Is Ap Chemistry on Laurel Springs Easy

Over the past year, school boards, local officials and school leadership have developed and modified instructional plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Parents in the Triangle and across the country are continuously processing exactly what their children's education will look like, and are doing their best to prepare and plan for a successful school year.

Many are left with questions about how their school district's plan will work, if the plan will keep changing, and if their student can thrive in the new learning environment.

In 2014, my husband and I were feeling the same sense of unrest and facing some big decisions about our son Ryan's high school education. The small private high school he attended was going through some major growing pains, and wasn't going to be able meet his needs the following year.

We looked at all of our options – public school, other private schools and online schools - and kept coming back to the idea of an online high school. Overall the concept seemed like a perfect fit for Ryan, and after many hours of research and a couple of virtual open houses, we took the leap and submitted his application to Laurel Springs School.

Amid the pandemic, many parents may find themselves considering a private online school simply for the stability it can provide their student. In fact Laurel Springs School reports an 81.3% increase in Virtual Open House registrations year over year, and a 256% increase in the fourth quarter alone.

Ryan remained at Laurel Springs through 12th grade and graduated in June 2017. With three years of experience with online high school through Laurel Springs, and I thought it would be valuable to share my thoughts on their curriculum, extra-curricular activities (yes, they have them) and staff, and how we made online high school work for us.

(This post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase by using one of the affiliate links provided in this article, then I will get a small commission at no extra expense to you. You can read our full disclosure policy here ).

Our Experience with Laurel Springs Online High School: Classes, Clubs and Communication

What is Laurel Springs School?

First, if you're not familiar with it, Laurel Springs School  is a private, online school for grades K-12 ( our experience was only with Laurel Springs High School). It was founded in 1991 and in 1994 they were one of the first schools in the country to successfully develop an online curriculum. They are fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and Cognia (formerly known as AdvancED), which means that their curriculum and teachers are meeting state and U.S. standards, and their transcripts and diplomas are recognized by colleges and universities worldwide.

Laurel Springs Classes and Curriculum

You might be surprised by everything Laurel Springs offers it's high school students. They can take electives and advanced courses. The breadth and depth of the Laurel Springs course catalog is impressive. I don't know what I was expecting the first time I browsed through it, but it definitely wasn't electives like Introduction to Nursing, Game Design and Forensic Science; there are over 80 different electives offered to high school students at Laurel Springs. Ryan's favorite class by far was Astronomy. They also offer both Honors and AP level classes for juniors and seniors, but Ryan stuck with academic level classes

The classes at Laurel Springs are rigorous. I didn't think they would be a breeze, but I guess I thought that they would inherently be easier. Not so much. For the most part, the content was rich and varied, and the assignments and projects were just as demanding as those given in a traditional school setting.

Your student will not be staring at a computer screen all day. One of the things we liked about the classes at Laurel Spring was the choice between text book-based classes and classes that were entirely online. Not every class could be taken both ways, but most of Ryan's core classes offered the choice, and he took a mixture depending on the class.

For text-based classes, the lesson plan and assignments were accessed online via the Learning Management System (LMS) portal, but all of the class materials, content and assignments were text-based. Online classes, including ALL content and assignments, were entirely online.

LSS students have teachers and classmates. If Ryan was taking 7 classes, he had 7 different teachers (or sometimes 6 if a teacher happened to teach two of his classes). They were available by phone, text and/or e-mail to answer questions, as well as meet with him virtually as needed for more in-depth discussions. Ryan also had classmates in each class that he could interact with online. The teachers provided several opportunities each semester to work with classmates on group projects and special events.

Extra-Curricular and Socialization Opportunities

Laurel Springs offers over 30 online clubs for their high school students. Each club is led by a faculty or staff member and typically meets one or two times a month. Ryan was in the Astronomy Club and the National Honor Society. He went through the regular application process for NHS and had to meet the community service requirements like any other member.

