The Potter's School...feed back

[Genesis Academy]

Has anyone tried the Potter's School? If so, how was it? Pros/cons

Thanks,

Lisa
buettnerpl@alltel.net

[Crissy]

Love it!
My son has taken Latin through TPS for two years and a writing course this year. The courses are rigorous and the teachers very knowledgeable about their subjects.

Students participate in the online class one day per week (TPS provides the software) and completes his studies and assignments on his own time the rest of the week.

The only downside I have noticed is the rare server outage or other software problem that cuts into class time. It only happens twice or three times in a school year, but it sure is a bummer to miss out on the small amount of time the kids have with class and teacher.

[Laura K (NC)]

I plan to this year based on many positive reviews on this board. You might want to do a board search to see reviews of particular classes, as well as for classes in other online schools.

[Captivated]

I have a friend who has used them for her children and has nothing but positive things to say about them. They are rigorous!

[Gwen in VA]

Ds2 is taking visual basic through Potters school this year. He has REALLY enjoyed the class, and we are planning on having him take C++ next year.

The class has been well-organized, the actual classes have been VERY helpful, the teacher has actually scheduled "help sessions" for kids who aren't getting everything, questions have been PROMPTLY answered, and the teacher REALLY seems to care about the students and how well they understand the material.

:001_smile:I have been delighted!

[SallyMac]

My ds is taking chemistry (Apologia) through Potter School. They do have some technical difficulties, but nothing major. But meeting once a week is not enough for a rigorous chem class, imo. So the teacher usually has an extra meeting night "help session". She is very interested in how her students are doing and has called our home when she had questions. However, chemistry is not a subject that comes easily to my ds, so we have a very inexpensive, but experienced grad student who comes to our home for 2 or more hours once a week for more one-on-one. He is very experienced tutoring high school students and teaching on a college level.

[sue]

Sorry, I posted twice.

[sue]

It is rigorous! The students learn alot. The work takes quite a bit of time. Their schedule doesn't mesh too well with those of us who live in a part of the country where the school schedules begin in early Aug.

[jubileex5]

My son took biology and English/composition classes through them, and it was great for him. Following their schedule was difficult for us that year, but we were very pleased with the teachers and classes.
Mary Jo

[Sophia]

My son took biology and English/composition classes through them, and it was great for him. Following their schedule was difficult for us that year, but we were very pleased with the teachers and classes.
Mary Jo

My son took the same classes, wonder if they were in the same sections (Lavorante and McKeemon?)
It was a good experience; he really needed help in the accountability department and the teacher's no nonsense approach to deadlines was just what he needed.
He especially liked his English class and put more work in to his projects and papers than I would have expected.

[Grace is Sufficient]

My son took Anatomy & Physiology (Apologia's advanced biology) this year and it was an excellent class. The instructor, a nurse, beefed it up with extra material which made it very interesting. I'd guess offhand that the coursework was probably college-level in its 'rigor.'

My daughter took a very different course -- Office Applications, learning Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It wasn't on the same level as A&P course, but I wouldn't have expected it to be.

In both, the teachers were excellent -- willing to work with the student and family if scheduling issues or other problems came up. They definitely gave the impression of being very warm and caring about the students.

I'd recommend it highly.

[cleona]

Hi,
Our youngest son took five classes with TPS this year. We are very pleased. He has been homeschooled since fifth grade. He will be going off to college this fall so I thought that it might be a good idea for him to learn with other teachers before then.
He is taking: world lit., world history, electronics, music theory, and a half semester each of gov't. and economics. His favorite is music theory. They use a college textbook so he will be prepared for this class at college. He has learned the most from the world lit. class. It is taught by a college professor and I believe that it is a college level class. He says that it has taught him to think in different ways. He really loves science so the electronics class was fun and educational. This class is also taught be a college professor. The gov't and economics classes have also required him to think in different ways. He got in a heated discussion with a student at college orientation yesterday and was quite impressed with himself ("the other kid didn't know anything about the founding fathers and the Constitution, Mom").

I almost wish that I had found TPS when he was a freshman. I think that they are an excellent option, if you can afford it!:001_smile:

[ValRN]

I've been looking into TPS for my rising 9th grader. He needs the lessons in responsibility and accountability. It will be quite an investment, but one I'm willing to work a weekend here and there to make. I always like to weigh the pros and cons, but no one has listed any cons. Is TPS THAT good? If so, sign us up!
Val in MD

[alegnab]

...I always like to weigh the pros and cons, but no one has listed any cons...

Parents have to check dc's work for some classes and submit reports to teachers. I'd rather not have to do that.

Ds#1 has a Spanish 2 teacher this year who is awful. It's his first year with TPS, but I've noticed that he's not teaching there next school year. :hurray: On a mid-year evaluation, I wrote that I would never subject any of my children to him again.

Ds#1 took TPS Biology in 9th, TPS Chemistry and Spanish I in 10th, and this year's he's taking TPS Anatomy & Physiology, Spanish II, Advanced Composition, Propositional Logic, and U.S. History. I've been pleased overall. Taking online classes has been good for him. He has had to meet deadlines and has been accountable to people other than mom. He has put forth much better work for his teachers than he ever would have for me.

