Ignite Christian Academy is the K-12 online school of Alpha Omega Publications. With multiple start dates each month, your family can decide when to begin enjoying the assurance of an accredited private school. Ignite Christian Academy also includes incredible teacher support and individualized learning plans, as well as dual credit for college and graduation ceremony opportunities. Choose from full-time enrollment or individual course enrollment.
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Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: none
Review by Danna Van Buren
Cons: Projects are challenging but manageable
Grades Used: A+
My daughter started attending Alpha Omega in September 2019 when she had an issue attending our local public high school. My instincts to pull her out when I did was all God! AOA has been a HUGE blessing to us. She no longer feels the pressure from school work as she can go at her own pace. She is learning to think critically and the staff is so amazing and supportive! You still have to partner with them to help in your child’s education but they are with you every step of the way so you are NOT doing it alone. It’s the best of both worlds homeschooling and private Christian School. I could not be happier! The work is challenging but not overwhelming. The projects are not easy but they are manageable if you schedule the time and do not rush through them so you can do them a little bit at a time. The COVID-19 pandemic threw the US into a frenzy and public schools didn’t know how to implement homeschooling and overwhelmed the kids with work. I’m so so so happy I pulled out my daughter when I did! When everyone else was trying to get acclimated with schooling from home, my daughter and I were already established and in a routine! The Lord is so good and AOA is such a blessing!
Cons: Lack of holidays, no grace period extension, too many projects
Grades Used: 1-12
Pros
– Reasonable Christian curriculum.
– We like their English, History and Science classes.
– Nice teachers – easily accessible, sweet, helpful, encouraging, supportive and non judgemental if your child struggles or falls behind.
– I like the accountability (not pressure, but support and encouragement) from the teachers. They will keep you updated on your child’s work status.
– Never really had any issues with their online system in years. This is a big point because we had issues accessing their online program years ago, as well as remote curriculums of other schools.
Cons:
– didn’t like their math program or spanish classes at all.
– big lack of scheduled days off for holidays where no work is assigned compared to any other traditional school calendar (public, private or online).
– a lot of tedious assigned projects that my children very rarely enjoyed with the exception of a couple of the science projects.
– The continual scheduled projects prevent your child’s ability to work on other lessons until the projects are completed. This is a big issue if and when your child needs your assistance and you don’t have the time that day. They have limited access to another lesson they can work on independently until you have the time to assist them to get the project completed and their work will fall behind.
– Increased risk of students falling behind due to lack of scheduled holidays compared to other schools and projects. If your child takes the days off when everyone else is off, they will fall behind and AOA doesn’t give you ANY grace period at the end of the year. AOA increases the students scheduled workload to squeeze a 20 week semester into an 18 week schedule (explains the lack of holidays) and then if your child falls behind they offer to “extend” it to the 20 weeks that you actually already paid for. Really? Thanks for offering me something I already paid for. Please excuse my sarcasm, but I find that ridiculous.
A typical school semester is 20 weeks and that is what a curriculum workload is based upon. It’s easier to fall behind with AOA compared to other schools because of the lack of scheduled days off and the projects which can put a freeze on your child’s ability to work on other assignments until the project is completed.
– No grace period at the end of the year – It would be nice if they offer a “grace period” that is actually grace, compared to something you already paid for.
– Cost of extension. They charge $85 per class, for a week extension (even if you only need one day out of the week for your child to finish), or $300/month extension, once you go over the traditional 20 week semester! All of the other private schools we’ve ever been enrolled in both online and local brick and mortar, provided students with some sort of grace period. Very surprising that a Christian organization does not offer any grace period.
Summary – overall I would recommend AOA and use them again for classes other than math or foreign language, but first I would look into other options due to their lack of holidays, grace period, cost of extension and the tedious projects that can cause a student to fall behind. However, I do like that AOA offers a good Christian curriculum and is a Christian organization with nice teachers and a non-problematic online curriculum. If I found an online program that I felt equally confident in those aspects, that additionally offered the holidays and an actual grace period, I would have to give them a serious consideration before returning to AOA. I have no interest for my children to have assigned schoolwork when their friends, neighbors and family members are looking forward to the holiday break when everyone is off and we can get together without the added stress of knowing there will be schoolwork to make up.
