Connections Academy (2E)Connections Academy (2E)[/url]
This is another older thread. Note that my post there was after grades 3-8 (with the program as it once was).
Those experiences were mostly good. The post above is in our second year in the high school program, and with significant changes from our corporate overlords this year after Pearson's acquisition in August.
Would I still do it for a K through 6th grader? Oh, probably. It's definitely superior for a PG kiddo when compared with local B&M enrollment in an undifferentiated environment, if only because your time is your own once you're done.
My daughter has done the "club" thing with Connections. It's highly over-rated, let's just say. She enjoyed Chess. She loved debate. But the other stuff? Meh.
She's an NJHS officer, though-- and that is the real deal.
With a cooperative local administration that is WILLING to do some end-runs around Baltimore, Connections is perfectly viable as an option for a PG elementary or middle schooler. Just recognize that if you don't have an over-achiever, authority-pleaser type of kid, you may be in for some battles royale. Much of the "work" is boring drivel, just like in B&M. Much of it is aimed at NCLB testing, and being PG doesn't exempt you from having to put in weekly time on their stupid test-prep software. Dumb, dumb, dumb-- but good luck getting anyone to listen to you.
Also-- be prepared for serious pushback about actual GRADE PLACEMENT changes. Much of the touted flexibility is a mirage.
After my DD (then 7) polished off the 4th grade curriculum by Christmas, we cooled our heels for nearly seven weeks WAITING for Baltimore to figure out that my kid really was waiting to do 5th grade, too, and that our local administrators and teachers really did think this was a good idea.
There were also limits on electives in elementary, last I heard (6th grade) whereby you could only take TWO, and even so, only one of them could be a foreign language, etc. Again, for a PG child, this is a ridiculous and completely arbitrary limitation. As I noted above, the JGB program is like a dream come true for a lot of MG+ kids. It's terrific, at least in the hands of a teacher that understands GT learners.
There is reluctance to grant high school credit for high school coursework taken in middle school. We had to fight this one HARD. It's worth fighting, too, because in many states, those courses are specified by the state ("Algebra 1") for high school graduation. Not "Algebra 1 or higher math."
Baltimore's administrators are PG skeptics. Truly. They like using us as poster families, but deep down, they doubt that it's really our kids doing the work.
