Online School, Online Schools Report of what it's like to live there - 05/30/16
Personal Experiences from Online School, Online Schools
School Name:
Stanford University Online High School
Background Information:
1. Are you the parent of a child(ren) attending this school? A teacher at the school? Or both?
Parent.
2. What grade or grades do/did your children attend at the school? During what year(s) did they attend the school?
Child attended 9-12 grade.
3. During what years were you affiliated with this school?
2013-2017.
4. What was your reason for living in the city where the school is located (e.g., government, military, corporate, NGO, retired)?
2013-2014 language training in the U.S. and then 2013-onward working in China.
5. Are other schools available to expatriates in this city? Why did you choose this particular school?
As a virtual school you can attend from around the world. It was easy to maintain and consistency of education and friendships for my child. We knew we were going to move a lot during my child's high school years.
In addition, the school teaches to the education level of my child. Stanford University Online High School is a school for the gifted and talented type student who loves learning in a challenging but not competitive environment. Over 60 percent of the teachers have PhDs in their subjects and love teaching these kids.
Admission is competitive but the school looks at the whole person. This school fits kids who are under-challenged in their current school, kids who could do well but have become so bored in school they have given up, kids who are super accomplished and motivated, kids who move frequently (one child in the class was attending from her parent's boat on a trip around the world), kids who have a significant pursuit (like are Olympic contenders, competitive sailors, T.V. actors, etc). Despite this the kids for the most part are smart, motivated, kind and helpful--not cut-throat.
Admissions & Welcome:
1. Are the admissions and placement procedures clearly stated to prospective families, either on the school website or through other means of communication?
The admission process is long and involved with a number of essays needed from both the child and the parents. SAT, ACT or other "talent search" tests are needed. OHS tries to determine the "fit" for the child. Once admitted, the placement process is good because the student either shows what prior courses have been take to show level of capability or can take placement tests to ensure that the classes are the correct ones for the child's level.
2. How would you rate the school's support and welcome/integration of new students and their families, and why?
Pretty good. Each new student is assigned a student ambassador from the next grade up when they start school and there is a new student in person orientation at Stanford which new students are encouraged to attend right before school starts.
Administration & School Procedures:
1. Describe the general climate of the grade level that you teach or your child attends:
Great! Kids come from around the world and viewpoints are diverse and dynamic. At this school my child has made several good friends, teachers are passionate about their subjects and willing to go the extra mile to answer questions, the environment is encouraging.
This school is hard. The kids in this school do a lot of homework and the homework is reversed from the norm. Kids read the material, watch recorded lectures, and come prepared to class for the live discussion of the material in live interactive seminar classes held by webinar technology.
There are also over 50 virtual clubs, assemblies, game and film nights, and even an interactive music group. Over the year, parents arrange regional "meet ups" where families living in the same areas can get together in person. The school is one of the first fully accredited diploma-granting virtual high schools in the U.S.
2. For the following attributes, down to the next blank box, grade your experience at the school on a scale of A (excellent) to F (unacceptable/terrible) and provide comments:<br><br>Overall fair and equitable treatment of all students and families:
Fair and reasonable as far as we have been able to tell. We have only had good experiences so far. Including needing to ask for accommodations which have all been granted.
3. How is the overall communication between teachers and parents, and the administration and parents? How is communication facilitated?
Decent. It depends on how much you as the parent want to get involved with the PTA and on various committees. Teachers are generally good about letter you know if there is an issue. I would say you can trust 75 to 80 percent of the teachers to be pro-active in communication if there is something really problematic.
4. Aside from school fees, are there required expenses such as uniforms, laptops/tablets, musical instruments, or field trips that parents are expected to cover? What are the approximate costs?
Laptops. My child goes through them pretty fast. We have one to use and an extra in case that one breaks. Scanners, printers also needed with back ups. Mid-terms and finals are usually 3 hours long for each class and need to be proctored by an outside approved person - sometimes there are charges for this that can be expensive. If your child wants to attend graduation in person or the August summer session it is expensive.
5. Services for gifted students who need academic challenge and students with learning difficulties:
This school understands the gifted and twice-gifted (or gifted with learning difficulties). They can provide accommodations and counseling but do not provide services per se.
6. Availability and variety of after-school activities for various ages:
There are a lot of clubs and some of these are for fun (like the Dr. Who club) and others are competitive teams like the Math Olympiad team. If you don't see a club you like the child only needs to find a couple of others to join and get a teacher to sponsor and you can start that club. There are also periodic spirit week activities and assemblies. All are virtual so if you are looking for in-person activities you won't get that during the school year unless you attend a regional "meet up."
In August, there is a chance to attend a 2 1/2 week in-person session at Stanford for all the kids in the school where you can take mini-classes or a science lab. That is super fun. There is also graduation week in June where most of the kids from the school get together in person.
7. Maintenance of appropriately high standards for all students:
One article in "The Guardian" lists Stanford University's Online High School (OHS) as one of the top ten smartest high schools in the U.S. as measured by SAT scores.
8. Homework assigned (quality, quantity):
Lots, lots, lots. Labs are done at home. At the beginning of the year, parents buy a lab kit which is sent to their house. Students do each lab following directions at home and then write up the lab and report it. Other homework may involve working on presentations, researching and acting as the week's expert for a specific topic for a class, presenting an original work, writing a work of fiction or research paper. etc. Homework also includes reviewing material for the upcoming class and being prepared to discuss and ask questions of the teacher.
9. Administration-parent communication:
Good. There is a weekly news letter. Monthly webinars for parents with the head of the school, etc. You can always have questions answered by email by the principal, administration, or other departments.
