Because every home school curriculum can be different, we will need to review any documentation you have of your child's grade or middle school work so we can compare it with the requirements of iQ Academy Los Angeles and give credit for as many courses as possible, and put together a plan to graduate. Scantron Diagnostic Assessments (grades 3–6) in English and math pinpoint proficiency levels, guide the creation of your student's Individualized Learning Plan, and allow us to measure progress over the school year. Contact us by telephone or e-mail for more information.

Students enrolled in iQ Academy Los Angeles do their learning at home, but they are participating in a public school. The curriculum is approved by the State of California Department of Education for earning K–12 school credits. Unlike homeschooling, there are certified teachers to guide the learning, daily lesson plans, and an entire support system—including principals, guidance counselors, an online attendance tool, assessments, and a progress-tracking system.

Students who complete all the graduation requirements will receive a high school diploma from iQ Academy Los Angeles.

This is determined on a case-by-case basis. The main issue to be considered is whether or not the independent nature of online instruction will be the best fit for a particular student's special needs. Staff from iQ Academy will discuss your child's situation with you. You may contact us by phone for more information.

Your teachers will provide feedback on any assignments or projects you complete. You can also contact your teacher via e-mail or phone. In addition, each teacher has regularly scheduled online office hours. During the scheduled time, students interact with the teacher and other students in a virtual classroom.

The K–6 program is mastery-based, which means your child won’t move on to the next lesson until he or she has mastered the current one. We measure proficiency through lesson, unit, and semester assessments. In grades 7–12, progress is measured through quizzes, exams, written essays, assignments, projects and semester exams. Every course contains information on specifically how the students' work will be evaluated. Parents and students are free to contact the teachers at any time to discuss the evaluation process.

Course tools are provided for each course on the online school platform. These charts will help you plan your work so that you will complete the course by the end of the school year. For grades 7–12, Pace Charts are typically found in the Course Information tab or in a tab specifically labeled "Pace Chart." For grades K–6, Planning and Progress Tools are found within the Online School.

A one-credit course is designed to take 36 weeks or about 180 hours. As a general guideline, in addition to the time you spend online, you should also count on spending time reading, completing assignments, and studying for tests and exams. This time is a guideline and will vary according to course, study habits, etc. You should assume that a half-credit course will take half as much time as a one-credit course.

The teachers play an important role in the iQ Academy program. It is the role of the teachers to meet individual learning needs of the students enrolled in their courses or assigned to them. Teachers have "office hours" and hold weekly sessions during which students can ask questions and have discussions with their teacher and classmates. Teachers are also available by phone and e-mail, and parents and students are encouraged to contact their teachers with questions. In grades 7–12, more of students' course work can be done independently, but they are definitely never "on their own."

As long as internet access is available, students can log into iQ Academy and get to their courses from anywher, anytime. For trips during which internet access may not be available, students can print their assignments ahead of time or pack their offline materials, and work from those in order to keep up with their work. Keep in mind that the iQ Academy-provided laptops have wireless internet capability, so finding a place to get online is usually not difficult. Students should notify their teachers by e-mail if they will be unable to access the Internet for a period of time due to travel, illness, or other unavoidable issues. Regular login to iQ Academy constitutes "attendance," and students are required to be in attendance while enrolled in iQ Academy Los Angeles.

Some of the qualities that we have seen in our most successful students are:

 

• The ability to work independently
• A willingness to seek out answers to their questions, or to move on to a different subject until the necessary help is available
• The willingness to ask for help when needed. There are many opportunities to get help from teachers, from other students, or from technical support. Students have to be willing to make use of those resources and let someone know if they don't understand something
• Some internal motivation to succeed in the program. Students who are forced into an online learning environment are less likely to be successful

There are some things that you can do as a parent/guardian or Learning Coach to help your child to be successful in iQ Academy Los Angeles:

• Help your student set up a schedule for school to follow every day. Students should plan on approximately one hour of work per day for every class they are enrolled in, plus some extra time for outside readings or writing papers. Bear in mind that children in grades K–6 can expect to spend less than half of their school day online and the rest offline working on workbooks, printed lessons, and other activities. Middle and high school students spend an increasing amount of their time online.
• Provide an area for them to work that has limited distractions and where all their materials are available to them.
• Encourage them to discuss their work with you. These discussions can give you clues as to whether they understand the materials and the assignments, and potential problems can be headed off before they turn into bigger problems.

