Eastsiders hop on home school bandwagon

Although many families still use traditional methods to home school their children through textbooks and curriculum instruction, other parents have turned to less conventional methods.

Diana Dodson began teaching her daughters through textbooks, but as the subject of mathematics grew more advanced, she turned to the online instruction of iQ Academy. It provides students with curriculum-based learning and provides parents with textbook materials and laptops for their children.

From the comfort of their home, Taylor, Noa and Lohgen Dodson pull out their laptops, sign into their online class, and with a web camera and chat windows, the girls can view their classmates and their teacher as they learnFrom the comfort of their home, Taylor, Noa and Lohgen Dodson pull out their laptops, sign into their online class, and with a web camera and chat windows, the girls can view their classmates and their teacher as they learn.

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Trophy Club student going to ‘virtual’ school

Distance learning is nothing new. Community colleges and other schools have allowed children and adults the ability to take courses at home for years. But Janet Manor believed iQ Academy heralded something new by offering a charter school approach.

“We found more structure with iQ Academy as opposed to the curriculum I administered,” said Manor, who home-schooled her daughters Asa, 17, and Rainy, 16. Once enrolled in iQ Academy, each student follows the same approach. They are loaned laptop computers and receive weekly assignments. When each assignment is complete, students print them out, scan them and attach the images to e-mails. All assignments are printed before they are returned to online instructors, who are certified by the Texas Education Agency.

“Ian really likes the fact that he’s got his own computer,” Manor said. “He can get ahead or slow down.”

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