I think HK and others make important points about science pedagogy for kids interested in science. For the reasons they suggest, any self-paced online course with DIY labs probably cannot be adequate for a really motivated science kid who wants to learn at a high level.
I'm writing just as a Laurel Springs Academy (that's the GT branch)("LSA") parent to suggest gently that we have found that LSA is a bit better than other online options, at least in the humanities areas that my HG child loves. LSA is definitely a self-paced model (except at the AP level, which has real-time weekly lectures/discussions). Teacher interaction is something you ask for, and the teachers have time to offer it (unlike other places, where they are on the clock a bit more). Still, a distant teacher is a distant teacher, and so IMHO, LSA is best for (a) autodidacts who want a curriculum as a baseline for outside learning and (b) kids with an in-house teacher (with higher education in the field). I am a fan of LSA *given our situation*. But I would NOT rely on online courses by LSA (or any other provider) without significant home support from a highly-educated parent or tutor. To their credit, the LSA staff are upfront about this, even if the catalog seems puffy.
So LSA for us is what I consider "semi-homeschool." They provide a good curriculum, but we teach it and provide real-time questioning and consideration. HK is quite right (good catch!) that the science offerings are not UC-approved; the other subjects generally are.
I have found that, as with any school (real or virtual), the parent needs to be an educated and involved consumer. But what I love (and what I have not seen in any other online or bricks-and-mortar school) is that involvement results in tailoring rather than bureaucratic stonewalling (as in our prior public school). My child and I have full power to choose among course options and, in consultation with teachers who "get" gifted kids, to redesign curricula to enrich or deepen. We rejected the standard Geometry text (induction) in favor of Jacobs' Geometry (full-on, no-excuses deduction), and it has been a pleasure. The school was fine with it and helped us redesign the course.
I hope I'm managing to give a nuanced account here. For humanities-oriented kids with expert (humanities and math) parents at home, LSA is great, as long as you understand what it is.
By contrast, I have had first-hand experience with K-12, Apex, and Aventa. The K-12 quality was mixed but not bad; the major limitation is that it was very "grade-level" with no honors options (at that level, anyway). Apex was very rote and multiple-choice-based, and Aventa was affirmatively poor in quality. (I am judging history and English grades 5 and 6 at K-12 and HS-level language and math offerings through Apex and Aventa.)
