Commonwealth Connections Academy

we are happy with CCA. From the teacher to the tech. suport, all great. WONDERFUL SCHOOL!!!
--Submitted by a parent

CCA rules! The only parts I dislike is that few field trips are at good times for me, but my schedule is limited so what do I expect? The other is that since it's obviously a cyberschool I'm always at home, and even as a non-social person that gets tiring (it's my third year). It will be very hard to leave if I do because I highly doubt any schools nearby me will meet half the expectations CCA meets. I have had some of the besssst teachers here and a truly educational AND fun experience... It's awesomeAnd no offense, but Great Schools needs to re-rate this. We need, like, a 52... or at least an 8 ;D

My 7th grader attends this school. It is necessary because our middle school only wants kids that have no concerns or issues. Our older children had all attended regular public school without any problems. 'J' has thrived in this school. I am easily able to see and verify that he has done all the work. I'm also able to see areas that he is having problems in. This school sends all the subject matter to your home shortly before school starts. So it includes both text books and online material. We have also taken him on 3 school field trips. Yes, it is very much like homeschool. But if your child is not doing well in regular public school, this is a way to 'homeschool' them with the support of real teachers, bi-weekly live lessoons, tutoring online, and real school books.
--Submitted by a parent

We are in our fourth year with CCA and have used the elementary, middle school and high school curriculum. All are excellent and well advanced from what my girls were learning in traditional brick 'n mortar school. I have one child who uses the special education services and one that uses the gifted program, we get great support from both.
--Submitted by a parent

Depends on your expectations. If you are looking for a replacement for regular public school, you'll be disappointed. Students only interract with teachers about twice a week (live lessons) and a teacher calls every 2 weeks. Other than that, you as a parent are the teacher. More like homeschool lite. Don't be fooled by "field trips" and activities. Unless your child has been enrolled at CCA for 2 or 3 years, you will be responsible for all costs of these events. True, a portion of your child's tuition from your home district will be used to reimburse other students' activities. It's a marketing/business decision. You will buy your own supplies (pencils, erasers, rulers, even paper and ink for the printer). Never forget CCA is a *business* and profit is the driving force. A reasonable education can be had, but that is more a product of you, the parent, than the school. A good LMS could replace the school's services easily and for far less than $10k per student. They offer very little beyond canned curriculum and automated grading and scheduling. The upside? You don't have to buy your own curriculum as in homeschooling. It's working for us. Just don't expect too much.
--Submitted by a parent

We've been with CCA going on 5 years and have used the elementary, middle school and high school aspects of the program and LOVE it!! Teacher support is incredible, there are many, many field trips every month and the curriculum is tops!
--Submitted by a parent

I home schooled my daughter for Kindergarten, then my husband and I decided to look into cyber schools for her. We sent away for information on many schools, but were most impressed with CCA. They boast wide curriculum opportunities for all grade levels, (my daughter took Spanish in 1st grade), the enrollment staff helped us with all of our questions/concerns, and her teacher was wonderful! I understand that some families are not cut out for online schooling, but for us, this was the absolute best choice. With a little organization and lots of hard work, my daughter is in the Academic Excellence list for K-2. She met lots of friends on field trips and gets together with them on a regular basis. CCA makes every effort to offer an all around balanced education and social interactions for their students. This is definitely the choice for those of us not happy with traditional school education and wanting to be more involved in our children's education. My daughter will be in the Gifted program next year (like her brother) and we look forward to the opportunities this coming year brings. Check the school out, you won't be disappointed.
--Submitted by a parent

My son was struggling in traditional school and it was a huge stress on our family that we decided to pull him and try something very nontraditional. The teacher contact is unbelievable and was an adjustment as we were not used to that in his other school. He still has trouble taking test but he can take an extra day if he needs it and is honestly pulling his grades as a typical student and he doesn t need a modified plan to achieve. I have access to all of his grades and I don t have to wonder because I just go on and look up any lesson I want and exactly what grades he gets on each lesson at any time! The teachers really work with you to get your child on track if he/she starts to slip. I am able to give him the extra support because I know what s going on and the teachers never make me feel like I m not holding up my end of the deal in educating my son. The live lessons are very frequent and teachers are so much fun that my son loves going to the lessons. We now have time for extracurricular activities. If you are miserable in your traditional school, you may benefit from this type of learning, and CCA really does have it all when it comes to virtual schools.
--Submitted by a parent

My youngest child is a high school senior who has been at CCA since the 8th grade. CCA has been the best school my family has attended. The curriculum can be demanding, but you can get an excellent education. A parent or designated adult (aka learning coach) is supposed to monitor schoolwork and learning progress daily. If you do that, you will know when a student is in trouble. (Teachers will be calling warnings too). The teachers have been very competent and eager to adapt to reasonable requests.
--Submitted by a parent

The first year was great as I had one teacher to oversee all four of my children. The next year, they changed the policy and I had four teachers for 4 children, one for each grade level. It was difficult to maintain the contacts as I had 4 teachers to talk with every other week. My son actually had 5 different teachers in the course of the year and neither of us liked all that turnover. One other concern I had was a teacher that kept insisting my son needed remedial reading because he wasn't reading at age six, although I explained to her that none of my children were solid readers before 8 years of age. The teachers were all great to work with, with the exception of one, it was just too many to maintain at one time. We went back to tradtional homeschooling....
--Submitted by a parent