2000s and though I loved the idea of it I didn't particularly like the school I was with but did graduate from there. When I had kids of my own I knew I wanted to choose a cyber school option but wasn't sure which school. My son is a whizz at math and science and Reach is a STEM based school with tons of STEM clubs which we love. They also have a lot of great in person events (prior to covid) both school wide, and just events in your local community put together by the community coordinators. The communication has been top notch the last 2 years and all of the teachers and staff truly care about your student. Last year I was having some health problems and my son had to miss a few days of school due to me being hospitalized for surgery and all of his teachers were more than understanding and a few even called me personally not even about school but just to check up because they generally cared. All of the teachers go above and beyond to make sure your child is learning. I think the way they handled covid in the beginning last year was perfect and so far this year even with the huge influx of B&M students coming to cyber they even handled that to the best of their abilities and made adaptions when needed to make it work. Reach is a bit advanced I would say. I have 2 nephews in the same grade as my son in B&M and when I talk to their families about what my son is learning in school compared to their kids they are blown away because it is far more advanced than what their kids are learning. And I don't mind that. I think it is a good thing but if were just coming in from a public school to this I am sure it would be extremely overwhelming at first. However we started in cyber school from the start so we are used to the work load. We wouldn't change a thing about the experience. I think Reach is the perfect school for our family and we will continue to be here most likely until my kids graduate.