The American Academy is located in Utah and offers over 200 courses online. It is regionally accredited and offers credit recovery, original credit, and a high school diploma program.
Snippet from listing: The American Academy offers an accredited online high school program to students of all ages and locations. Whether you’re looking for a way to make up credits, accelerate your learning, or earn your high school diploma at the time and place that works best for you, The American Academy is right for you. And the best part is that courses start each Monday, so you’re never more than a week away from your next course!
Something to consider: While it has not been in existence that long, The American Academy has already achieved regional accreditation. It has a strong focus toward the individual needs of each student.
Christa McAuliffe Academy has a long history of providing instruction and was established in 1985. It is available to both teens and adults and, importantly, is self-paced. You move at whatever speed is necessary to ensure mastery of the subjects being taught.
Accredited: Northwest Association of Accredited Schools
Snippet from listing: Are you looking for a school that not only celebrates the individual, but also personalizes learning through the use of diagnostic assessments, learning style inventories, and high trained instructors who match the student with the most appropriate curriculum available to fit their individual needs?
Something to consider:Students at Christa McAuliffe Academy get good grades because instruction is based on mastery of concepts. Students are not just pushed along, but must show they understand a concept. This also helps them move quicker in areas where they already possess the required knowledge.
University of Miami Global Academy is part of the prestigious University of Miami. If your goal is to attend a university and you are concerned about acceptance of an online high school diploma, this is one school to examine. The school has a strong focus on service learning and has adapted a policy that education is more than just learing from books.
Address: 111 Allen Hall 5050 Brunson Drive, Coral Gables FL 33124
Snippet from listing:Our school embraces diversity and provides our students with a unique academic and school environment. UMGA is student-centered, and fosters a commitment to excellence as we strive to develop future leaders of our nation and the world.
Something to consider: Universities understand universities. Having a high school diploma from an online high school that is housed at a rather significant university will only be seen as positive by college admissions personnel.
Today’s focus school is Liberty University Online Academy. Related to Liberty University, the largest Christian evangelical university with the largest Christian online programs in the world. If you are looking for a Christian online high school, this is a particularly good choice because fees paid to LUOA count toward Liberty University (should you elect to attend that college).
Address: 1971 University Boulevard, Lynchburg, VA 24502
Snippet from listing:Offered through Liberty University, the world’s largest evangelical university with the world’s largest Christian Distance Learning Program, Liberty University Online Academy is quality, accredited education you can trust.
Something to consider: Money spent on your education at Liberty University Online Academy is applied dollar-for-dollar toward your tuition at Liberty University. The school accepts both full-time and part-time students. It offers a high school graduation ceremony.
Focus school for today is Orion High School. Located in Midland, Texas, it has students in other states and charges the same amount regardless of where you live. Reasonably priced, it focuses on the whole student without regard to past educational “issues.” If you have had problems in the past (or even if you did not), you might want to talk with the folks at Orion.
Address: 4500 W. Illinois, Suite 203, Midland, TX 79703
Snippet from listing:Orion is proud to provide high quality private school education at the lowest per course tuition of any online school (from our internal study). Full-time learners pay an average of 166.00 per course; home schoolers pay 180.00 per course; and non-Orion students (taking courses for transfer back to public or private school) pay 225.00.
Something to consider: While not large, it is run by the founders. The cost is reasonable and so is the quality. Well worth a look.
Snippet from listing: Media-rich, standards-based curriculum supported by weekly online instruction from Nevada-certified teachers keeps you on the path to success. Individual support from teachers, academic advisors, and a learning coach mean there is no limit to what you can learn. Clubs, local events, and a members-only online social network help you make friends.
Best Online High Schools was given the opportunity to interview Dr. Joseph Gallegos, CEO/Founder of Orion High School, upon learning that they had become regionally accredited this week. The following is an excerpt:
BOHS: Why did you decide to seek accreditation?
JG: We decided to seek accreditation for a couple of reasons: 1. We wanted to be sure that our customers saw us and their school as committed to continuous improvement; and 2. We wanted the recognition that accreditation brings – recognition for our online school as a quality educational institution; recognition for our learners as they graduate from an accredited/recognized school; and for our mentor teachers, who deserve to work in an environment that is committed to high quality.
BOHS: Please describe the process.
JG: The process began over two years ago when we opened our doors. We sought out many options for recognized accreditation, and we settled with (at the time) CITA. We felt that being a school without boundaries, we would need to have a recognized accreditation that would be recognized world-wide. The process began with our intent; we were a dues-paying school for about 8 months. We received an onsite visit in 2008, and were approved as a “Candidate” school. The Candidacy Period allocates time for the school to conduct an intense self-study around the seven standards for accreditation. We began that study immediately. During the candidacy period, we recognized that the standards were a very traditional set of standards – that is, they were set up for a brick-and-mortar setting. We went on with the self-study, and we had some very serious internal talk about how we could apply all of the standards to our virtual school setting. We were finally notified in November of 2009 that we would received an onsite Quality Assurance Review visit. In the meantime, during our Candidacy, CITA was absorbed into the new organization called Advanc-ED. We learned that Advanc-ED would be the parent organization for SACS/CASI, but that the state office would not handle a visit to a distance learning institution. The visit was organized by the National Office. Three visitors came to our headquarters in Midland, Texas, where they spent three days with us going over our self-study and proof of adherence to the standards.
The visitors learned that there is a significant difference between traditional “distance education” and virtual schooling. They learned that they could indeed “visit” classrooms, and were able to see high quality mentoring and learning going on right before their eyes, in a virtual environment. They commented that the uniqueness of Orion is in our 1-to-1 mentoring – that our mentors are true mentors. They learned that high quality support for teacher-mentors can happen in an online environment just like in a face-to-face environment. Most importantly they heard from our learners that they (our learners) felt supported, and that they learned more about learning than any time before. One learner commented, “I have taken Advanced Placement courses at my regular high school – my regular English course at Orion is by far more rigorous that my AP course was.”
BOHS:What value do you think this gives your current and potential students?
JG: I think that the value is that Orion cares about quality; about being unique; and about furthering the process of providing a high quality, viable alternative to schooling.
BOHS: Anything else you would like to share?
JG: We will be sharing our experiences with other distance learning providers, at the AdvancED conference. We would be glad to share our insights with anybody seeking regional accreditation.
We would recommend the process for any online school.
Snippet from listing: All of our classes begin monthly, are self paced and monitored by one of our licensed teachers. Students study in a relaxed environment at times that suit their busy lifestyles. Our students are able to travel, live abroad, dedicate extra time to pursue their talents while staying on track to receive their high school diploma. Students can also take courses to supplement their current middle or high school program to fast track graduation. In addition, we offer test prep courses SAT, ACT, CaHSEE and Algebra Readiness. Whether full or part time, our academic advisors guide students to a program that is right for them.
Orion High Schoolof Midland, Texas was notified today that it has received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement.
From the announcement:Dr. Mark Elgart, President/CEO of AdvancED, the parent organization of SACS CASI, stated, “SACS CASI Accreditation is a rigorous process that focuses the entire school on the primary goal of creating lifelong learners. Orion High School is to be commended for engaging in this process and demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement.”
