Meet John and Gabriela

As high schoolers, John and Gabriela want to focus on career options in a distraction-free environment. With live business courses and group projects, the K12 curriculum inspires them to follow their interests and become entrepreneurs.

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Why This Family Chose K12

Their mom and Learning Coach, Jessica was worried about her children’s safety in traditional school and now feels more secure having them doing public school at home.

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Learn in a safe environment

Jessica found the peace of mind she needed to feel confident her children were devoting full attention to their studies in a protected environment.

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Pursue hobbies beyond the classroom

Online school lets Gabriela bake with mom and John fix cars with dad. These enriching experiences inspire them to pursue business courses that could transform interests into careers.

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Make new friends

Gabriela and John connect with their peers at church youth groups, business class project meetings, and social events based around common interests.

9th Grade

A Day in the Life of John

John appreciates having time to explore hobbies with his dad and the opportunity to dive into a business-related curriculum that prepares him for a future career.

CLASSES AND ASSIGNMENTS

Learn Soft Skills Through Group Projects

John’s schoolwork features a flexible blend of scheduled live classes, self-guided offline assignments, and fun extracurricular activities — like business group projects that offer collaboration and inspiration. K12 sends John a computer, textbooks, and activity materials, so he feels prepared for anything.

11th Grade

A Day in the Life of Gabriela

Gabriela is naturally organized and independent. She finds it easy to stay on top of her studies, and enjoys the ability to work ahead and be as productive as possible.

CLASSES AND ASSIGNMENTS

Organize a Well-Supported Day of Studies

Gabriela’s schedule includes business electives in addition to core math, English, social studies, science, and foreign language studies. The perfect blend of structure and flexibility, her days are a mix of live instruction, self-guided offline assignments, and career prep projects.

CURRICULUM

Pack Your Schedule and Stride Ahead With Confidence

Each semester, 11th grader Gabriela typically takes three to six subjects. While most students have two or three courses with live classes, Gabriela’s electives have her taking up to seven live classes some days. She completes the rest of her assignments and skills labs independently through the engaging interactive online learning system.

CAREER PREP

Follow Your Dreams: For Gabriela, It’s Baking

Gabriela envisions her future self surrounded by homemade Puerto Rican desserts in a beautiful shop of her own. So, in addition to her regular classes, she takes next-level electives to learn more about entrepreneurship and what it takes to run a successful business.

SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE

Build Soft Skills in Communication and Collaboration

In her role as group leader, Gabriela flexes communication skills and assigns her peers tasks as they help a bike shop improve its reviews and delivery times. She loves hearing others’ innovative solutions and working in a fun, collaborative environment.

Learning Coach

A Day in the Life of Jessica

Successful online learning requires a supporting cast of superstars — and that’s where you come in! As a Learning Coach, you’ll spend several hours per day providing support and encouragement that celebrates your child’s wins while strengthening your family’s bond.

TIME COMMITMENT

Take a Few Hours to See What Your Children Learn

High school Learning Coaches like Jessica typically spend between one to three hours each day with their increasingly independent students. Jessica likes to know what her children are learning and see firsthand that they’re doing well.

TEACHER SUPPORT AND COMMUNICATION

Connect With Trained Copilots Who Care

Jessica notices that her children’s certified online educators seem “more dedicated” than traditional school teachers. Gabriela and John’s instructors have been teaching online for many years and love what they do. They’re backed by proven methods, intuitive tools, ongoing training, and technicians who keep the online school experience running smoothly.

schedule

Thrive With Live Classes and Autonomous Time

On a typical day, John might start with a Spanish lesson on his own and join a live science class led by his state-certified teacher in the afternoon. His mom and Learning Coach Jessica provides 1-3 hours of daily support and guidance, reminding him to stay on task as he builds autonomy.

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Connect With Teachers and Classmates Anytime

On a typical day, Gabriela may start with a live science class led by her state-certified online instructor, followed by offline reading for history. In the afternoon, she works on a group business project with her brother. As questions arise, she can always ask her teacher questions via email, live class, or weekly office hours.

FAMILY SCHEDULE

Celebrate Your Children’s Milestones

Watching your child grow is one of the most beautiful parts of supporting their learning journey. Some teens need more hands-on Learning Coaches than others. In Jessica’s household, Gabriela tends to self-organize, while John benefits from a few more reminders.

CURRICULUM

Pursue Electives That Make Learning More Fun

Each semester, 9th grade students like John take 3-6 subjects, including 2-3 with scheduled live classes. In addition to core English, math, science, and social studies courses, John selects business and marketing electives that interest him.

CAREER PREP

Discover Your Dream: For John, It’s an Auto Shop

John loves his business and marketing class and is learning what it takes to run his own company. While working in the garage with his dad, he wonders whether he might run a sports car repair and detailing shop one day. First, he plans to study mechanical engineering at college, so he can work on a pit crew.

SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE

Solve Real-World Challenges to Become Career-Ready

Class projects foster teamwork and tie learnings to real-world scenarios. For instance, John and his sister work together to help a bike shop improve customer reviews and delivery times.

Family Q&A

Compared to traditional school, online school offers unique flexibility and family time.

Question 1 of 5

Why do you like online school?

I like that I know more about what Gabriela and John are doing during their school day. I can make sure they’re on track and doing well. It also seems like the teachers are more dedicated to what they’re doing than at the old school we were at.

I’m able to be home with my mom and help her out during the day. I think online school has actually brought us all a bit closer together. Plus, I’m learning how to be more responsible with online school. I’m learning how to be more organized and do everything on my own — and I like that.

I like it because I finish my school day a little earlier than at my old school — and I get more breaks. That way, I can go outside and help my dad with the cars in the garage more.

Question 2 of 5

Do you have any advice for families that might be considering online school?

I’d say that if you’re concerned about school safety, online school might be worth looking into. Anything can happen anywhere, of course, but I feel more secure with my children home, where I can pay attention to what they’re doing and have more control over the environment they’re learning in.

Question 3 of 5

What do your breaks look like during the day?

I work with my dad on the cars in between my classes during the day. I really like trying to figure out the puzzle of what’s causing the problem with a car’s engine.

I really like to read, so you can find me with a book on a lot of my breaks. My grandma sends me novels so I’m often reading my way through one of those. I like to bake, too, so sometimes I do that in between my schoolwork.

Question 4 of 5

How was your family’s transition to online school?

The thing I had the hardest time with was not seeing my friends face-to-face as much, I was really concerned about that at first. Now though, I’ve gotten used to connecting to them in other ways. I’ve made friends through my online classes, too, especially business class.

Question 5 of 5

What is it like doing school at home with your whole family?

I really like it. My mom is my Learning Coach, which means she’s there to help me stay on track and figure things out when I get stuck. She’s great at encouraging me and John, she’s our best cheerleader. My dad is good with math, so he helps with that. Sometimes we call my uncle for math help too.

I like having a better idea of what they’re doing in school, and having them learning at home lets me do that. It’s nice hearing about what they’re thinking about doing with their futures as they learn more in their classes. I get to see them making those connections for themselves.

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Learning With K12

From kindergarten to high school, K12 provides tuition-free online education that empowers students to learn in ways that work for them. Browse options in your state to find the perfect fit for your family.

These are the stories of real students attending K12-powered schools and their families. Content is a combination of direct quotes and summaries from interviews. Their stories each reflect their experiences at their respective schools. Actual experiences can vary by student and school. These pages are designed to reflect a typical day in the life of a student attending an online K12-powered school. Individual class schedules and requirements will vary by state, school, and the individual needs of each student. Course materials vary, and certain schools may not provide computers or may have specific requirements for providing equipment.