Any Online high school course or diploma that parents or music majors can recommend here? 15 year old daughter, violin conservatory student who will finish year 9 in public school, looking for a strong, well recognized online high school course so she can prioritise her time around her violin training. Goal being to eventually apply for a small group of 1st and 2nd tier music conservatories in East Coast for violin performance…
My non-music son is a student at Stanford Online High School, which is a top-notch online school where many students pursue rigorous outside activities. However, it is a very rigorous academic program that requires a lot of academic work. I also think its deadlines are past for next year, but it might be possible for years 11 and 12.
We used this for a similar purpose: https://vhslearning.org/
There is a large and diverse selection of classes.
In fact, our school was so interested in it that we fundraised and got the school a membership and 25 students now take classes with them.
We also used Aventa Learning at educere (google educere). For a performer, they did not have the weekly deadline. VHS is structured weekly which works well for most.
I should have said, also, that Stanford Online High School is not asynchronous learning. It has regularly scheduled classes that meet at prescribed times, with other students who are also taking the class. There are definitely weekly deadlines and assignments. However, I know that many of the students are serious artists and athletes who pursue their outside passion competitively and still make the school work. So likely quite different than what compmom is recommending, but I wanted to give a more complete picture.
I am a violinist and a senior in high school, and in the second semester of my junior year I switched to online school. The program is called the University of Texas at Austin High School. You do not need to live in Austin to be in the program, as some of my peers live overseas. Participating in this program helped me practice more, sleep enough, record my prescreenings whenever I wanted… etc. You get to work at your own pace, so for once I was able to schedule school around violin, and not vice versa. I am so glad I made the switch! As of right now, I have been accepted to Colburn (committed there), CIM, NEC, the McDuffie Center, and I’m waiting on Juilliard. I can’t believe the acceptances I’ve gotten, simply because just over a year and a half ago, if I had stayed in my public school, I know I wouldn’t have been so lucky. That’s just my experience, take it or leave it.
It’s great that your daughter is making the switch earlier in her high school years! If you look into UT High School and don’t really like it, I know that quite a few of my musician friends are in an online school called Connections Academy.
good luck to your daughter!!
@violin02 Congratulations on Colburn! That’s a great accomplishment!
@MMRose, Virtual HIgh School is structured with regular class times and weekly assignments.
Aventa Learning is more flexible.
VHS is a great program and as I said, our school (and some rigorous high schools in our area) accepted any courses taken with it.
@himmel, did you ask over on the homeschool board?
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/
We use a variety of sources for our online classes, but this provider in particular offers a diploma option:
We find their instruction suitably rigorous, particularly their writing courses. Good luck!
Also North Atlantic Regional High School for diploma.
https://www.narhs.com/
Read this carefully. It does not offer courses, but gathers all your coursework and experiences (such as a CPR course, for instance), to meet their requirements for a diploma.
My performer kid did not exactly home school. Mainly did regular school but with online courses as well as packages of work from regular public school while performing. For her last year she did not go to high school but mostly had enough credits, took one online course, and got a diploma from NARHS.
All the colleges and conservatories were absolutely fine with this and she did well with her admissions.
So nice to see all your replies and feedback here. Sorry I was away on some sort of hiatus due to the lockdown. Tnks esp… to violin02 for sharing your personal experience here, highlighted by that creamy list of admission awards you gained. Congratulations… Very inspiring to learn of your somewhat “late” switch in junior year to online learning and the quick turn around in the rewards for you with the violin Very inspiring indeed for both my daughter and us parents. Besides talent, that comes only with personal dedication, hard work and in your case smart decisions too. An additional layer for my daughter is that she is based and goes to regular school in switzerland where online schooling, distant learning or homeschooling is hardly mainstream. So more factors to consider but certainly we`re closer to it tnks to your story. Are you in West Coast ? And are you doing your violin at a pre-college conservatory ? Texus looks good, the second school you mentioned “Connections Academy” there are so many with that name. And wish you a great start at Colburn!
MY dancer daughter did Virtual HIgh School entirely for her last two years and got into all the schools she applied to. They like “outliers.”
thank you compmom for your pointers. I now see that online schooling can be done with a certain amount of customisation from different sources and materials. Since we don’t have certifying board or homeschooling community here (switzerland), I guess the best way to go is to “enrolling” in one of the “certified” or “accredited” US online Highschools and then fine-tune the curriculum with courses from other sources… Congratulations on your daughters admissions. Wish her a good start, and violin02, embarking on college in these uncertain times. .