As EM approaches the half-way point of his first high school year, I'm feeling like something new might be in order. A few weeks ago, we received an advertisement for a local cyber school in the mail. My usual response to such mailings is to toss it in the trash as soon as I get in the house. This time, I read through the information and later checked their website for more.
When we began homeschooling, all those years ago, we started the journey with JT enrolled in a cyberschool. It quickly became apparent that it wasn't the best fit for JT. EM spent one year in a private Kindergarten, one year in that cyber, then the rest of the time as a traditional homeschooler. It was always obvious that the homeschooling path has been the perfect method for JT, but not necessarily for EM. While he is still testing at or above grade level, I often feel like he could be getting more out of his schooling if we tried something different.
When considering the other options, I am certain that traditional public schooling would not be a good fit. EM is a very unique kid with the kinds of quirks that could easily be targeted by bullies. Knowing that so many parents are turning to homescooling and cybers to get out of that kind of environment, I am not ready to put my kid into a potentially harmful situation just to see if it would work. I have also considered private schools, even the one he attended for his year of Kindergarten. However, being a boy who has a difficult time with sitting still do his work, preferring to bounce around the room while learning, I think that such a rigid environment would result in its own list of problems.
This leaves cyber as our only real other option. I hesitate to sign up with any school that has requirements for live lessons that mean we need to log in at very specific times. Our life is reaching a point where we can travel and have new experiences while schooling and we don't want to lose that option. Talking with a friend who has knowledge of most of the cybers in Pennsylvania, I have a list of those that have limited requirements for live lessons; allowing their students to work at their own pace. I plan to spend some time looking into these schools, talking with EM about the possibility, and really exploring if it would be a good fit for him and our family.
I know even if we do decide to sign up with a school, there would be no reason we couldn't pull him back out if it doesn't work. Hopefully we can find the best fit for him. If we find that none of the cybers are a good fit, we will know that our homeschooling is the best option for him. Nothing will be lost in the exploration of other possibilities.