Cons: No religion mentioned, vague, outdated, seemed pointless, lack of communication
Grades Used: 11th Grade Spanish
I decided to take Spanish online because it didn’t fit into the rest of my schedule. I’ve never regretted a decision more. Now, part of that is because taking a foreign language online sucks. I get that. But I had so many other issues with this program that had nothing to do with the course.
My main issue is the lack of religion. AOA claims to be Christian education. I have attended a Christian school for 11 years—I know what that looks like. Unfortunately, AOA looked nothing like my other classes. I chose to take a class from AOA, paying for a Christian perspective. God is not mentioned during any of the lessons. Occasionally, I will have to chose a Bible verse when I do a speaking exam, but that’s it. It’s an even bigger issue when we’re talking about secular things. For example, one lesson was talking about Charles Darwin’s work on the Galapagos Islands. There was no mention of evolution at all. Another lesson was talking about fossils and said that fossils can help us learn about “the beginnings of life”. Excuse me? We don’t learn about the beginnings of life from fossils, we learn about it from the Bible.
The lack of Biblical views annoyed me, and I’m lucky to actually attend a Christian school that gives me a Christian perspective on things, but I’m sure these courses could be detrimental to a student who is expected to learn about God from these classes.
I had many other issues beyond the religion aspect. One thing was how outdated the lessons were. It obviously hadn’t been updated since 2014, meaning that many of the statistics were incorrect or no longer relevant. For Spanish this didn’t matter as much, but I had a friend take Economics through AOA and she had the same problem. Are you really learning things if it hasn’t been updated since 2014?
Another issue was the lack of communication. When I reached out to my teacher, she often took multiple days to respond or to grade assignments. This made moving on and continuing lessons difficult. At first, I didn’t even know how to contact her because she didn’t respond to my email or message on the website for several days. I also got very behind at one point in the semester (my fault because of busyness!) and there was no communication between AOA and my school or home. It wasn’t until several weeks later that I got a call from my school. My teacher did nothing to reach out about my late assignments. Getting behind was my fault in the first place, but a good teacher doesn’t ignore a student who is struggling.
Ultimately, I don’t think AOA is a good choice, especially if you’re looking for a Christian perspective on subjects.
Our 9th grader was asked at Christmas how her first year of homeschooling was going. She replied, “I have learned more in one semester than I did in a year at my old school.” That’s impressive. I feel like she is getting a sound, above average education. I like the access to the teachers and staff. They call me to check in and to see if we have needs or questions. Is it challenging? It can be at times but a challenge now saves remedial classes in college.
Alpha Omega apologized for their mistake and made things right by me. They went the extra mile to make sure we were happy with the experience and also said that their accreditation was excepted by colleges and universities. Great ciriculum and teacher support.
Very dissatisfied! This online academy burned our family horribly. Our kids didnt do well with the curriculum and we decided to pull them out and try public school. We agreed to make one more payment Feb 14 to finish paying for the semester. The school pulled the money without permission out of our account a month earlier than our agreement and refused to refund it. Then Emily stopped taking our calls or returning them. They took our grocery money for the week and admitted it was a mistake but didnt care. When we enrolled our kids in public school, to our surprise the school didnt accept the credits from A&O. All the work our kids did was worthless, and we paid for nothing. So if you think the transcripts will be accepted in college they probably wont. Absolutely worthless and no integrity. The lied to me and put our family in a really bad situation.
Absolutely terrible.
Pros: ???
Cons: Everything is taught very vaguely, the projects are absurd, and there’s far too many of them.
grade: 9th
This semester was my first at AOA. I was really looking forward to it, I was excited for the change. In the beginning it was good, but about a month in, everything began piling up. Bad grades due to not being truly taught the information, overdue projects because 5/6 subjects had long and intensive projects all at once, and simply getting no enjoyment out of it. Because it is online rather than a regular private school, it can be very isolating. While plenty of people (including some of my friends) do online/homeschool, it’s just not the same. School is exhausting, and doing it mostly alone (outside of parental help when needed) is just plain awful.
This school is “Christian based”, which is great, but the amount of things that had nothing to do with the bible or god getting overpowered by religion, is ridiculous. I have one good teacher . . . out of 6.
I cannot explain how much I dislike this school. I wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy.