10. Teacher-student communication:
GREAT. There are a lot of office hours and usually the teachers will also have one "floating" office hour which can be arranged each week by a student or students who request a specific time frame. This is in order to accommodate kids in different time zones. Questions are encouraged in class. Students get a grade in each class for participation.
11. Academics, answer the following questions "yes" or "no" with an explanation if appropriate:<br><br>Are there any classes or subjects where students are not appropriately challenged?
The level of courses are typically taught at the college freshman or sophomore level.
12. Does your child receive any special-needs assistance or instruction at this school? If yes, what types? Who provides services and where:
My child received accommodation. See comments above on accommodations and services.
13. Do you believe the special-needs assistance is appropriate and fills your needs? Explain:
See above.
14. Does the gifted and talented program meet the needs of students? Please explain:
YES!
15. Does the school offer a wide variety of elective or non-core classes such as art, music, and drama?
No but what it does offer is well-taught.
16. Please describe any classes or programs that you believe are missing:
Music, art, drama, cooking.
17. Are there academic requirements such as trips or other activities that cost money in addition to school fees?
There is a 2 1/2 week get together at Stanford that costs around $4,000 where most of the kids and students see each other in person.
18. What activities do you feel are missing?
Would be great if there was a club leader for the Asian time zone.
19. Have your children participated in the activities offered? If no, please indicate why:
Some time zone issues for clubs now that we are living in China.
20. Does the school provide appropriate assistance to new students?
Yes already mentioned above.
21. Please describe any problem areas or challenges in social interaction at the school:
It is a challenge to connect up with kids in your local area if you child is not attend your local school.
Academics & Resources:
1. What personal or academic counseling resources are available at this school? Is there a dedicated college counselor at the school? Is he/she familiar with universities worldwide?
College counseling is very available and all juniors are asked to attend a one-semester college-prep course. Family and child support counseling is pretty good once you engage with that office. General counseling for teen emotional issues etc. is pretty weak.
2. Does the school have a library? How large is it? How updated are the books? Can students borrow books to read at home?
You have access to Stanford University's full library. Class reading material and reference material is readily accessible through specific systems for the Online High School.
3. How are information technology resources at the school. Are they up-to-date? Is there a computer lab?
Pretty good considering it is a virtual school dependent on the use of technology. They could still hire some additional IT personnel.
4. Describe the physical education resources at the school. Is there a gym? A swimming pool? Are there playing fields or tennis courts available?
Minimal.
5. What is the approximate teacher-to-student ratio in the grades that your child attended?
Some of my child's classes have had a ratio of 1 to 5 and some are 1 to 16. None are higher than 16.
6. Are Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses available in upper grades? If this is an IB school, is the full diploma required of all students?
Only AP courses - no IB. If your child tops out of AP Calculus BC for example, there are also some university level courses in both the sciences and humanities that they can take.
7. Is the amount and type of homework generally appropriate for the age and grade of the students?
Yes for an academically gifted and motivated student.
8. What fine arts electives are available (music, drama, visual arts)?
Limited. For the coming year there will be a poetry class and there is a music theory class. Many kids are involved outside of school in various high level music/art/drama activities often at the professional level and appreciate the flexibility of the classes.
9. Are the teachers at the school required to speak English as a first language--or at least fluently?
Teachers speak English fluently.
10. What services are available for gifted/advanced students at the school? Please describe your experience with these services, if applicable.
The entire school is gifted and talented. The school grew out of Stanford's original distance learning math classes delivered by TV and CD in the early 1990's which sought to reach rural kids in high school in the U.S. who had exhausted the math in their current high school. It evolved into additional online courses in science and humanities provided for kids who were in "talent search" programs. Finally it received several grants from the Malone Family Foundation to support the creation of a virtual high school for GT kids. It holds one of the first accreditations of an virtual high school and is a diploma-granting school. This year it will start the accreditation process for California.
11. What extra-curricular activities (including sports) are available at this school? Have your children participated in these activities? What activities do you feel are missing at the school?
Yes. Clubs, study groups, math, robotics, and physics teams.
Social & Emotional Well-Being:
1. Do expatriate students socialize with local students at the school? Are both groups successfully integrated into the school culture?
Students generally socialize outside of class virtually. While these classmates are generally from around the world, there is little to no interaction with kids in your actual location because students are spread around the globe. For example, I know of maybe four families in China and Hong Kong that attend the school currently. We have met with them once or twice.
2. Are there are any problems with exclusionary behavior, cliques, or bullying at this school? Please describe any problems your children may have experienced in this area.
NO. Very kind and helpful student and teacher environment.
Overall Impressions:
1. What is the greatest strength of this school?
The kind environment and focus on learning. It has a good reputation with colleges. The teachers and the college counselors. The interest the kids have in learning and also having fun with learning.
2. Greatest challenge?
First getting accepted. Second making sure your technology can work and you have a sufficient internet (which is a challenge in China specifically). Third, making sure that your child has friends in the local area where you live or significant activities that you do outside of OHS otherwise its easy for your child to stay in bed while accomplishing things.
3. Would you choose this school again? Why?
We chose this school because it provided an academic experience that was at my child's level. Also its a great option for those who want to provide a continuity of high school transcript and experience for their child. Since the classes are all live - the seminar based classes and preparation in advance make the class discussion insightful and in-depth. The teachers are all pretty much amazing in both depth and breath of knowledge of their subjects but also in their passion for teaching. It is LGBT friendly. The kids in this school are sought after by colleges that are familiar with the school and the college counselors do a great job in working with the college readers from schools around the U.S. and many top tier colleges specifically recruit from OHS. There is also some financial aid.
