Saturday, May 28, 2005

If Only I'd Known This in February!

I've been researching various online high schools for #1 Son next year and finally found IQ Academies, a public high school in Waukesha that's free to Wisconsin residents! Not only do they offer online courses leading to an accredited diploma, but also student council, newspaper, yearbook, chess club, access to state music competitions, student clubs, local meetings for students and parents and a free Mac iBook, printer and $20/month stipend for internet access. And did I mention that it's all free? Dad had been worrying about spending money on #1's high school courses that should be going to his college fund, but now, worry no more, Dad!

Actually, there is one catch. Enrollment is in February for the following year, only in February. And since it is now May, if we want #1 to do his freshman year at IQ Academies, I believe we will have to pay tuition for that one year. I have to call them on Tuesday during business hours to see how that works. I will report back.

Science Fair Update

Chester's science fair project, "What's Your Blood Type?" won second place at the First Annual Fourth Grade Science Fair. :D

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

you know you don't need a diploma to get into college, don't you? Did you also know that kids can take classes at a community college and then transfer into a regular university? Lots of options besides formal curriculum at home.... ;) But you knew I was going to say that, didn't you?

The Princess Mom said...

Yes, of course, I know that. And whether we sign up depends on how much like a traditional high school this is. In Alabama, students report to the high school computer lab at a certain time to participate in their state's online curriculum! That's not the case here in Wisconsin. And it turns out that a lot of the IQ Academies curriculum is through Keystone National High School anyway, which is the other option we were considering. The community college courses available locally are very much trade-oriented. You can't just take chemistry, you have to take chemistry for medical assistants. Somewhat limiting, imho, if he later decides he doesn't want to be in the medical field.