California Virtual Academies

Enrolling in this school has been a complete nightmare. No one really seems to know what is going on, they don’t communicate with each other what so ever. One minute I am told they need a certain document then the next I am told something different then after while I think I am the crazy one because when I mention it they say I don’t know why the last person told you that but it was wrong. I am having 2^nd thoughts!!!

This seemed like a wonderful option for my daughter. She was supplied with all her textbooks and a computer to work on. Our communication with the school was through a «homeroom» teacher, who seemed wonderful. My daughter completed lessons on-​line, which were scheduled for her every day. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, until…
One day I was looking at her progress and noticed that her grades were listed as Bs and Cs, I was a bit concerned and did not understand why, as she completed all her assignments at near 100%. Of course, I immediately called her homeroom teacher. She, however, assured me that my daughter is completing all assignments and that these grades would only be assigned if she stopped completing her lessons at that very moment. The teacher reassured me that if my daughter’s progress continues at the same level, she will have As. Some weeks before the school year ended I emailed and then spoke with my daughter’s homeroom teacher again. Call me paranoid, but I wanted to make absolutely sure that all is in order. I was told that there were work samples to be turned in and that an essay was to be received, both were sent in shortly after and I called the teacher again and, again, was reassured that all is in order.
To my great shock, I received a report card for my daughter, which had 3 Cs! Understandably, I immediately emailed the teacher. She told me that this must have been before we communicated. I wasn’t quite sure how a report card was generated before the end of school, but ok, the teacher must know what she is talking about. Again, I felt like overzealous paranoid parent.
You can imagine the shock when, in the following email the teacher somehow found excuses why these are my daughter’s real grades! She listed some type of an assignments that were not completed, which we never herd of. Supposedly there were some lectures, which were incomplete, even though we were never told about this and no lectures appeared incomplete on her record.
She is now conveniently not responding and neither is her supervisor. I am not sure where else I can go to complain, but my daughter’s entire school year is ruined. She went form a very academic child to one that hates school.
Do not, under any circumstance, sign up for this poor excuse of a school. I also found out that the credits the students receive are sufficient to graduate, but not sufficient to apply to a college. Useless.
you can find more feedback at:
Also, see a class action complaint:
Excerpt:
«Throughout the Class Period, K12 portrayed itself as a viable «choice» in public school education, offering a «world-​class» education equivalent to, or better than, brick-​and-​mortar public schools while costing taxpayers less. Packard, K12’s founder and CEO, consistently stated the Company’s «manifest destiny» was to make K12 available to every child across all 50 states, touting purported statistics showing parent satisfaction rates at 96% and academic results «as good as or better than state averages.»
«As a result, K12’s enrollments — and revenues — skyrocketed, increasing by as much as 40% year over year during the Class Period, and Packard reaped the benefits, selling 850,000 shares of K12 stock during the Class Period for proceeds of $ 23.3 million. What Defendants concealed from the market, however, was a business model dependent on an ever-​increasing rate of enrollments to sustain itself. The core omission behind Defendants’ fraudulent success story was that students at K12 virtual schools were dropping out at staggering rates — in some instances, more than half of students in a given school year would drop out — indicating that «parent satisfaction» was nowhere near the levels Packard claimed. These «churn» rates — closely tracked by Defendants but undisclosed to the market during the Class Period — were obscured by K12’s aggressive tactics to enroll yet more students to replace those who had dropped out, allowing K12 to maintain the temporary illusion that overall enrollments were increasing»
Also see article «Virtual charter school network making profit at the expense of California schoolchildren, study finds»
«CAVA, the report says, has been plagued by years of slumping academic results: its graduation rate over the past four years has been 36%, meaning it had more dropouts than graduates, and its academic performance has declined steadily since 2005.
Why Did California buy K12 Snake Oil:
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At a time when my daughters elementary school faced serious cutbacks four years ago, it was clear the children were the one’s to suffer.
Teacher’s aids were let go, the school counselor, the school nurse, P.E. aides, the music appreciation class, art class, after school programs, enrichment programs, well you get the picture.
Searching for a better alternative I found the Virtual Academy. They offer everything the local public Elementary school did not. Plus they are tuition free, supply you with a computer, printer, class materials and books.
My daughter has a virtual classroom (using Blackboard Collaborate) consisting of approximately 20 of her peers and of course the teacher. Now she is currently in 8^th grade and doing really well. A sample of her courses are as follows: Intermediate Mathematics C, Literary Analysis and Composition: Composition, Literary Analysis and Composition: Literature, Literary Analysis and Composition: GUM, Literary Analysis and Composition: Vocabulary, Physical Science, American History B, Intermediate Art: American B, Music Appreciation, Strategies For Success: Grade 8.
All of the CAVA teacher’s I’ve met over the years have been extremely nice and available to help when ever it’s needed. The regular scheduled outings have been fun, educational and well organized. We have met wonderful friends and I’m sure we will make many more!