If you don't see your state, just click one. They have a private school option for anywhere in the world. They've a tennis player in China who just graduated. So.
Overview:
~~ Kindergarten (age 5) through twelfth grade (age 21) public school
~~ Personalized learning: everything is personalized to what the student likes, their time schedule, and their learning style.
~~ Students can take one class at a time. On average, students finish a class in 3-5 weeks. As soon as the class is finished, they can go on the the next one. So long as they finish a minimum of four classes a semester, there's no limit as to how many classes they can finish. Students can get ahead. This year we had a 13 and a 15-year-old graduate. I was 13, too, when I qualified for college.
Students can also take multiple classes at a time, so long as they finish at least four a semester.
For example: a student can take a math class and a writing class. They might finish the writing class in three weeks and start a new class, perhaps history, and begin working on that. It may take them two months to master Math, and that's fine. It could take them three months, or maybe even a year. So long as they finish four a semester, they can take their time.
~~ Everything (K-8 and Highschool) is tailored to the student. Instead of writing an essay for the final project to show learning, I made a video game. Another student made a documentary, and another wrote a series of history books for children, and is currently getting them published. As long as you can show you've learned, it doesn't matter how you do it.
In the case of English, where you need to write essays, what you write them on is up to you. Any topic you want to write about, you can.
If you don't like the curriculum, you can call up your teacher and tell them so. They will then ask what you want, or what would make the subject more interesting. They'll take another look at your learning styles inventory (how you learn) and send you some new curriculum. You can choose online or offline curriculum, or both. Everything is tailored to the student. After all, we (the students) are the ones learning, right? Why shouldn't we learn how we want to learn?
~~ Parents can log on and see their kid's progress. They can see what's been turned in, when it was turned in, and how much progress their kid had made. They can also see the student's grades and what subjects have been mastered. Because there's no such thing as failing a class here, students don't need to sweat every time their parents log on. Which brings me to the next note:
~~ Mastery Based Learning. If a student get less than 80%, the teacher and the EF (scroll down to "Mentors") take a look at what areas the student still needs help in and give them some new curriculum, try to explain the problem differently, and re-tailor everything. The student doesn't need to waste their time re-taking the entire class, only the parts they still need help in. Only when students get 80% or better are they passed on.
For Example: If a student gets a D in pre-algebra... are they really ready for algebra? Chances are, they're set up for failure.
The great news is, when colleges look at your grades, they see 80% as your lowest grade. They don't see how many attempts it took you to master the class, they only see that you've mastered it.
~~ Prom, Pizza Parties, clubs, World Travel, all the perks of face-to-face box class room, but without the box.
~~ What about socialization?: Socialized to what? Students are placed in a box-like classroom, and then organized into rows and columns with others born within the same 12-month time span. Most of the time spent at school is meant to be spent listening to the teacher talk or reading the books, not socializing. Students raise their hand if they want to talk, and then, can only talk to the teacher, unless otherwise granted permission. And most of the socialization that does occur... isn't really the desirable type.
Adults keep friends that have the same interests and goals as they do, regardless of age. Schools are supposed to prepare us for the real world... how many people in the real world raise their hand to request permission to speak?
~~ Achieve is like Home school... but public. You still need to take PE, but you can take PE by going to the local Karate or Dance Studio. Art can take places at an art studio. Russian history can take place in Russia, if the student happens to be there. As home schoolers, the world is our classroom. Achieve applies the same way of thinking, and is shaking the ivory tower at its foundation.
~~ Upon graduating, students get a ceremony and diploma, just like any other high school.
Check it out.