Clearly, this varies both in terms of the age of the child and also that child’s specific needs. Typically, being at home full-time is important for the Learning Coach of younger children, but is not required for students in the higher grades; however it is important for your older student to know that you are interested in how he/she is doing in school. As in all educational endeavors, students with an active and interested parent are at a distinct advantage for success. Most students need a certain amount of structure, at least initially, in order to flourish in the flexible online environment. iQ Academy provides parents with some very specific tools to stay informed of their child's progress and time spent working in their courses.

The main content of all of iQ Academy courses is available directly through our secure, online student classroom area. In some cases, teacher-provided links direct students to other websites, where they can take advantage of the wealth of educational information available online. In addition to limiting the sites to which students must visit to do their coursework, we have added a piece of software on all iQ Academy-provided computers that filters out sites that are not appropriate for students to view. Beyond that, good parental supervision and setting guidelines for internet use that match your family values will go a long way in protecting your children from unwanted information on the internet.

No. Although high-speed Internet access definitely makes the experience of learning online much more satisfying, it is not absolutely necessary. Some geographic areas unfortunately do not have high-speed access available yet. For those areas that do, however, it is definitely the preferred type of internet access for the program.

Yes! Every full time iQ Academy student has the option to use one of iQ Academy's computers while enrolled full-time in our program.

This is an area that is typically at the discretion of the local school. Some iQ Academy students participate in choir or band at their local school. You will need to check with your local school district about this. Many iQ Academy students find that the flexibility afforded them through their participation in the online school allows them more time to pursue hobbies, sports, or other passions outside of the school environment. Be sure to read the student profiles on the iQ Academy website for examples.

Although we work very hard to make iQ Academy a positive experience for all of our students, if you feel that iQ Academy is not the best choice for your child you always have the ability to return to your local school or to regular home schooling. We always recommend that you complete a full year or at least a semester to be sure any challenges you perceive are not just related to adjusting to this new way to learn, and to make sure you get the full benefit of transferring credit received from iQ Academy Los Angeles.

Middle and high school iQ Academy Los Angeles students are invited to participate in iQuad, a secure, social networking site that connects iQ Academy students from all over the country with each other for the purposes of joining clubs, sharing interests, learning about events and activities available, or just socializing. iQuad is monitored by iQ Academy staff, and is only available to iQ Academy students who have permission from their parents.

In addition to iQuad, we have a feature on our secure, online student classroom area, Blackboard, for students in grades 7–12 to participate in discussion boards with other iQ Academy students. Topics of discussion include music, books, movies, politics, sports, etc. These discussion boards are monitored by iQ Academy staff and provide a great way for students to talk about their talents and interests. Most courses also have discussion boards to facilitate class discussion. iQ Academy teachers also host weekly, live online class sessions via the internet. This is a wonderful opportunity for student to student and student to teacher interaction to occur.

Children in grades K–6 have the opportunity to join a variety of clubs in a safe, secure, online environment (please see the Online Community section).

Parents are assigned a login and password to enter the iQ Academy site (grades 7–12) or the K¹² Online School (grades K–6). By using this login, parents can go directly to their child's classes and see what assignments have been completed and what their child's grades are at any time. A progress report is e-mailed to parents' iQ e-mail accounts weekly.

We invite you to contact us and learn as much as you can about what iQ Academy has to offer you and your child. Getting as much information as possible is the best way to make an informed choice.

No, iQ Academy Los Angeles is an online public charter school authorized by the Rowland Unified School District.