Though I don't remember Ryan ever participating in one, they also offer virtual field trips to interesting locations all over the world. Students join the faculty and/or hosts from Exploring By The Seat of Your Pants  using a YouTube live link and can participate by asking direct questions. According the Laurel Springs School website, the most popular field trip to date has been Shark Day from Cooks Island Sanctuary.

There was a LIVE graduation ceremony! Laurel Springs has an in-person combination graduation ceremony and prom at the beginning of June in Ojai, CA. We planned a summer trip to Southern California that year, that encompassed his big day. The ceremony was every bit as meaningful and special as a graduation should be (though I will never forget how cold it was in the ballroom), and even though Ryan wasn't overly social with his classmates, he enjoyed meeting a handful of them and all of us were thankful for an official event to celebrate his high school graduation.

Laurel Springs School Access, Pacing and Communication

The classes and coursework at Laurel Springs are all administered through a Learning Management System (LMS). This online portal is where students access their classes, assignments, grades and teacher comments, and both the student and the parent(s) have a login with separate permissions. Overall the LMS was fairly easy to learn and use, and Laurel Springs provided solid support if we had questions or ran into issues. Very occasionally their network went down, but nothing out of the ordinary and it was usually only for a few hours at most.

Laurel Springs families set their own schedule. The flexibility of Laurel Springs School was invaluable to us. Many students need the flexibility to accommodate outside interests like performing arts or athletics; Ryan just needed that flexibility to be successful in general. Laurel Springs students and families can set and adjust the pace of each class independently.

Here's how it works: within each course, the student sets an end date and the LMS automatically assigns suggested due dates to each lesson to stay on pace to complete the class on that date. If needed, the end date can be changed and the pacing automatically adjusts. You can also indicate vacation days that the pacing will take into consideration. I loved this feature! Plus, Laurel Springs offers rolling admissions and you choose both your start date and academic calendar.

In our experience, communication from both the teachers and the administrative staff at Laurel Springs School was timely and relevant. There is a Family Center website accessible through the LMS with tons of support options and resources for students and families to help them find success at LSS.

All full-time students are assigned a School Counselor to guide them through high school and on to their next step. Just like traditional schools, the student's relationship with their counselor is what they make of it. Ryan didn't engage with his counselor often, or fully take advantage of him as a resource, but he was available and always willing to help.

The Logistics of Online High School and How We Made It Work

As many of you have recently experienced, switching from a traditional school setting to online or virtual school is a big change. When we did it six years ago, the first month or so was bumpy, but eventually we settled in to a routine that worked for our family. If your high school student will be attending school online for part or all of the year, here are some of the things that worked for us:

Set Expectations for The First Few Weeks

Be patient, online school may not be completely intuitive right away. Take time to learn the technology, adjust to being an online student, and adjust to being an online schooling parent. Ryan tried to dive right in to lessons and assessments on the first day and then he figured out that he had to complete an orientation module first. He wasted several hours and ended up really frustrated on day one.

Tech issues will happen. WiFi will go out and networks will go down. If your student's teachers don't address it, ask them how issues like that will be handled. How should your student communicate with the teacher if they have connectivity issues? And will extensions be granted for legitimate technology challenges?

Create A Dedicated Space for School

Not everyone will have the space or flexibility to do this, but if possible, designate a room or area in your home for school work, ideally away from your student's bedroom or where they spend free time. At our house we made our dining room Ryan's spot to do schoolwork and he did all of his school work there his sophomore year. By 11th grade we were more flexible because we had established a system and routine, and Ryan had proven he could be responsible.

Establish a Routine and Create a System That Works for Your Student

OK, I mentioned our "system and routine" above. Establishing that was probably the single most important thing we did to find success with online high school. It took some time, but eventually we figured out that looking at his classes and assignments in the learning management system, and deciding what to work on each day was overwhelming. Once we stepped back, we realized that making that leap to total autonomy wasn't realistic. We needed to bridge the gap between the list of assignments and a daily routine.

