Is K12 homeschooling: K 12 provides a tuition free option with state teachers as an alternative to public school or online public school. If you’re searching for free homeschool programs, online homeschool courses, virtual public schools / virtual academy, ways to supplement your homeschool curriculum, or as an option for homeschooling, there are important things you should know about K 12 school, including where to find honest K12 homeschooling reviews…
IS K12 HOMESCHOOLING?
What does K12 mean?
K12 refers to Kindergarten through 12th grade. They are programs that cover the entire span of a child’s 12 years of basic schooling. It is often pronounced K12, or K through 12, or even K to 12 program. The K 12 program offers kindergarten, elementary school (grade schools), middle school, and free online high school classes.
What is K12?
K12 is a for-profit educational company. K 12 learning specializes in providing online classes for children in grades kindergarten through grade 12. K through 12 provides an alternative to the traditional “brick-and-mortar” public school for and offers virtual public school and some online homeschooling programs that may be considered private school online.
K12 enrollment includes:
- Tuition-free online public school
- Paid private school options
- Supplemental paid courses
These are all completed online. You oversee or track your child’s work through a K12 parent portal.
How much does K12 homeschooling cost?
Is K12 homeschooling free?
K12 public school is tuition free (free online school K 12) and provides free schooling online for public school students; however, there may be some associated costs for extras, so check with the company before signing up. There are also paid private school versions of K12 and the supplemental online courses also have fees associated with them. The K12 homeschool price will vary depending on the homeschool courses or online program you choose.
Homeschooling for free online may actually mean that you are choosing to public school from home, so be sure to understand online school programs before signing up.
TIP: Also search online schools near me to see full school options available to you.
THESE MAY ALSO HELP:
Is online school considered homeschool?
Hybrid Schooling: Can You Homeschool and Go To Public School?
Don’t miss the K12 online school reviews link at the end of the post!
K12 versus Homeschooling
Is K12 considered homeschool?
K12 is not considered true homeschooling and the students are not considered home school students. A main difference is that homeschooling is very different from public schooling at home. Homeschooling means that you have total control over your child’s education and are only governed by your state (or area) laws on homeschooling—which can range by state from strict to very relaxed in the United States.
In online, virtual school at home programs, many—like the K12 online school or even some other accredited homeschool programs—are affiliated with public school programs.
So, essentially your child is doing public school, just from home.
This is why many virtual schools or online home school programs are tuition free—they are associated with public school (which taxes cover).
This means that you must meet the same standards (and testing requirements) as public schools for your area, be on the same schedule, and many other state and local school requirements.
From the K12 website:
Online public schools are not homeschools, nor are the students who attend online schools considered “homeschooled.” In fact, there are many differences.
Most K12-powered online public schools:
- Have state-certified public school teachers
- Comply with mandatory state assessment test requirements
- Comply with state attendance policies and academic progress requirements
- Have a school office for administrative staff
- Have an established curriculum determined by the school
- Issue lesson and course grades, transcripts, report cards, and conduct parent conferences
- Have strong school administrators (e.g., principal, assistant principal, etc.)
- Comply with applicable state and federal academic and fiscal accountability requirements
TIP: The U.S. Department of State has a list of accredited online homeschool programs.
Is K12 a homeschooling program?
Are All K12 Classes Affiliated With Public School?
According to their website, K12 academy does offer some paid stand-alone online classes that you can use to supplement your homeschooling.
K12 education offers independent courses in:
- Math
- Language arts
- Reading
- Science
These classes do not appear to be affiliated with public or private schools, but be sure to check with them for verification before signing up, especially if you are looking for online schooling for high school where you get public school credits.
Should I Use K12 for Home School?
So, should you try K12 for homeschooling? It all depends on how you want to tailor your homes school and how much control you want over homeschooling. Both homeschool and virtual public schools (like K12) are valid options for learning at home, but if you want independent online homeschool programs you might want to look elsewhere.
You just need to decide:
Do I want complete and total control over my homeschooling?
OR
Do I want a public (or private) school system to provide all the lessons and also follow their reporting and testing standards?
As with any major parenting decision, you need to give careful consideration to the pros and cons of homeschooling with both methods.
Is K12 a good homeschool program?
If you’re looking for the best online homeschool programs, you really want to first read the independent parent K12 reviews / K12 homeschool reviews on the Consumer Affairs website.
Good morning I am looking for my daughter at home schooling
Hi Shandrina,
What questions do you have and I’ll try to help you out.
I’m trying to pull my kids out of school immediately where do I start signing them up
Hi Dorian,
We only provide the basic info about K12. You’ll have to search “K12 [your state]” to get the specifics for your area. Good luck!
Is it really free
I am looking for home school for my year 1 kid, please send me the details
Hi Jyoti,
If you want to join K12, you’ll have to check directly on their site. (We were just giving information about it here and are not affiliated with K12).
You may also want to check this out: https://homeschoolsuperfreak.com/how-do-you-homeschool-a-kindergartener/
Good luck!
is it like independent do i have to join a zoom class or anything of that sort
Hi Sergio,
You will need to check directly with the K12 program that you sign up with.
Good morning i am looking to homeschooling my 1st and 5th grader is it a number to call an email? Any details i need? Any help at this point would be greatly appreciated
Hi DeAngelo, We’re just providing overall information on the K12 program. You will need to check with the K12 program in your area for specific sign up information. (Google “K12[your city, state]”.) Good luck!
so k12 does not have anything for ny?
Hi Shannon,
I’m not sure. Some areas do not. Search online for “K12 New York” and see what comes up.
We looked at K12 as an alternative to home school but had concerns how much it seemed to rely on the parents to oversee the students’ work and day. For a more structured setting, I highly recommend St. Isidore Online Academy. It is a one-room schoolhouse setting for K-8 students using Zoom with lots of group interaction along with individual attention.
Is this School Accredited?
Hi Brystin,
K12 does list accreditation in their advertising, but I would check with the specific one for your state or area.
What are the top true homeschool programs? Ive heard of easy peasy and time4learning. My son will be entering into 5th grade and the “socialization” he is getting at school is a bad influence and Id rather him not be in that situation anymore.
Hi Daniel,
This is a great question and it’s hard to answer because it depends on so many factors like:
-Do you want online learning, book curriculum, or a mix?
-If you want online learning, do you want a “live” teacher class, or are you looking for something that you child can do on their own schedule (asynchronous learning)?
-Do you want a secular only curriculum, Christian curriculum, or a mix?
-What does your specific state (or area) say about what you need to report for homeschooling?
(& many other factors/questions, those are just a few)
Also, you may want to check out some of the resources we use (past and present): https://homeschoolsuperfreak.com/what-are-the-best-homeschooling-resources/
This page certainly has all of the info I needed concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.