As schools and families adjust to the post-COVID-19 world, difficult choices are being made at every level among virtual learning, balancing the demands of hybrid instruction, and families considering full-time homeschooling.
One application seeking to address all of those needs is Acellus, a program from the International Academy of Science, a nonprofit organization.
“Acellus was created by the International Academy of Science in 2001, and has since been adopted by thousands of schools across the country, and has provided education to millions of students in all 50 states and worldwide,” reads the “About Us” section of the website.
Acellus markets itself as a learning accelerator and alternative for situations where in-person instruction may not be possible, according to the website.
"Backed by scientific research, Acellus delivers online instruction, compliant with the latest standards, through high-definition video lessons made more engaging with multimedia and animation," according to its website.
Nina Corley, the science department chair at O’Connell College Preparatory School, teaches a variety of subjects, from biology and chemistry to health and robotics.
For a school such as O’Connell, which has used Acellus for three years, the primary benefit has been in bringing new students up to speed with the school’s curriculum, Corley told North Coastal Counties.
The quality of instruction provided through the program means that students can take a class without tying up a teacher, she said.
“It works for our school because it does allow us to offer some of those classes that we would not otherwise be able to offer to our students,” she said.
That can also be a convenience for current students seeking to fit a class into their schedule not offered in a particular semester, she told North Coastal Counties.
“It allows the students to take the class that they might not otherwise be able to take, or that they would have to wait ‘til the next semester to take,” Corley said.
O’Connell has also used the program to determine where new students stand academically, she told North Coastal Counties.
“One year we used the Acellus also as a kind of pre-test for incoming freshmen, like as a placement test, to see where they were,” Corley said.
Yet, Acellus isn’t just for school districts.
For those struggling with hybrid schedules, or simply don’t want their children to return to in-person schooling yet, homeschooling may be a viable option. The overwhelming majority of research concludes true homeschooling yields some of the best academic and socialization results.
Acellus also offers both the online, fully-accredited Acellus Academy and the non-accredited – but much less expensive – Power Homeschooling.
A comparison of the two versions by How Do I Homeschool states that the key differences between the programs are accreditation and price.
Acellus Academy is an online school and has accreditation, whereas Power Homeschool does not. However, the academy option costs $249 a month, compared to $25 per month for Power Homeschool.
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