Dear Friends,
I keep hearing from friends and family about how stressed they are about what next school year might hold for their children and grandchildren. I am writing to you to let you know there are some great options for children’s education next year, despite how you might be feeling about the upcoming school year.
I recently spoke to a friend who has been praying for the right educational opportunity for her elementary and middle school children. She has been concerned about the political agenda being pushed on her children, the never-ending bullying and finger-pointing her children have endured at the hands of students and staff, and the lack of flexibility the traditional school system has provided her family in addition to the pure chaos they have dealt with during the shelter-in-place due to the COVID19 lockdown. I felt so bad that I didn’t know she was seeking this type of learning opportunity and that she didn’t know that my academies were the perfect low-cost answer to her prayers. She fortunately found my academy’s contact information on one of the many virtual homeschool charter schools’ websites preferred vendor lists that we are on. However, I still feel bad that I wasn’t more vocal about the opportunity my academies offer to like-minded families.
I know so many of you are concerned about what next school year will look like. Some are saying their school district is going to have the children come back a couple days per week, or a few days a week but at alternating times of day, or on some kind of rotating basis, some say their school is going to be completely remote, some are saying that their district hasn’t given them any indication what they will be doing next year which has added to their anxiety.
I have talked with so many parents who say they did not have a good “baptism-by-fire” homeschool experience. Their children’s teachers were not prepared for remote teaching; children weren’t prepared for remote learning; parents weren’t prepared to be their child’s manager, secretary, teacher, and supervisor on top of being the breadwinner, parent, and playmate. Everything and everyone was disorganized, teachers have given up, students have fallen behind, IEPs have been ignored, children are depressed, an entire semester has already been lost–and now they are talking about doing it all over again in the Fall.
The students at my academies transitioned smoothly into our shelter-in-place remote learning. Our teachers were prepared, organized, and they care deeply about our students’ learning. Our students were prepared because they had already been experiencing part of their learning in an independent remote-type platform. Because we allow our students to work at the pace that is best for each student, many of our students have actually completed this current school year’s courses and have already begun on the next year’s curriculum.
Our parents were not overwhelmed because American Academy teachers continued to teach their children—our teachers didn’t resign and turn the teaching over to the parents. Our students met virtually weekly with their classmates and teachers for each core subject, plus they met virtually weekly with their core subject teachers for private tutoring, plus they met virtually twice weekly with their World Language teachers for private language tutoring, plus they had the option of meeting virtually with the Director as needed. Our students were also invited to participate in a variety of virtual weekly social and academic clubs to continue developing meaningful relationships with friends and classmates, attend virtual field trips with community businessmen and women, and participate in virtual art classes.
Our students will finish this school year ahead of their counterparts and feel proud of their accomplishments. Our parents will finish this school year feeling reassured and ready to enjoy summertime with their children and families. And our teachers will begin preparing to do it all over again next year. ☺
I started my academies several years ago to offer families a no-cost educational opportunity that offered flexibility and adaptability. I believe that parents need options and children need an educational plan that fits their learning style. One size does not fit all. We offer comprehensive curriculum opportunities for all ability levels, a wide variety of electives, field trips, clubs, etc, and we provide families a lot of scheduling options and flexibility. Our classes are directed at helping students obtain real-world experience; our older students enjoy project-based, discussion-based core subject classes while our younger students enjoy play-based project-based opportunities.
Our programs for students Tk-2 grade, include:
- Kidspot program play-based project-based classes
- Kidspot World Language program for Spanish, Mandarin, and French
- Bridge program for students in 1 and 2 grades who will be transitioning from our play-based program to our academy-level programs.
- Options for daily schedule:
- Kidspot 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
- Bridge 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Our students have the option to attend Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday
- And as always, Fridays are FREE optional drop-in fun electives!
Our programs for students 2-12 grade include:
- Academic Essential Discourse program project-based, discussion-based
- World Language program for Spanish, Mandarin, and French
- Pathways program for students who want early career and technology experience
- Options for daily schedule: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM or 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Our students have the option to attend Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday
- And as always, Fridays are FREE optional drop-in fun electives!
All of our programs also include Friday electives which include:
- Social and Academic Clubs
- Electives such as:
- Deconstruction & Unbuilding
- Entrepreneurship
- Marine Biology
- Strategic Games
- Survivor
- Cooking Chemistry
- STEM
- Coding, etc…
- First Friday of the Month Field Trips (for the whole family)
Our students return year after year. There is no pressure for parents to volunteer, contribute to fundraisers, or attend a bunch of unnecessary meetings. We make it easy to enjoy the educational experience for everyone. We do the hard work and you get to enjoy the fun opportunities. Our current families tell me they enjoy their flexible schedule. They love the more relaxed daily pace and the less stressful weekly schedule. The other added benefit—there is much less homework! Instead of missing your child’s life because they are either at school or have their head in homework around the clock, you actually get to enjoy them, and they get to be immersed in outside-of-school activities that are of interest to them such as music, sports, art, leisure, family activities, travel, etc…
Again, the cost of the 2-day programs are covered by your taxes through a public virtual charter schools. You pay nothing out of pocket.
If you think you might be interested in learning more about our hybrid homeschool options, please reach out to me. I’d be happy to help in any way I can. Please consider forwarding this letter to others who might also be interested in a unique learning opportunity for their children. Every child deserves a learning plan that meets their particular learning style and needs!
Your friend,
Angela Hansen
Founder & President, American Academy of Strategic Education
