We were told to enroll first before finding out which classes/credits would transfer for my 10th grader -what kind of backwards system is that? We went through the whole enrollment process, only to be left waiting a month with zero support or answers. Eventually, we just dropped the application. Hands down, the worst program when it comes to customer service. read more

A great alternative to regular high school... I finished my last year and a half (and graduated) with Oregon Connections Academy. Each year they have an official graduation ceremony; ours was at the convention center. Prior to graduation I even had the opportunity to study abroad. In 2013 a small group of students (and parent chaperones) went to Ireland, Wales, England, and France.. What an awesome way to learn! I am thankful for my experience ORCA has provided. The teachers are very passionate and are there for their students. read more

I have three children in ORCA. We absolutely love the school! If you want to be involved in your child's education with complete back up by a very efficient staff and very competent teachers, then I strongly recommend this school! In addition to my being able to guide my children each day, they also have multiple live lessons each week where they get direct input from their teacher. Teachers also call every other week to chat with myself and my student. And my favorite is that my student or myself can contact a teacher anytime and get an immediate response. My oldest daughter was behind in school by quite a large gap due to being in foster care. When she came to me, I immediately enrolled her in Connections and from that time on she kept improving by leaps and bounds. She has now long since caught up and is consistently an honor roll student. Three cheers for Oregon Connections Academy! read more

Oh, man, where do I start? 1. These people are not flexible. Five lessons per class every day (7-8 classes a day), and you claim to be flexible? Ha! I'd be gone for two days and there would be 10-12 lessons untouched, and I would've been gone for only two mere days. The quizzes would closed after two days of being gone for a short amount of time. 2. These people do not know how to fax things. My mother had to fax out things four times. 3. They chose my classes for me without even telling me why I was not able to choose my own classes. The school should not choose my education path for me, I should be the only one that chooses my own educational path. 4. It took them TWO WEEKS to send ONE algebra textbook and a laptop. I was two weeks behind on lessons (at least 70 lessons behind). It was ridiculous. They did not pause my lessons and wait for my laptop to get here so I can start them without being so behind on things. 5. I sent them an email nine days ago on my personal Gmail and they STILL HAVE NOT RESPONDED. I know, this sounds unbelievable, but this is seriously what happened to me and I cannot believe that it did happen to me. Read the reviews before starting this school, please. read more

My child tried out ORCA this past year, and it certainly is not a good fit for everyone. I do think the textbooks and curriculum is very good and solid. Be prepared to have your child spend long hours completing online busy work, consider it homework. They also ask a significant amount of time from the parents, you need to assist your student, quiz them, review work, etc. our homeroom teacher was great, quickly responded to emails and calls. It certainly depends on the teacher. All in all, we did withdraw from here, because of the time investment. I felt it was like homeschooling without the opportunity for creative curriculums. But if your child needs to be told what to do by a figure that is not a parent, then this is a good way to have your child learn from home. read more

I could tell that this was a big organization-we got passed from department to department a lot, and stats mattered too much. My child is behind in school (read they struggle with time management). So one department would register us, then another department, two weeks later, would email me and ask, "why we were applying, it doesn't look like your student will graduate on time..." Honestly, the local high school was more than willing to enroll my student, and keep working with him, even if it took an extra semester! read more

Would you send your child to a school where the class size is 3 times the average class size in Oregon? Where teachers are paid miserable wages, have contact with your child maybe twice a year and is ran by a corporation? This place is a joke! My son went to this on line school because he was getting bullied. He learned nothing ! I did my job as a learning coach but had hard time understanding the grade book. The teachers were actually very smart and they tried to be attentive but with almost 300 students in their classrooms, I doubt it happened. My son was caught cheating his senior year, twice. The teacher was not going to pass him and he wouldn't have graduated, I agreed. I honestly did not believe my son was ready to graduate. The corporation went right over the teachers head and mine and let him graduate. They get money for every student that graduates . It's like they don't care if your child learns, as long as they make a buck. read more