First we established a set routine for weekdays: what time Ryan got up, had breakfast, and blocks of time for each subject. We even built in a mid-morning snack and an hour for lunch.

Then every Sunday evening, I spent a couple of hours looking at the syllabus and assignments for each class and figured out how much Ryan needed to accomplish that week to stay on track with the pacing for each class. Early on we used a big easel and flip chart like the one on the right (there are many options and sizes available on Amazon ) and I wrote out exactly how he should spend each day and what he needed to accomplish.

But we really find our groove when I started using Trello to manage that process. If you're not familiar with it, Trello is a web-based collaboration tool designed for project management. I had used it before professionally and figured out that it was a great tool for organizing Ryan's weekly schedule and assignments. There's a free plan, it's available online and as an app, and it's very easy to use. Once we started using Trello to manage Ryan's school work, we never did it any other way. If you want to learn more or read in detail exactly how we used Trello , I've documented it on a separate page. Plus, you can request a link to a Trello template  that you can use to manage your online school assignments .

Use Tutors if Needed

Remember this is high school and eventually your student will come up against a class that really challenges them. If needed and if it's within your budget, I highly recommend using tutors for challenging classes. Ryan had a tutor for Algebra 2, Trigonometry and Chemistry.

His Laurel Springs teachers were available for questions and to provide guidance, but he needed concentrated, extended help a couple of times a week to stay on track in his math classes. For Chemistry, we hired a tutor to facilitate his labs (yes he had labs!). It was a lot to expect Ryan to complete those on his own and his dad and I both worked and couldn't always carve out the big chunks of time they required.

New Programs at Laurel Springs School

Since our son Ryan graduated from Laurel Springs in 2017, the school has continued to grow and has added some exciting new programs.

The Academy at Laurel Springs and the Minerva Baccalaureate Program

The Academy at Laurel Springs School  is a selective online learning program for distinguished scholars in grades 6-12. And just last month, in cooperation with The Academy, Laurel Springs announced its new Minerva Baccalaureate program, a "transformative four-year curriculum available to students who wish to elevate and accelerate their high school education and benefit from an online collaborative learning environment."

The Minerva Baccalaureate was developed in partnership with Minerva Project to create a new model of elite college prep. The program complements the advanced college preparatory courses offered through The Academy with two, live online classes each day. Graduates of the program obtain a high school diploma from Laurel Springs, and a Minerva Baccalaureate including 32 hours of college credit.

Postgraduate Program: Gap Year With a Purpose

In response to the interruption of post-secondary plans for many recent high school graduates, Laurel Springs has launched the postgraduate program  Gap Year With a Purpose . The program offers recent grads who intend to go to college, an opportunity to strengthen their academic record and fine tune their interests. Enrolled students take academically rigorous courses and college level seminars in areas that interest them, and receive specialized counseling based on personal needs and career ambitions. Learn more about Laurel Springs School's Program Gap Year With a Purpose.

Find Your Drive Program

Launched in 2019, the Find Your Drive program  offers 11 career-focused pathways for high school students at Laurel Springs School. Students explore courses, clubs and other resources based on their personal interests and goals, and work with their College Counselor to identify the careers best suited to them. Learn more about the Find Your Drive program.

This is an honest an unsolicited review of Laurel Springs School and our family's experience with online high school. The goal of this website has always been to make high school, and specifically senior year, less stressful and easier to navigate by providing resources, tips, recommendations and more to students and their families in the Triangle and beyond. Hopefully this post sheds some light on private online high schools and helps families trying to figure out the best path for their students this year.

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Julie Stallman is the owner and publisher of TriangleSeniorYear.com. She is a graphic designer and marketing professional with a love of all things creative and a sincere appreciation for small business owners. Julie and her family have lived in Cary for over 21 years and feels fortunate to call the Triangle home.

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Source: https://www.trianglesenioryear.com/websiteblog/online-high-school-our-success-story-with-laurel-springs-school

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