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| - Our third year at Odyssey, so I thought I would share some info and highlights with parents looking for alternatives to traditional school setting.
I have long considered home school for my son, who has struggled with traditional school setting for years. Asperger's diagnosis comes with many challenges, making getting through a typical school day a struggle. After trying everything from Child Find early program when he was three, to attending public school, to moving onto catholic school, all the while partaking in behavioral, speech therapy, autism programs, medication, I was open to trying just about anything to make the educational experience as effective for my son and smooth for those around him as I could. Home school seemed like a logical choice, but I was always intimidated by the idea. A friend suggested Odyssey, and what a gem it turned out to be!
Your child gets all curriculum, support, materials he could need or want. The roadmap is clearly defined, there is no guess work, and if you feel like your child is getting through his/her work too easily- you quickly get accustomed to finding additional resources with the guidance of your teachers.
The format through 5th grade goes like this- all curriculum for the week is loaded into the "portal" on Sunday night/Monday morning, complete with work sheets, links to e-learnings, etc. Teacher meets your child once a week on the same day at the same time for an hour. Students are grouped geographically, so your teacher might cover first and fifth graders. The visits are meant to collect grades (you grade the work) and provide support in any subject your child needs help with. Visits are either held at home or library, whatever you agree on. There are social outings, picnics, field trips to give your child a chance to interact with others.
Occasionally you will need to visit campus for testing.
Starting with 6th (our current) grade, visits are suspended and your child now spends four hours/week on campus. Extra lab time us available as needed.
The great thing about the program is you can push your child and really stretch them beyond required minimum. The caution I would extend to a parent considering Odyssey is don't think of it as computer teaching your child and you kicking your feet up. You will read, study, agonize over spelling and tests every minute alongside your child. Think of it as sitting at the school desk with them for the duration of their learning journey. Yes, you'll Google things you've forgotten in 5th grade and you will become more appreciative of Khan academy, than an average American of Wikipedia.
I found it to be an ideal setting for my academically bright but socially struggling little one.
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