Silicon Valley High School?
My child is in an OUSD public high school and she needs to make up some high school credits. I know about the community college option but I’m wondering if anyone has recent experience with Silicon Valley High School. My child is able to handle grade-level material but she has gotten too distracted with the social element and needs to make up some credits and bring up her grades. How do you get OUSD to accept the credits? How can I check on her to see if she has completed her lessons for the day if I’m at work? I want to set up a reward system for her.
Thanks!
Apr 27, 2023
Parent Replies
My daughter took a SVHS class two years ago and it worked out very well for her. She also took some community college courses. One semester CC course is equivalent to a year of HS. CC is free and has the advantage that if your kid goes to CC the credits they earned in HS count towards their AA degree.
You should have no problems getting SVHS credits accepted (we were in an OUSD school). They are way cheaper than other options (such as UC Scout) but do know that there is a "tutoring" upsell if your kid needs any actual instruction. SVHS works very well for a kid who can work independently or under some parental oversight. There were youtube videos and online readings, followed by practice quizzes that were multiple choice. The actual multiple choice tests were almost identical to the quizzes. There were essay assignments as well which got longer and more complex. The teacher is just there to grade the assignments (though he argued a point in a brief exchange with my daughter). The final exam was more of the same multiple choice.
The best part of SVHS is the self-pacing. My daughter rushed ahead when I was rewarding her with money towards a prom dress, then took a couple weeks break, then returned to finish the course. If your kid does their best work at 1am, they can be in school at 1am. You're not tied to any particular semester. You can start a class any time and have one year to finish it. This means you can do one course at a time and work consecutively (finish it in a month) or multiple courses and spread the work out. They do provide a pacing guide for each course but it is up to the student to follow it.