Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
Answers
- Is this homeschooling?
- Are you accredited?
- Can my student enroll anytime?
- How does WCA help my child learn?
- Can students work at their own pace?
- As a parent, do I have to be a certified teacher?
- Do you require someone to be with my student during school hours?
- Do I need to keep attendance records?
- Will my student receive holiday breaks?
- If my student transfers to another school will they accept the credits earned at WCA?
- What can I do if my child needs help with the courses?
- Will my student be able to take a standardized test?
- Are we required to register with our state if we enroll in your online school?
- Can my child do two years' work in one school year?
- Do PE or extracurricular activities count towards credit for graduation?
- How much time is required each day (M-F) for my student to complete their daily work?
- How long does the enrollment process take?
- Do you offer payment plans?
- Does WCA send report cards?
- Will your program prepare my student for college?
- What type of multimedia is included in the online courses?
Students are enrolled in a fully accredited private school.
The term “homeschooling” at Western Christian Academy simply refers to a location where students learn. This could be at home, on the road, or wherever they have internet access. WCA provides the students with a full spectrum of courses through its curriculum, thereby freeing up the parents struggling to decide which curriculum(s) to use. In addition, WCA provides diplomas, transcripts, grade reports, and many of the other benefits of a traditional private school.
Grades K-12 are accredited nationally and internationally through AdvancED (NCA CASI) and the National Association of Private Schools.
Our open enrollment schedule allows students to enroll year round. After you complete the enrollment process, your student will be given a customized calendar to complete the school work.
As long as we see that your student is making consistent progress, we allow a lot of flexibility in the weekly schedule. Please keep in mind that they will need to stay on track to finish by the deadline – 6 months for semester courses or 12 months for full-year courses.
Since we are a private school, our parents do not have to be state certified. Since state requirements change frequently, we recommend that you check your state government’s educational website to make sure you are meeting current requirements for online schools or school from home.
All 3rd-12th grade students using our Teacher On Call (TOC) program are assigned to highly qualified WCA teachers.
We understand that older students may not need as much oversight, but we require a responsible adult to be consciously aware of the student’s work and progress.
If your students need instructional help in one of the subjects, they will be able to call our teachers anytime during office hours. Your students will also be able to leave messages to their teachers inside specific problems and lessons.
We provide this testing in the spring. The cost for this testing is included in your tuition. Some states require certain grade levels to take standardized testing. In most cases, you can submit our test results to meet this requirement. Please check your state government’s education website for current information.
The minimum time frame for a full-year course is 6 months, so your child could be allowed to complete more than a year’s work in one year. However, we will need to verify the academic integrity of the work before assigning the next year’s courses. We will also need the first year tuition paid in full before we can setup the new school year courses.
We provide an Activity Log form in which students can keep track of their time. Students should average 45 minutes of actual activity time 5 days a week or 225 minutes of activity per week.
Yearly, semester, quarterly, and monthly payment options are provided for your convenience.
We send out report cards at the end of each semester. You can also view your student’s grades through the online program at any point during the school year.
WCA’s structure greatly prepares students for today’s college course structure. WCA students receive extensive experience with the same type of procedures used in many college courses, so they are less distracted with non-academic procedures. Our college preparatory course of study is designed to prepare students for entrance into universities and colleges. Each college or university has its own entrance requirements. Therefore, you will want to consult with the chosen school to tailor a high school program which meets specific requirements of that institution. Students will be provided a school number for use with FAFSA college financial assistance and college entrance exams.
Over 95% of WCA graduates feel prepared and equipped for college.
What are the basic system requirements for the online program?
Flash compatibility.
Although we have moved primarily to Html5, there are still flash elements within Ignitia. As iPads are not themselves able to utilize flash, students could experience issues particularly in foreign language courses. In some cases a flash-enabled browser may need to be installed.
Older iOS versions.
We have some known issues with older iOS versions causing an irregular and random issue where students may get a “low on e-cash” message even though the school does not utilize e-cash. Additionally some older versions of iPads may not have, or be able to have, the latest supported web browser versions.
iPads and Tablets.
Sometimes, students have trouble logging into Ignitia, as tablets tend to capitalize the first letter typed in the password that you cannot see. This is not a large issue, but can be frustrating to students.
For the most part, iPads can be used successfully as long as you understand that there are some things to watch for and be cognizant of. It’s important to note that Ignitia was not originally designed to work on tablets of any kind, so things will be a little different looking, but functionality should be very similar.