Yet Another Sign

      Today offered yet another sign that we are making the right choice for our children. 

      K12 is a curriculum offered to students not just in the USA.  I moved a lot as a child. There was always a learning curve at each new school as the curriculum materials were never the same from one school to the next. I was always able to keep up and even excel, particularly in Math and English, but I do have the perspective of a military family moving from state to state or even to different countries.   Military families are able to take advantage of K12 and I an only imagine how wonderful that would have been for my parents who often made choices about assignments based on the local schools.

      Today, I received a phone call from our PAL to let us know about a special situation offered to K12 middle school students in Oklahoma.  Since the K12 curriculum tends to be about a year ahead of the Oklahoma Public School system, K12 is offering us the opportunity for my 7th grade student to complete the K12 6th grade coursework. I was assured that she would be able to promote to 8th grade no matter her choice but that we should look over both the K12 6th and 7th grade materials and decided what is best for her.  (K12 6th grade coursework meets the PASS skills for the state of Oklahoma 7th grade.)
       I have very mixed feelings about this.  First of all, SHAME on Oklahoma for allowing for a full grade level difference in education. (This weekend, we will go through a few chapters of both the literature and the language textbooks to see which we prefer.)  Second, I congratulate K12 for recognizing this difference and giving middle school students a 'bridge'.  Clearly they researched and found that OKVA students may have additional needs. They must also have gotten this approved by the powers that be in the state of Oklahoma education departments. Their goal is to get all of the middle school students up to speed before 9th grade, when the classes begin to count as credit on transcripts. 
      Yes, now I have more to do. Yes, I am now having that icky feeling in the pit of my stomach that I get when I am making decisions that affect the education of my children. 
        Unfortunately, the gap in education is large. It is not my imagination.  It is vulgar.  Until the state of Oklahoma can bring its brick and mortar schools up to speed, I will gladly allow them to pay for the K12 curriculum for my children.
       K12 has already offered several choices to us for flexibility.  My 7th grader can also do a 'bridge' math course to catch her up to the Pre-Algebra K12 offers if necessary.  They offer many ways to catch our children up to their standards.
       I have read some reviews that said the K12 standards are too high.  Maybe those families would be more comfortable in Oklahoma Public Schools. I don't know.  Since we are not talking about kids glued to school work 12 hours per day, and the K12 school day means that all coursework is completed during the school day, (no homework time added), I think K12 appears to be very efficient.  I have reviewed most of the coursework myself already, and can honestly say, it is not "fluffy'.  They cover the subject, review, test and move on. 
      I still do not know what our actual school day will look like.  I can see that there is a possibility that my youngest may finish her classroom work in four hours.  She does not daydream.  Without time to wait on others, lining up for other classes, and other typical classroom issues, she may have quite a bit of free time for activities at the end of her day.  Or, she may need more time than I anticipate. Either way, I am planning on approximately six hours per day for classroom work with 30 minutes each day for PE... Just as recommended.
     I will have to write about PE another day, but I like it!