Today the first online school available to all TN residents held it’s final in person meeting in Murfreesboro, TN.  This online school, namely the TN Virtual Academy, or TNVA, had representatives [including teachers] at the meeting.  The meeting was to take place in front of 100 people, but at least 200 people showed up.  So far, the presenter noted, at least 1150 students have applied as of this morning.  Currently, this free online school only serves grades K-8, but this is due to expand into 9-12 grades within the next few years.  TN Virtual Academy is offered through the K12 Online School, which has online schools in 33 other states.

The deadline to apply for this year’s online school is July 24th at midnight. This does not mean that you have to be accepted by July 24th, but rather only that you must apply by July 24th.

The curriculum used is perhaps my favorite curriculum we have used through home school, which is the Core Knowledge Foundation.  Due to the fact that this is an online school, if you qualify for free lunches through the public schools, then you also qualify for a free computer, printer, and Internet Service Provider.

Beyond the standard subjects taught in all public schools, grades K-8, other more specialized classes are offered.  For example Spanish, French, German, Latin and Chinese are offered foreign languages.  In addition, all materials, including art supplies for art classes, musical instruments for music classes, physical science materials such as rocks, history materials such as globes and maps, along with all instructional books and workbooks, as well as reading books for literature instruction are mailed directly to the student’s home.

If you would like to learn more about TNVA, including taking a virtual tour of the online school, please feel free to visit k12.com/take-a-peek/k12-tour to find out more.