Online High

Blueprint Education CEO Doug Covey has a new article up in our Articles section. In it, he offers valuable advice for parents on choosing a distance learning school.

Definitely worth a read for both parents and students.

The state of Utah is home to two free online high schools. One of the schools has a long history, but this fall saw the introduction of a second program. The two schools are:

Utah Electronic High School has a long history - open since 1994 - for an online high school.

Utah Virtual Academy is a new program, but utilizes the successful K12.com program.

Utah Virtual Academy is a free online high school and utilizes the K12.com curriculum. It is a public charter school. At present, it only goes to 11th grade, but it will soon expand to include 12th grade as well.

In the old days of a couple of years ago, the University of California offered online high schools at a cost. While those days are gone, they do still offer the courses. The kicker is that they do not support the courses. All the information that you need is there, though.

Take a look at the courses that are available.

Primavera Online High School was founded by Darren Creamer. He was interviewed recently by AZCentral.com about what it is like to go to an online high school and the legitimacy of this form of learning.

You can read the interview here.

You can also hear an interview here.

The state of Texas has two online schools available, but only one offers courses at the high school level. Texas Virtual School offers courses to supplement your education, but does not offer a diploma program. It is surprising that in a state as large as Texas there are so few offerings.

Actually, the film is doubtful, but there is cause for celebration.

2007 was a good year for the Best Online High Schools site. It got off the ground, some featured schools came onboard, and we started getting noticed.

That being said, 2008 is destined to be the year that the site took off. This past week, schools listed on Best Online High Schools hit the 100,000 mark. During the first year, schools received 35,000 hits. The other 65,000+ hits have happened in the last 4 1/2 months.

I am pleased. Even more important, you should be pleased. It means this site is getting noticed. When that happens, more folks want to have their schools featured, thus providing you with more information at the touch of your fingertips.

I received the following email. The name has been deleted to protect the innocent:

We live in the Virgin Islands, St Croix. I’m looking for a free online high school. I have 1 child in the 10th grade and 1 child in the 11th grade. We just moved here from Texas and I don’t want to put them in public school here. Any information would help. Thank you.

—K

This is a difficult question in some ways. My initial thought is that there is not one available for you. Free online high schools are typically limited to students within a specific state, county, region, or similar geographic reference. The only possibility that comes to mind is seeing if you could use one from your home state. Unfortunately, Texas is behind the times in terms of online high schools. The only option available is:

Texas Virtual High School

When last I checked, this school does not have a diploma option. If you are interested, you would need to contact the school to see if that is even possible.

I am always pleased to be proven wrong, so if others know of additional options, please post a comment here.

Hello,
I am in high school at the moment and ready to graduate as early as possible. I found this website and feel confident in using what it offers. I live in South Carolina and was wondering if you could help me find out where and how to apply for this program.

–A

Thank you for your question. You are fortunate that the state of South Carolina offers three solid choices from which to choose. The easiest way to do it is to contact the schools through their websites. The schools in South Carolina are:

Insight School of South Carolina

South Carolina Connections Academy

South Carolina Virtual Charter School

If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments section.

The American Academy announced today that it would be offering a program for adults as well as for teens.

You can read about it here.

An important quote:

“Traditional online high school courses were designed with high school-age students in mind; the content reflected that audience in both tone and context,” said Rebekah Richards, senior vice president of academic affairs and principal of The American Academy. “Adult students bring a wealth of experience to the classroom. With our new program, adults can return to school knowing that they will be treated like adults. They’ll have the opportunity to learn skills that are relevant to their lives while finishing their high school diploma with other students their age.”