92% of Parents give Louisiana Connections Academy Virtual School Top Marks

-- Flexibility, Different Learning Environment from Current School, and Safe Environment are Top Enrollment Drivers Cited by Parents in Annual Survey --

July 24, 2013 – Louisiana Connections Academy, http://www.LouisianaConnectionsAcademy.com, a leading provider of high-quality, highly accountable virtual schooling for students in grades K through 12, continues to get high marks from parents, a new study shows.  In its 2012-2013 Parent Satisfaction Survey, 92% of parents gave the Louisiana Connections Academy (LACA) online school program an “A” or “B” grade, and 96% recommend Louisiana Connections Academy to other parents.  

Louisiana Connections Academy will begin the 2013-2014 school year August 12 and enrollment for the 2013-2014 school year is going on now. Free information sessions are taking place across the state for families interested in learning more, meeting teachers and school representatives, and exploring the award-winning curriculum.

Parents gave the Louisiana Connections Academy program high marks for its academic rigor, program flexibility, the high quality of its teachers, and for delivering high levels of student achievement.  Ninety-two percent of parents reported that their children are making good academic progress, arguably the keenest evaluation of a child’s education.  Ninety-eight percent said they were pleased with the helpfulness of their children’s teachers, and specifically praised their responsiveness and accessibility.  Parents were also virtually unanimous in their praise of the LACA curriculum, with 97% of survey respondents calling it “high quality”. On top of that, the school was also accredited by Advanced Education this year!

The annual parent survey also revealed that parents’ top reasons for enrolling their students in a Connections Academy school included:  flexible schedule (35%), wanting a different environment from their current school  (46%), and “so my child can learn in a safe environment” (37%).  Other factors parents cited included the wish for “greater involvement in my child’s learning” (25%) and 12.7% who said “my child was at risk of academic failure and I wanted a more intensive and personalized instruction for him/her.”

“I wish Louisiana Connections Academy were available when I was a student,” says parent Donna Hubbs, who enrolled her child Jacob Hubbs into the school due to the conflict of time commitment issues. “My son now has the time to participate in a music band while receiving a top-notch, quality education. I can’t thank and recommend Louisiana Connections Academy enough”.

“Our Parent Satisfaction Survey really illustrates our commitment to accountability. We value this parent feedback and use it to help make our virtual school program better. I am very pleased with the results, in particular the positive feedback about our teachers and the curriculum and the number of parents willing to recommend us,” said Principal Caroline Wood.

Louisiana Connections Academy stellar parent satisfaction ratings – 92% gave LACA an A or B grade -- stand well above public school ratings from the 44th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, in which 77% of public school parents gave the public school their oldest child attends an “A” or a “B” grade.[1] Further underscoring how pleased parents are with Connections Academy, 96% of parents reported being ‘more satisfied’ with the LACA program than their child’s/children’s previous school. 

Survey methodology
Connections Academy conducts its annual Parent Satisfaction Survey to find out how its parents, guardians and Learning Coaches grade the program in several key areas.  The 2012-2013 survey was conducted from January 15th to March 8th by L.J. Shapiro & Associates, an independent market research company which created the questionnaire, collected the data, and tabulated the results. No individual responses were accessible to Connections Academy. Parents of all currently enrolled students were invited to complete the Survey online. A WebMail invitation was sent to each parent, and one response per household was submitted. Seventy-nine percent of all households with students enrolled at LACA at the time of the Survey, responded to the Survey

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ABOUT LOUISIANA CONNECTIONS ACADEMY
(www.LouisianaConnectionsAcademy.com)

Louisiana Connections Academy is the state’s leading provider of high-quality, free public virtual charter schooling for grades K through 12. Louisiana Connections Academy offers a superior, personalized education for students, offered by Louisiana certified teachers, with the freedom and flexibility of an online education that meets the state’s standards. As an online charter school, students access their lessons anytime, anywhere as long as they have the technology, tools and support of their family. Accountability for meeting high academic student performance is monitored by the non-profit charter board, Friends of Louisiana Connections Academy, Wade Henderson, President. The charter school is authorized by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to accept students from any parish in the state. All parishes are represented by the 1,200 students attending for the 2013-14 school year. Principal Caroline Wood has expanded the school curriculum to include tutoring, summer school, dual enrollment programs and high quality electives, such as e-learning courses at Juilliard. The school is headquartered in Baton Rouge at 8281 Goodwood Blvd., Ste J, (225) 372-8389. Student field trips, graduation ceremonies, parent-to-parent events and school information sessions are regularly scheduled and promoted at the school website.

 

Media Contact:
Heather Harper/Jonathan Barnes (504) 897-6110
Outreach Liaison Shelley Centanni (225) 372-8389


[1] William J. Bushaw and Shane J. Lopez, The 44th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, “Betting on Teachers.”  Phi Delta Kappa, Vol. 94, No. 01, September 2012.