Grades Used: 10-12
I really loved AOA! I graduated this year and the format worked great for me. I was involved in several outside activities. It allowed me to work my studies around my schedule. The Bible based curriculum is set up so you can do lessons at your own pace, any time of the day. Plus you see your grades right away. I was able to get my Private Pilot’s license simultaneously with high school. Next fall my plans are to attend an aeronautical college. My AOA classes were challenging, but I was always able to complete my assignments. It helped to be self-motivated, but great teachers are available for support when needed. My Education Coordinator, Laci Meinerts, was always kind and helpful. (My Mom loves her!) She was ALWAYS encouraging and gave great advise. We are going to miss her very much. I highly recommend AOA for their academics and staff. It is fully accredited and it was nice getting a diploma. I can’t say enough about it being an excellent choice for me.
Cons: yes
Grades Used: 8-12
I love AOA! My middle son, developed health issues the were impairing his ability to attend the private Christian school he was previously enrolled in and then we found AOA> That was five years ago and I am happy to say that he attended AOA 8th-12th grade and just graduated this past May. It was a great experience that allowed him to still learn, grow and achieve despite dealing with health related problems. We were very pleased with the coursework, the available electives, the teachers and the technology. We especially grew close with our academic advisor, Laci, who really walked this journey with us, gave us the advice we needed and really cared about my son and his future. If you are looking for a flexible, online, quality program for your child then I highly recommend AOA. The only con with all online learning is the lack in person social interaction and he did a few fun electives at a local homeschool group on Fridays. I don’t think you need a lot of extra curricular activies- just find something they like and sign them up so they meet other kids with similar interests.
Cons: none
Grades Used: 11-12
My experience with Alpha Omega was great. The curriculum was great my teachers were amazing, and my coordinator Laci encouraged and pushed me the entire way. I am officially done with school.
Grades Used: 7-12
AOA like any other school will have some issues, however, the way you chose to navigate those challenges will determine your families success. When looking into distance learning in 2012 accreditation was most important to our family as this would be vital during the College Admission process.
Our son began 10th grade in 2012 and has since received his Bachelor’s from University of Central Florida, Masters from Duke Unversity and he will attend Flordia State University in the Fall of 2019 to begin work on his Ph.D. He accomplished this all by the ripe age of 21, which would not have been possible without AOA. My daughter started in 7th grade and finished her last assignment tonight and will graduate in a few weeks. Much like my son AOA afforded her the flexibility to take both high school and college classes at the same time (dual enrollment) and she will start Troy University this summer as a Junior. The school is not perfect but I have never found one that was.
We received weekly calls from teachers with words of encouragement and to make sure we knew they were there if needed. My kids were pretty self-sufficient and did not rely much on teacher support. However, when assistance was needed, we always managed to get our questions answered. I will say that I found my education coordinator Laci Meinerts to be a very valuable resource and an integral part of our success. Because my kids were older, I did not set aside designated school time. They were aware of their due dates and understood my expectations for getting work completed in a timely manner. If you are a family that requires a hands-on approach, my review may not be of much help to you. However, if your kids are self-motivated and you are looking for flexibility. AOA is the way to go!
Grades Used: 12
I am here only to post about the graduation experience. My son attended the physical graduation ceremony in Allen, TX on May 5, 2019. The experience was amazing! Jessie Eben worked very hard to acquire photos, future plans statements, and cap and gown sizes to have everything ready by graduation day. My son left public school at grade 7. Since then he has attended a very small school, and for his last year we opted to finish with Alpha Omega. Even still, he definitely wanted to have the graduation experience. We were fortunate to live close enough to attend without much travel. He was so very happy with the experience, and from a parent’s viewpoint, it was an amazing experience. Not to large, not too crowded, not too long. The kids rehearsed before the ceremony and it went off without any problems at all. The photographer was amazing, and was able to take many quality photos that were made available online at no extra charge. They even had an iron set up to press the gowns if you wanted. Refreshments followed in the church’s social hall. I’ve been to several graduation ceremonies, and this one by far was the BEST!