Since I had been so pleased with online classes for ds#1, I started ds#2 in TPS for 8th grade this school year. The classes have been good for him, too. He'll be taking four TPS classes and one Apologia Academy class next year (with the same teacher he had for TPS science this year).

I'll probably start dd & ds#3 in TPS earlier than I did their siblings.

[ValRN]

Parents have to check dc's work for some classes and submit reports to teachers. I'd rather not have to do that.


Is this listed in the class description? I mean, do you know beforehand for which classes you'll have to check dc's work?

Val

[HollyinNNV]

Since someone asked, here are some of the cons. DD took two courses. In one, an experienced teacher allowed class chat to go on out of control. The class chat box was ridiculous. It enormously distracted from the class. The teacher was ok in terms of content. However, the tests were very hard and covered more advanced material than the teacher had gone over in class. I know because I sat through all of them and they were excruciating (chat). The second class was just plain terrible. It was a new teacher. He didn't prepare for most of the meetings. He flew far off topic. We dropped the class in January because it was a waste of time. I received his emails because he didn't take us off the list. He was still getting work back to the kids in AUGUST! It was excuse after excuse.

The other problem with PS is that their group meeting software did not (the year we attended) sufficiently work with Macs. If you have a Mac, be sure that you find out whether they've solved this problem!

I doubt I'll ever sign either kid up for another synchronous class. With the exception of Oxford tutorials, our experience has been depressingly bad. They seem to be big time suckers and we have no extra time to suck.

Caveat Emptor!!!!!

[alegnab]

I don't remember where I first found out that info. I think I was initially surprised by it after enrolling ds#1 in a science class, but I'm not sure. Here's a quote from the TPS page about commitments (http://www.pottersschool.org/tps/commitments.htm):

» (Teachers) Provide effective feedback on exams, essays, and lab reports. Families can expect feedback that identifies student weaknesses and, where it is not readily apparent, suggests a path to improvement. Our teachers provide assistance outside of class but do not evaluate daily work or perform individual private tutoring...

If you want to know about what your responsibilities would be for individual classes, you can email the teachers.

[Laura in CA]

The other problem with PS is that their group meeting software did not (the year we attended) sufficiently work with Macs. If you have a Mac, be sure that you find out whether they've solved this problem!


It sounds like Holly's experience was at least a year ago. My kids have taken Potter's classes this year and last. Last year (2007-2008) there were glitches with Macs, but this year (2008-09) we've had absolutely no problems. A lot of the kids in my son's Web Design class this year also had Macs, so there was a lot of support and help for Mac issues there, too (with respect to web design software).

Next year my kids will be taking three Potter's classes -- English 2, Biology, and my son's third year of computer science.

(I don't know how to do a second quote)
Is this listed in the class description? I mean, do you know beforehand for which classes you'll have to check dc's work?

Val

To answer Val's question, I think the parent involvement *is* listed in the class description. They want to make sure you're "on board." For example, at the Potter's School website, if you look at the listing for English 2, it says:

Please click here to read the overview, syllabus, and parent responsibility agreement carefully before registering.

If you click on the link, it brings up a Word file that spells out what is expected. Yes, I thought it was a bummer to have to check my kids' work (in English 1), but it really wasn't that bad -- 10-15 min/week to check their grammar exercises; for about five essays total, give comments on the rough draft; and grade a grammar quiz and reading comprehension test every quarter. Even though I did it grudgingly, I found it was nice seeing what they were up to. My tendency is to be very hands-off.

~Laura

[HollyinNNV]

[QUOTE=Laura in CA;975759]It sounds like Holly's experience was at least a year ago. My kids have taken Potter's classes this year and last. Last year (2007-2008) there were glitches with Macs, but this year (2008-09) we've had absolutely no problems.
Val[/I]

Laura,
I'm glad they've fixed it. Yes, we were the glitch year. I think that glitch is putting it mildly. There were software updates more than once a week at first. Our problems went from bad-no audio-to worse-no ability to log on. It was bad enough that I wouldn't go back simply because our problems went on for a long time without resolution. And our computer was brand new.
Holly

[dkholland]

Ds#1 has a Spanish 2 teacher this year who is awful. It's his first year with TPS, but I've noticed that he's not teaching there next school year. :hurray: On a mid-year evaluation, I wrote that I would never subject any of my children to him again.

Ds

okay...I thought it was just us!! I had major trouble with this teacher from the beginning. I reallly feel like my ds taught himself the whole year. I even addressed some of the problems with the administrator of TPS and got a very terse response. I listed exact problems we were having and the response I got was something like...I can see you just need someone to listen to, but there is nothing we can do...I was quite frustrated and felt like I had spent $450 for nothing.

On a good note, my other ds will be taking Spanish I with Sra. Alfaro. I cannot recommend her highly enough. My oldest ds had her last year and the class went very smoothly and see communicated well with the parents.

I am just so glad that we aren't the only ones who had a bad experience with this teacher! So glad he is not coming back.

[alegnab]

...my other ds will be taking Spanish I with Sra. Alfaro. I cannot recommend her highly enough. My oldest ds had her last year and the class went very smoothly and see communicated well with the parents.

:iagree: Ds#1 had her last year, too. Ds#2 had Sra. Falk this year for Jr. High Spanish 1, and she has been very good, too. She'll be teaching ds next year for part 2.

Ds#1 won't be going on to Spanish 3.