iCademy Global

"I like the idea of it the mentors and teachers are very nice and they have a nice building. I suffer from social anxiety and anxiety and depression. I believe students that suffer from that should come to icademy. They also have GREAT computers (touch screen/Dell)"

"We switched our daughter to iCademy last semester after she missed several weeks of school due to a chronic health condition. Being able to learn online and not get behind with her schooling, has been a godsend. For our situation, the traditional school setting wasn't an ideal fit. While initially uncertain about this decision, my fears were quickly put to rest. To my surprise, our daughter has become a more effective communicator, more independent, and more joyful about learning. In fact, shortly after switching to iCademy, she said, "I didn't know learning could be so fun!""

"Excellent choice if you want free, Michigan-accredited, not-for-profit, online learning. I can’t speak to the quality of the Homestead Campus experience or the blended online/campus experience (but I’ve heard good things). The 100% online experience has been largely exemplary. Like with any secondary educational institution, parents need to be involved to make sure communication is good and progress is satisfactory. We’ve found that our student and we the parents enjoy excellent communication with her teachers and mentor via email and Skype. Our daughter gets personalized, one-on-one, tutoring whenever requested. The schedule is VERY flexible for those of us who travel a lot. The quirky issues regarding % of progress (caused by K12 materials and mentioned by a previous reviewer) are no longer a problem, because the teachers have instituted a clear pacing-system. All of this plus free use of a laptop and the campus to boot!"

"My son has struggled with a learning disability for his whole school career. We had him at a charter school, where he struggled with school because his disability was hard for teachers to teach to. After having him struggle and begin to hate school and have fights doing homework every night and reteaching what he was supposed to learn during the day, we had to make a change. We had researched K12 schools and we found iCademy Global was near us. We really had to research it because it is a huge commitment to the parents as well as the student. My son is thriving this year. He is learning so much and he is able and willing to discuss his learning. We can relate it to real life, since my husband and I are there helping him to do his work and do his best. He has never had grades like this before. The teachers and mentor are always available if there are questions and they are really good about getting back to you and answering questions. What worked for us, is working at our own pace, while having due dates. If he is struggling on a topic, I can spend more time to help teach him in a way that he can understand. The teachers are encouraging as well as engaging and knowing the students. What we really like to, is the fact that you can learn at any time of day. If you want to spend the day out enjoying the weather, you can. Just change it to do your work later in the day. As long as it gets done, you are free to work as you please. We are so glad that we made this decision as a family. There is much more time to enjoy our family time and a lot less of him being upset after school. Best decision we have made."

"My child attended Innocademy (K-8) for 2 years. We absolutely loved every single thing about Innocademy. I even volunteered for many things throughout the school years and it's a huge family-feeling environment. Last year, it was time for us to go onto iCademy for 9th grade or pick a different high school. We were the ONLY family out of the 8th grade graduates to continue on to iCademy. All the other families chose a different high school. I now wish I had for my child as well. Communication is not the best between teachers and parents. The software used for the students is difficult to navigate and impossible for parents to navigate if we haven't used it before. The reports I receive regarding my child's progress tell me she 6% complete, even though we are at the end of the school year. I had to ask the teachers for clarification on those percentages and their response was "The grade book contains every possible assignment within the course, whether they were assigned to the students or not. So there are lessons and novels in there that the students do not see but I cannot delete them from the grade book. That is why the grade to look at is the average grade because that tells you where she is at right now. " What? Last semester, my daughter's progress report said she was getting Bs average for all of her classes. When we received her report card, she failed 2 classes! When I approached the teachers, they responded that my daughter did not complete some assignments which resulted in zeros, which brought her grade down to failing. Neither my daughter nor I knew she had even missed assignments! This is not a user-friendly computer program or a parent-friendly one to monitor our children's progress. If Innocademy adds on a 9th-12th grade, I would recommend it above any other school in Michigan. However, if you're considering Icademy, I would do more research and speak to families that have experienced it and chosen other alternatives. If your child is successful above and beyond and doesn't struggle with any classes or time management in life, I'm sure they will do well no matter which school they choose. Best wishes."