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My experience with Commonwealth Connections Academy has been excellent! The curriculum is wonderful. CCA supplies everything needed to be a productive learning coach. My son is excited about all the subjects, even the subject he struggles with. We are never bored with the schoolwork. My son likes to send and receive his portfolio items. He wonders if his teacher will like his work and give him an "A". His teacher always has something to say on each item that is sent in, often with a sticker or a comment on how he did. Routinely his teacher calls every other week on a day that suits both of us. At that point I can ask questions if needed. The teacher may also give a verbal test over the phone to my son.

I find that there are a lot of opportunities for socialization on field trips, once we participated in a Robo Ball competition. From all of the families that signed up, we were put into equal groups. We got to know other students and parents by working together and competing as a team to make our own robot. In other trips to an animal preserve and to Hershey Chocolate World, we were placed in groups to take the tours and interacted with each other along the way. There was a scavenger hunt at the Pennsylvania Capitol building, and again we were placed into teams and worked together to find all the clues to complete the hunt. I feel that all of the field trips offer great opportunities for socialization. Online chess games also offer socialization. The students can interact online through LiveLesson® sessions a few times a week, and the school also offers message boards.

CCA is the right school for us! We feel blessed; thank you.

I chose Commonwealth Connections Academy (CCA) to allow us more family time together. Being my children's learning coach as well as their mother allows me to better "train up a child in the way he should go." As a parent I believe that it is our responsibility to teach our children everything they will need to know in their adult lives. This is a full-time job and is especially important for younger children. Connections Academy provides the time at home for me to take care of all their educational and spiritual needs.

I am able to tailor the lessons to meet the children's needs. We have all learned so much with the challenging curriculum. We have learned about famous artists and their paintings. We also learned the parts of plant and animal cells and even made cell models out of Jello. This was one of my fourth grader's favorite projects because he had a snack when he was finished learning!

Connections Academy incorporates hands-on learning in the lessons to help students remember the information. This also makes the lessons fun for the students. At first the writing assignments seemed to take so much time and seemed almost impossible. It took a little time for my kids to learn the proper steps of the writing process. I was surprised that within the first year they all knew how to write compositions and could complete them in a reasonable amount of time.

"If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be teaching my daughter from home I would have laughed. In fact, at one time I was one of those parents that thought children who learned from home were deprived from a "real" education.

We have two daughters: Jessica, 18, who attended a traditional school all the way through graduation. Though Jessica was above average and participated in sports, she still had some issues with teachers and peer pressure from her classmates. So when our youngest daughter, Alix, 8, was beginning school we were a little concerned.

Alix started kindergarten at the age of 5. I volunteered three times a week in her class and could see that she was not progressing, so after much thought and discussion we decided to have Alix repeat kindergarten. She did well after that, but then she started first grade. The second day of school I received a call from her teacher, who said that Alix might have attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). After a few months, several meetings with her teacher, and doctor visits, we discovered that Alix was borderline ADHD. One evening while waiting for Alix to finish her ballet class, I was talking about school with the other mothers who were waiting for their daughters. I found out that 8 out of 10 parents in that waiting room either home schooled their children or enrolled them in a cyber charter school. At that point I decided to look into cyber schooling as an option for Alix, and I found CCA. It took me a few months before finally enrolling Alix in CCA because I was still nervous about having so much responsibility for my child's education in my hands.

This is why CCA is the perfect solution for our family. CCA's curriculum is state of the art and they provide you with detailed lesson plans to follow and suggestions. A certified teacher calls every two weeks to check on your progress, and if there are any questions you can call the teacher at any time. Also, you submit a portfolio every two months and have access to many learning tools from CCA's online “Virtual Library.”

Alix was performing below average for her age group before enrolling at CCA. Six months later with CCA and she was above average. I feel that the one-on-one attention and the support from CCA are what make the difference. Her teacher cares about her and takes time when talking with her over the phone or when we see each other. There is a bond with her teacher. I know that my daughter is receiving the best education possible, building a foundation for the future. This is my second year with CCA, and I will stay with this program because I feel in my heart this is the right choice, and for me and Alix this is the educated choice.

Three years ago my husband and I began the conversation of “What to do about Sam’s education.” The youngest of our four boys, he was just beginning second grade and was already bored and frustrated with school. Our rural school district isn’t able to provide programs for bright children, and the private schools are expensive and an hour away from our house. In the past, we had never entertained the idea of other school alternatives, but it became part of the conversation.

A friend told me about Connections Academy, and after looking at several options, we decided to give it a try last year. Fourth grade turned out to be a most stimulating and productive year for Sam. The course work was top notch, and the school worked closely with us to place him at the level that would challenge and interest him. His teachers were always available if he needed them, yet he was free to work at his own pace. The surprise we didn’t anticipate was the network of other families in our area that are also in this program. The many school-sponsored field trips gave us the opportunity to get to know these families and make new friends.