If you are considering giving online high schools or homeschooling a try for your child or teen, consider these issues carefully!

        The Lazy Student's Guide To Success Study Skills For Students And Help With Training For Home Educators.  

 1) Can I move my son/daughter in the middle of the school year? Yes, in most cases, cyber charter schools have rolling enrollment.  Some did that to attract enrollment in their first years and are now full with a waiting list. But don't give up.  Some may be able to take you anyway, as these schools understand that students and parents coming to them in the middle of the year are most likely in a bad situation at their home school district.

  2) Will this cost me anything?  If your state has online charter schools listed on their Department of Education website, then most likely you can move your student to a cyber charter school at no cost to you. They send you a computer and will reimburse you for your internet connection.  I actually wanted to use our own computer, and it's against their bylaws to do that (has to do with controlling how your child learns). AGAIN, all states are different and grappling with this issue in different ways, so the only way to know is to call the cyber or online charter school or distance learning contact at your state's Department of Education.  Private, nationwide online schools are expensive so research carefully before take the plunge. 

3)  How and when does my child go to cyber school or do homeschooling?  The answer is simple and almost too good to be true.  On your schedule. Yes, your child shouldn't be home 8 hours a day playing video games and watching TV and then school at night. That may work for a few but it's not the peak learning time or environment.  But remember, students really only need to be in school 5 hours a day. That's what they do in brick and mortar schools. It's all the passing to classes, lunch, bus time, etc. that creates a long day.  In most states it's 5 hours a day for elementary and 5.5 for high schoolers. So if you can do the 5 hours from 8 to 1 and then work an afternoon shift, OR break up school into 3 hours in the morning and 2 later on, that works too. Take the bricks and mortar off your thinking and realize cyber school and homeschooling give you the opportunity to take your kids on a road trip AND school with the laptop, cram a lot of school into a few days and then go on a road trip...it's finally your choice. 

Here is a great illustration of a child's day in a K-12 virtual school from the Arizona Virtual Academy

4)  Will my child lose or gain credits?  ASK THIS QUESTION OF THE CYBER SCHOOL BEFORE YOU MOVE YOUR STUDENT. School districts vary greatly, even in the same community, so have the curriculum director at the cyber school check into this to make sure you aren't losing valuable credits. My child took drivers education in cyber school, and it wasn't counted at the next school she attended. Just be prepared for differences in what each school requires.

5)  Can my child attend after school activities and participate in sports in our school district?  In most cases, yes!  Many school districts are very cooperative with homeschoolers and if you chose the cyber charter school route you could probably work out a deal. School districts like homeschoolers better than cyber schoolers at this point because homeschoolers aren't costing them anything.  But make the homeschooling coordinator at your school district your friend and more than likely your son/daughter can play sports.

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