Ohio Virtual Academy

I absolutely adore OHVA. The support getting everything set up was perfect, the teachers we've worked with were sublime, and the curriculum goes above and beyond to be relevant and engaging for even the younger students. At every turn, I have felt support and direction, 24 hours a day. I was worried about the social interaction my daughters would be missing by not being in a brick and mortar school, but my fears were quickly laid to rest the first time I looked at the School Calendar. With scores of fabulous outings to choose from, we found ourselves out and interacting nearly every single week, and we've made some great friends as well. This learning experience has truly been a blessing for me, and a huge blessing for my daughters who now love learning once again. I am so thankful we chose OHVA and look forward to many more years working with them. This program is fantastic.
--Submitted by a parent

I have been with OHVA for 5 years and liked it......But it has definately gone downhill in the quality of teachers and support this year. It seems as if everyone has too many students and when you voice a concern it goes unheard. The teachers are conducting sessions like they are moving through a checklist and aren't really teaching because they may have 75 or more kids in them. Something is definitely off this year and I wouldn't recommend this school to anyone who isn't confident going it alone as a teacher to their children.
--Submitted by a parent

I am a 4th-year OHVA parent and member of the parent steering committee. I have had the opportunity to work with teachers from 5th grade through 10th grade, and I've gotten to work with the administration. I love the dedication and caring of 95% of the OHVA teachers and administration. I love the k12 curriculum. It does sometimes have errors when they roll out a new course, but K12 has personally called me to thank me for the feedback I have sent. They work to update and fix errors real-time when parents report them. I love the hundreds of stories I've heard from parents whose children came to OHVA being a few grades who are now thriving, enjoying learning, and working on or above grade level. The only thing I don't like is how state scoring reflects the fact that many, MANY students are ALREADY behind when they join OHVA. Thus, this school that grows by 10% each year is rewarded with state scoring that more accurately reflects the failures of the schools that students left than the progress that those students are finally making. Finally... as an FYI, the differences in class connect requirements reported here is due to different within-school programs that the school has.
--Submitted by a parent

As a parent of a senior in the OHVA program I am completely confused by some of the previous posts concerning class connect sessions. AT MOST, the exception being the first day or two of a semester, my son has never had more than 2 class connects a day. Sometimes we go several days without any other than the non-mandatory class connects in the morning you can join if you are confused about class content. My son has all A's and B's and stays close to the 25 hours per week required by the state of Ohio. The only time he works over is if there is a project that requires extra work. I also must mention that we enrolled for 2nd semester, half way through the year, and he did not have to start the from scratch. I am also in the process of pulling my 3rd grader from the public schools this week to start the program. He will receive the Scantron Test to assess his placement which will allow him to accelerate beyond what he was restricted to doing in the current public school he's in. This is my second round with OHVA. We moved out of state for two years and did not have the program available to us. I can tell you from experience that the program has only gotten better with age!
--Submitted by a parent

We have been in OHVA for 6 years and find it wonderful. Both of my children are autistic and the teachers go out of their way to assist them. The teachers and administrators have high expectations yes, but isn't that what we want for our children. My kids both take 2 extra classes a semester and still get done with the day in 5 hours. They do not always go to class connects but they are not mandatory so it is not an issue. As far as state testing, both kids are always in the top percentile. I home schooled on my own and my husband I were a bit nervous about higher grades, OHVA has solved our problem and gives the kids a great experience while giving them the nurturing of being home with me. 2 thumbs up!!! =)
--Submitted by a parent

It is OK, I started this school about a year ago from this week. I had to start from day 1, when it was already 3/4 quarters of the year done. Did NOT gain what I needed to learn for the last school term year term, I was 1 year advanced in Science, could NOT get in the next grade level for science.. Must get 80 percent or higher on ALL assignments, everything for the day (class) was about 2 hours of work. Very high and long expectations, not as flexible as it looks promising, over all, it is OK.

I have the same comment as the review right below. My son is also a freshman. He is the type that never goofs around. Very self motivated. But the time it requires for him to complete his work is sometimes way to much. I'll use Tuesday as an example. He has four class connects (live classes) the each are scheduled for 1 hour each but it is not unusual for them to go more than an hour. Then he can start his regular classwork. Science, math, english and history each take at least an hour each to do the class work. Now were are up to 8+ hours allready. Spanish class can take between 1.5 to 2 hours. P.E. takes 30 min. Up to 10.5 hours now. They want the students to spend an average of 1 hour a day in Study Island. 11.5 hours now. Then add on any tests, benchmark testing, scantron testing, or labs for science and you are easily over 12 hours of classwork. .5 hours for lunch and supper so you can see many days he is spending 12 to 15 HOURS a day on school! Many days he starts school at 9am and is still working at midnight!
--Submitted by a parent

I must totally disagree with you. My son is on his 5th year with OHVA. He is a freshman this year and our problem is just the opposite. He is required to take class connect teaching sessions with teachers every day. Some days he has 5 class connect sessions, each an hour long, this makes it very hard to then do the hour in each class that is required in his 6 classes in addition to the class connect hours. He is logging between 8 and 12 hours a day for attendance. I feel this is way too much time. They don't work that many hours in public school. The teachers are great, but if you as a parent are not willing to be very involved with your students learning, they will not do well in this program. I have talked with other homeschool parents and there kids use Abeca and they are done with their school work by 1:00 to 2:00. We are usually not even done with half of our work by that time. Something needs to be done about all of these mandatory class connect sessions every day. When the system is down and we don't have to attend we are done by 4:00, the way it should be. Oh, and there are days we don't even get a lunch break because they schedule sessions during lunch.
--Submitted by a parent

I have been with OHVA for 2 years now, and I teach 2 grade age students. The curriculum is very comprehensive and well rounded. The teachers, administrative staff and technical support are profesional and helpful. Parents can tailor how much or how little they want to cover on certain subjects and students who strugle are offered additional help as well as students who are advanced participate in ALP classes. OHVA makes it an easy and organized way to provide your children with QUALITY education.
--Submitted by a parent

OHVA is a pretty good homeschool. I have been a student for only one year, but I really like it. OHVA has lots of courses you can take. As a junior, I am taking honors classes and classes that were not available at my old public school. The teachers are really nice and actually know what they are talking about. One bonus that I like is that it is not all online. They send books for your courses also. And just because you are homeschooled doesn't mean you can't make friends. There are many out of school get togethers, dances, and student council. Overall, I think that if you are looking for a great public homeschool, OHVA is a good choice. oh and you do take state standardized tests and graduation test