You are here: Home / Archives for Connections Academy

There are benefits to virtual schooling

April 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As a veteran teacher with more than 33 years of experience in various educational settings, primarily large school classrooms, I never expected to create such a bond with my “virtual students.” I teach for Connections Academy in Colorado but want to share my experience with Iowans.

The virtual classroom has enabled me to form closer relationships with my students and their parents than at any other school. I have the opportunity to speak with my students one on one, without interruptions. I conduct LiveLesson online class sessions where I am able to directly connect with my students, enabling me to get to know their individual needs and adapt lessons accordingly. This virtual environment also gives the students a sense of freedom to express themselves without fear of rejection or exposure to mocking from their fellow students. It’s a terrific learning environment.

For the rest of the article, go to There are benefits to virtual schooling

Filed Under: bestonlinehighschools.com, Home Page Tagged With:

Online students brace for changes coming from Colorado lawmakers

March 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

DENVER — Online school is helping Michelle Nuss catch up. The 17-year-old is only a freshman in high school, falling behind a few years ago when she and her mother were homeless and living in a hotel.

These days, Nuss studies online up to six days a week and hopes she’ll be a junior by the end of the year.

“I love it,” she said of Connections Academy, her publicly funded online-only school. “They should keep it around and make it accessible for everybody.”

But some Colorado lawmakers want to know if Nuss and other online students are really getting the best education. So far,Colorado’s online schools have shown disappointing results.

A 2010 report by the state Department of Education showed below-average test scores, dropout rates near 50 percent in some cases and, at one school, a student-to-teacher ratio of 317-1.

Still, the state’s online school industry is growing by double digits a year. Enrollment grew by more than 12 percent between 2008 and 2009.

Last year Colorado spent some $85 million teaching about 14,200 students online. Like brick-and-mortar schools, online schools are funded based on the number of students enrolled on a single “count day,” Oct.1. Some fear the enrollment procedure gives online schools little incentive to keep pupils enrolled.

Lawmakers are talking about several measures to increase oversight for the booming online school industry.

“We’re looking at some increased accountability,” said Democratic Sen. Pat Steadman, who plans to sponsor a bill that would change the role of an office within the Education Department called the “Unit of Online Learning.” Steadman says the office needs “more teeth.”

For the rest of the article, go to Online students brace for changes coming from Colorado lawmakers

Filed Under: bestonlinehighschools.com, Home Page, online high schools Tagged With: ,

Learning Activities for Winter Break from Connections Academy

June 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Connections Academy

Connections Academy

Filed Under: Home Page, online high schools, video Tagged With:

More students choicing out of district

January 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

At the other end of the spectrum is Littleton, which gains three times as many students as it loses, and Adams 12 Five Star, home to the state’s largest online program, the 5,304-student Colorado Virtual Academy, known as COVA.

And then there’s Mapleton, the small Adams County district north of Denver, which reported the state’s second-highest growth rate this fall. Enrollment spiked 32 percent after the district added an online school, Connections Academy, and the New America School charter, which serves recent immigrants.

For the rest of the article, go to More students choicing out of district

Filed Under: bestonlinehighschools.com, online high schools Tagged With: , ,

New year, new school? Virtual schools ease transition

January 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Educators say many families switching their kids’ schools mid-year are turning to virtual schools like Connections Academy, for a variety of reasons.

First, more families than ever have embraced virtual education in general: Some 2 million American K-12 students now get some or all of their education virtually, according to research firm Ambient Insight. Second, the format of virtual schools eases a student’s adjustment period – and physical transitions for both student and family. Finally, family finances sometimes come into play. Virtual public schools – like all public schools – are tuition free and virtual private schools like National Connections Academy cost a fraction of traditional “bricks and mortar” private schools. Yet they deliver the academic rigor and highly personalized educations that are hallmarks of independent schools. So families with children enrolled in traditional private schools who are struggling to meet hefty tuition obligations often find they can save significant money and still get an independent school-caliber education.

For the rest of the article, go to New year, new school? Virtual schools ease transition.

Filed Under: bestonlinehighschools.com, news, online high schools Tagged With: , ,

E-Education Inc. Seeks the Mainstream

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The for-profit e-learning company K12 Inc. grew 40 percent last year, generating $385 million in revenue by providing virtual courses to 70,000 students across the country. Connections Academy, another such provider, generated about $120 million in revenue serving up online courses to some 20,000 students. And last month, the education technology company PLATO Learning announced that it is now offering online Advanced Placement courses, marking the first time the company will do so as part of its courseware for school districts.

Experts say for-profit providers of online courses—long seen as an option for home-schoolers and a potential rival to public schools—are breaking into the public education mainstream as more schools mix face-to-face classes and online courses to expand their curricular offerings. With demand for that “blended” approach expected to grow, other players in the online-coursetaking marketplace, such as Apex Learning, Aventa Learning, Compass Learning, and Kaplan Virtual Education, are also seeking business in public schools.

For the rest of the article, go to E-Education Inc. Seeks the Mainstream

Filed Under: bestonlinehighschools.com, online high schools Tagged With: ,