GA Connections Academy

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Georgia Teachers Chatboard

GA Connections Academy

by Teacher's Wife

Jul 23, 2012

Any opinions on this newer online, public school? My husband starts there today for training/pre-planning. I'm just curious if any of you had any experience (good or bad) with it.

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To Anon Anon,

It's funny you would say that online K-12 schools are notoriously rotten. I work in a brick and mortar school, and to be honest, those schools are rotten as well. Many things are swept under the rug...

So what is your experience with public education?

On 7/26/12, anon wrote: > Connections Academy is now owned by ...See More

Jul 27, 2012

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To Teacher's Wife Hi Teacher's Wife,

I'm wondering about GA Connections Academy, too. Does it offer medical benefits (dental, vision, etc...)? And I do not mean to pry, I don't want to know your husband's salary because that is none of my business, but what's the general starting salary range and do they take years of teaching experience into consideration?...See More

Jul 27, 2012

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holy cow Thanks so much both of you,,, made me happy that I chose to send my child to GACA. And to think, for a moment I considered sending my child to a B & M where she could get shot, tormented by Queen Bee's or (Gasp) have a teacher like you..... What was I thinking.

On 7/27/12, To Anon wrote: > Anon, > > It's funny you would say t...See MoreThanks so much both of you,,, made me happy that I chose to send my child to GACA. And to think, for a moment I considered sending my child to a B & M where she could get shot, tormented by Queen Bee's or (Gasp) have a teacher like you..... What was I thinking.

On 7/27/12, To Anon wrote: > Anon, > > It's funny you would say that online K-12 schools are notoriously > rotten. I work in a brick and mortar school, and to be honest, those > schools are rotten as well. Many things are swept under the rug... > > So what is your experience with public education? > > > > > On 7/26/12, anon wrote: >> Connections Academy is now owned by testing giant Pearson and has a >> long affiliation with ALEC, an outfit devoted to destroying public >> education. >> >> Any teacher who is stupid enough to go along with these online >> "academies" deserves to have his or her job outsourced to India or >> China, for that is what the ultimate aim of online ed is. >> >> Online K-12 "schools" are notoriously rotten. >> >> >> On 7/26/12, Teacher's Wife wrote: >>> He's just found out today he'll be heading up the PACE program >>> for 4th-7th grade students who need extra help with reading and >>> math. >>> >>> He's been in training for a week now and is absolutely loving it. >>> He says the principal is wonderful and has a really great >>> vision for the new school; she doesn't want it to have to be the >>> biggest online, Georgia school, but she does want it to have the >>> best reputation and highest quality. >>> >>> They've had such an increase in enrollment that they went from 19 >>> teachers last year to 49 this year. They've also expanded to >>> K-12 from just K-8 last year. >>> >>> I can't wait to learn more about it as he begins using the >>> school's software and interacting with students. He's very >>> excited about the field trip opportunities for the kids and just >>> about the school in general. >>> >>> (BTW - he's the one that got the smart-aleck response a few weeks >>> ago that's been blocked and won't open. Just have to say that >>> he DID get a job! :-)

Jul 27, 2012

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Teacher's Wife Weird - I responded early today, but it hasn't shown up...take 2!

Yes, they offer benefits and they're quite good! Besides the typical health, vision, and dental, they also offer adoption assistance and discounted pet insurance, among others. He'll be eligible on September 1st and I think I'll be dropping my insurance at the Technical Col...See More

Jul 30, 2012

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What is the schedule like? Hi, I used to live in GA but moved to Florida. We have the Florida Virtual School here, which sounds like the same thing. Teachers here work from home and you have to be "available" from 8AM to 8PM. Everyone I speak with tells me NOT to work for FVS because of the excessive workload. Basically, you work 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is a big...See MoreHi, I used to live in GA but moved to Florida. We have the Florida Virtual School here, which sounds like the same thing. Teachers here work from home and you have to be "available" from 8AM to 8PM. Everyone I speak with tells me NOT to work for FVS because of the excessive workload. Basically, you work 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is a big revenue crunch now, which means higher class loads for teachers. You also cannot take any time off without admin approval, plus finding another teacher to take on your class load! That is crazy. Then of course you have to return the favor when someone else wants to take a day off.

I know our local county here also operates a virtual school and it follows the school calendar (summers off) and you work from home. You have to spend one day a month at the district office, meeting with kids in person.

The virtual school is all about making sure a student finishes the course. Otherwise, you don't get paid. If the student drops your course for any reason, you are in trouble. So you become a switchboard operator, making hundreds of phone calls at all hours, trying to reach these kids and cajole them into finishing their assignments.

On 7/30/12, Teacher's Wife wrote: > Weird - I responded early today, but it hasn't shown up...take 2! > > Yes, they offer benefits and they're quite good! Besides the typical > health, vision, and dental, they also offer adoption assistance and > discounted pet insurance, among others. He'll be eligible on September > 1st and I think I'll be dropping my insurance at the Technical College > where I work. Coverage for both of us through GACA for vision, dental, > and health is cheaper than what I pay just for me! It's also a PPO vs > the HRA I have currently. > > Of the two people I know that work there, salaries range from mid to upper > 30Ks. Both the people I know are first year teachers, so I don't know > about about pay based on experience. However, I do know there's a slight > difference based on whether you have a master's or a bachelor's degree. > > From what we've seen/learned so far, it looks like GACA is going to be a > great place to work! Many teachers say they'll never go back to a brick > and mortar school! > > > > On 7/27/12, To Teacher's Wife wrote: >> Hi Teacher's Wife, >> >> I'm wondering about GA Connections Academy, too. Does it offer medical >> benefits (dental, vision, etc...)? And I do not mean to pry, I don't >> want to know your husband's salary because that is none of my business, >> but what's the general starting salary range and do they take years of >> teaching experience into consideration? >> >> Thanks in advance! >> >> >> On 7/26/12, Teacher's Wife wrote: >>> Sorry - Laura P. - forgot to answer your question! Yes, the >>> home-base is in Duluth near the Gwinnett Arena. >>> >>> The school has students all over Georgia, so teachers will have to >>> travel to give the CRCT at the end of the year. Otherwise, they >>> work out of Duluth

Aug 28, 2012

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