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Resource Description
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.
Website: Ignite Christian Academy (formerly Alpha Omega Academy)
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(138 Reviews)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: 1st semester was tough getting our daughter "in the groove" and familiar with the system and expectations.
Grades Used: 4-5
We love the flexibility and the course guidlines. Keeping our little one on track is made easier with the assignments "pacing." Better quality education is found at home and our family has grown closer because of the teaching / growing process we experience together.
Cons: Adjustment to a new way of learning with it being online
Grades Used: A-F System
Ignite has been an answer to prayer! We were looking for a a different option other than what the traditional Public school system had to offer for the Middle School years. I was a bit intimidated to take on homeschooling on my own and Ignite has been the best of both worlds. We love the flexibility, the support of teachers or tutoring when necessary, encouraging online community and teachers as well as subjects being taught from a biblical perspective. My son has become more independent, confident and enjoys being able work at his own pace. As a mom it has been a joy to see him blossom.
Cons: Have not found any
Grades Used: 6th and 7th
Ignite Christian Academy is absolutely an answer to prayer for our family. We are in full time ministry with very limited income, and we knew that we had to sacrifice for our daughter to attend an excellent Christian school. We have been enrolled for 2 school terms and are very thankful, our daughter loves school. She is excelling and enjoys school every day. We pray for the financial ability to see her all the way through to graduation.
Cons: Haven’t had one that has not been resolved
Grades Used: 4-5
Ignite Christian Academy is one of the best online schools around. Their faculty and staff are extremely outgoing and knowledgeable. They resolve any questions quickly for students and parents. Academic Advisers are professional and relatable. Some school systems are less willing to work with proactive parents. At Ignite they support student and parent communication, also parents awareness in academic standing before problems occur.
Grades Used: 8th grade
We are very thankful that we found Ignite Christian Academy for our son, who is in 8th grade. Our family went through a big transition last year when we temporarily moved in with Grandpa (95 years old) in a different state, and we continue to travel back to our home monthly. It was a blessing that our son could start school later and work at his own pace to adjust to our move and routine change. It was a new experience navigating online school, but the teachers and staff have been so helpful, and we love that our son is getting a Christian education!
Cons: I love everything about Ignite!
Grades Used: 7-10
We love Ignite! It has been a great fit for our family. We love the flexibility with our schedule and the ability to get a good, solid Christian education from home without the extra work of lesson planning and grading that regular homeschooling requires. If you are feeling the slightest nudge to try this online program, I encourage you to do it. You won’t regret it!
Cons: None
Grades Used: 9
I am so excited to put a review. I have homeschooled with Abeka curriculum for over 15 years. I wish I would have found this program sooner. My students actually have Licensed teachers to speak with. My students actually have other students to speak with everyday. I don't have to grade. I was wasting so many unnecessary time grading and teaching my child with Abeka and no support was the hardest. At Abeka a student or front desk person would help not an actual certified licensed teacher. I love this program. They have fun engaged classes were students meet and have fun with art classes, music classes , drama etc. I am so happy for my students. Please look into this school it will be the best transition you will ever make. Again, I wish I new sooner about this school. Its so organized
We use Ignite Christian Academy for our high schoolers. It was important to us, that our high schoolers graduated from an accredited program, this way, they can opportunity to qualify for scholarships. The last three years I have seen the program continue to strive for excellence and improvements, though they were more an adequate when we started. The teachers and counselors are engaging and host group activities and/or classes. We receive great communication regularly. They have a school social media connection platform. My students can always get help from kind teachers by scheduling an appointment or heading to the help room.
Cons: Some lessons and projects require more time to complete.
Grades Used: Highschool 11-12
The school provides a good Christian education at home. The teachers are very supportive and attentive towards my child's needs whenever he is stuck in his lessons. I was also updated weekly about my son's progress and things he should work on. However, some lessons and projects require more time to complete, especially if your child is still getting used to studying at their own pace. I would definitely recommend this school for homeschooling.
Cons: None
Grades Used: High School 9-12
Wonderful school. Ignite Christian Academy prepared my daughter for college and gave her back her confidence, which she had lost in a traditional brick and mortar school setting.
Excellent
Sorry, but no. I started my Freshman year here 4 years ago, I have to say, biggest regret. I wasted 4 years, I fell months behind because it truly was difficult to complete everything on time. You couldn’t work ahead if you hadn’t finished a project, which the projects sometimes would required a week of “results” to finish, so you’d fall behind a week in assignments till you finished your project. Tons of things that truly made learning feel like a chore instead of enjoying it. Teachers were not very kind. I love setting goals and working hard, but this academy stole my confidence for 4 years until I saw other reviews saying the work was a lot as well. To be fair, I did like that tests were not timed. Other than that, this academy is a no.
Cons: Everything/ false advertising
Grades Used: 5th
It’s not what I signed up for. I made it very clear that I’m a single mother who works from home and I can’t be his teacher. I was told my child would have live teachers that teach the curriculum. That’s why I was willing to pay so much. It is not true. You basically pay them to grade papers. Assignments are several sections of reading then they answer questions. Over and over then a test. If they want to communicate with there teacher they make an appointment. And you don’t really know if you need help until after you fail the test. It is very misleading. It is not working at your own pace. You have to complete the year when they say you’re supposed to complete it. You have 1 week after that date as a grace period or you fail. I could have signed up for online public school for free. Paying almost $300 a month for someone to grade papers is absurd. Unfortunately I signed a contract and we have to finish out the year. Now I know why they require a contract. I will never do this again!! Other schools have live teaching for $50 more. So disappointed!
It has been a great change for our kids, They are loving it! We were concerned of how switching to online classes would affect them, but they are really enjoying it. They love all the resources for studying, the direct support from their teachers and all the activities and Clubs available.
Definitely is the best decision we have made for our children's education.
I highly recommend AOA/ICA.
Cons: too religiously bias, too many projects
Grades Used: 3rd - 12th
Pros-This school is good for learning at your own pace. The few times I've reached out for help with my teachers they were very helpful. The school offers several simple ways to reach out to teachers. The school offers a second retake on lessons and quizzes and alternates for tests.
Cons-the courses were very religiously bias especially with a required bible course every year. For a full Christian family I would recommend this school but as an atheist forced to do the work it is very discouraging. There are many projects but other then that no complaints.
Cons: I would not recommend the Spanish class.
Grades Used: 3-11
I love AOA! My daughter has been there since the 3rd grade. I have nothing but positive things to say about the school. Laci is the best! (She should get a raise!) The teachers are amazing! (except the Spanish teacher) If I was asked to give one piece of advice for new parents it is that you should probably count on your kids going over the end date. I have always scheduled the end date two weeks before the suggested date. My daughter is a straight A student, and even she can go over, so don't stress just plan ahead... I love AOA but I have no idea what the Ignite classes will be like...hopefully just as good.
Grades Used: 2nd and 6th grades
At first we were very excited with Alpha Omega Academy. My son and daughter had just finished their first virtual homeschool year at a public school and we were looking for a Bible Based Curriculum for the following years. After we got started at Alpha Omega we were sad to see a careless attitude from the teachers as to knowing their students progress and following up with them specially my 2nd grader who was on the Life Pac Curriculum. On the other hand, my 6th grade son was receiving the answers from his teacher when asking for an explanation. My daughter learned well with the Life Pac Curriculum but we also encountered worldly teachings. The online curriculum Ignitia was very overwhelming with a world view mix as well. I highly recommend to search more for a Bible Based Curriculum before choosing this one.
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.