Cons: cumbersome time consuming projects & Lack of holidays
Grades Used: 3-11
We’ve been using AOA for a few years now. They offer a solid Christian curriculum and have great coordinators that are there to help you. I agree with other reviewers that the projects are very cumbersome. If they were limited to at least only one every other month in the upper grades maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but as our children got older, there were 3-4 projects in a month a lot of the time. If you child’s project isn’t done when it’s due they can fall behind very quickly because they won’t have access to work on their other lessons until it’s handed it. We didn’t care for their foreign language or their math, but were happy with everything else. One of our biggest gripes is that they don’t give the holidays off that a traditional school, or other online school’s offer and they add up, making your child fall behind if they take off.Yes, you can work ahead or make it up, but it’s a hassle. Why would our children want to give up part of their summer so they can have the holidays off that every other child already has? Three of our children always needed assistance with the projects that took a lot of time out of my day, especially considering the amount of projects and the amount of children we have. So between the lack of holidays and not being able to always assist my children when they need it so they can complete the projects, they fall behind for two reasons. I pay for an online school because I can’t afford to put the time needed into homeschooling, but 3 out of the four of our children that used AOA needed some kind of assistance with projects. We were happy with the curriculum for English, History and Science and overall found the curriculum to be solid, but have considered switching to a different online school due to the lack of holidays and exorbitant amount of projects or writing essays.
Cons: Not many courses offered in computer science and modern technology at the middle school level. Would love to see more of that.
Grades Used: 6
We are not necessarily Christians, but we do live by Judeo-Christian values. We left public school due to the far left, amoral, and degenerate turn they all seem to be taking and wanted our daughter to attend a private online school that was not only affordable, but also offered both a classical education and Christian values. AOA was just that. Taking a risk on AOA was the best thing I’ve done in my daughter’s lifetime. Excellent curriculum, excellent support, excellent communication, excellent tuition fees, warm and caring teachers and advisers. As I mentioned earlier, we are not Christians. While I do want my daughter to both know and understand the Bible, I want her to learn a second language even more. AOA offers that option to families like ours and she is taking middle school Spanish in lieu of Bible studies. This school has FAR exceeded our expectations and we recommend them to absolutely everyone with an interest in online home schools. You will not be disappointed with this amazing school!
Cons: None
Grades Used: 10-12
We have been so blessed with this school!!! I thank God everyday for finding this school! My son would not be the person he is today without Alpha Omega Academy.
We love Alpha Omega Academy. They have provided a curriculum that is challenging enough for my son as well as the support necessary to succeed. The staff and teachers are wonderful. They are available to answer his questions and regularly communicate with me about my sons progress. The curriculum is great and I am confident that he learning everything necessary to prepare him for college in the future.
AOA is one of the absolute best things I have ever done for my children’s education. The teachers are fantastic, the curriculum is challenging, and the staff (especially our education coordinator Lacy Meinerts) is top notch. I wish I had used AOA from the very beginning of schooling my children…they make it so easy!! I’m forever grateful for the freedom they have given me as a mother while providing my children with an excellent education. All I do now is oversee that they are working and communicating with their teachers when they need to. My kids love it because it allows them the freedom to work at their own pace. Now we foster, we have already decided that if we adopt any children then they will be using AOA for their education. AOA is the way to go for homeschooling!!
Cons: Cost
Grades Used: 7,8,9
Alpha Omega is an amazing school for kids looking to get an online education with a Christian focus. The teachers actually care about your children and help them in any way that they can to make sure your children actually grasp the material. The staff is also very responsive to any questions and follow up with you often.
Grades Used: 8th grade
We chose Alpha Omega Academy for our 12 yr old daughter after much research. I needed her to have someone to be accountable to while I focused on our LD 7 yr old. With our older girls we had put them in other online academy’s but the cost was exorbitant and couldn’t sustain the cost. AOA exceeded my expectations right off with kind and encouraging conversations. After she started we received monthly calls checking on us and encouraging us to use their resources. I am very thankful for everything they have done to make this a great 8th grade year.
Grades Used: 2-6
We have been homeschooling our son since 2nd grade. Our son struggles with attention issues and having the flexibility to work at his own pace and take breaks as he needs them has been a true blessing. The teachers throughout the last five years have been very accessible, caring and supportive. Laci Meinerts constantly reaches out to us to make sure my son is doing well and that we have everything we need. She is always sweet and welcoming and makes us feel at home. Our son is doing very well, and he is very happy. We love everything about AOA and look forward to continuing our work with them.
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