OAO Reviews

The teachers are the best part. They always offer help and make assignments actually fun. -Current 5th grade student

Optima Academy Online has been an amazing experience for my son. I have seen him grow both personally and academically this school year. He loves learning in V.R., and the teachers are very caring and engaging. I am thankful for OAO!

My favorite part this year was the clubs because it helped me learn new things like cooking. It helps you in upper grades and growing up. -Current 4th grade student

I remember the day the OAO post came through my Facebook feed last year. I thought, this is too good to be true. However, I had just ended my first, only and worst year dealing with a public school. I decided to apply, and I am glad I did. My son now engages without wondering if he will be penalized for being himself, and it is true that situations and challenges still came during the year. I can't express enough my grattite for the support, encouragement, motivation given to him by the teachers and counselors (He loves his counselors). The teachers do not skip an opportunity to share great days, and support the students on the no so good ones. I can't wait for what the new school year brings with all the improvements an new opportunities. Blessed to be part of the OAO family.

I love the schedule of having flexible Fridays because it allows us to schedule medical appointments without them missing class. Both faculty and staff have been great about answering questions and helping us navigate a new system.

My daughter Adrianna and I, her mom, love OAO. It’s the Best School she loves all her teachers and I made the best decision to enroll her here keep up the amazing job this is definitely a new adventure place to see everyday and learning at the same time.

OAO has been an incredible experience for my son, more than what we could’ve even imagined. He was struggling in traditional school with issues beyond his control and what seemed increasingly insurmountable has now become within his control again and he’s achieving goals he was convinced he wasn’t capable of ever achieving. He has confidence again and that was not an easy task but it happened so fast here. His teachers are inspiring and kind and he’s excited to go to virtual school every day!

And my experience with everyone at Optima has also been exceptional, at every point, with any issue that has come up, they’ve immediately done everything they can to get us through. I am so happy to be a part of Optima, thank you for everything!

Jamie

Optima Academy Online has been life changing for my son in 6th grade.

Traditional school just wasn’t working for him. He turned from an A/B kid to D’s and F’s. He hated going to school and got in trouble for not paying attention. His self-esteem crumbled and for years he couldn’t tell our family that he had any friends at school. Standardized testing made everything exponentially worse.

Some of the changes I’ve noticed in my son from this past year at OAO:

*He is happy, like legitimately, truly happy. A couple months ago on a Sunday he said, “Is there school tomorrow?” I said yes, and he started celebrating. That’s right, not sarcastically, actually happy that he had school the next day.

* His anxiety has reduced. Zero chance of a shooter on campus. No more monthly drills. A year ago in traditional school he told me “I’m happy I’m in this teacher’s class because she’s been in 2 school shootings, so I feel like we will be more safe with her when it happens.” When. He was preparing for it to actually happen. He will never have to worry about that again. For this alone I am eternally grateful.

* He has made friends. For the first time he refers to the kids in his class as his friends. The time that they spend together has created meaningful bonds-even though they’ve never met in person. The social emotional connections made virtually are stronger than the ones he made in a face to face environment.

* He’s succeeding academically. Does he struggle in certain subjects, yes. Does he get the appropriate level of supports for him to change the struggles into success, couldn’t agree more. He used to hate math and now he loves it-even though he has bumps in the road. He knows it’s ok to not have the answers right away, and that his teachers are there to help him figure it out at his pace.

* He likes, probably loves school. When I used to ask what he liked about his day in traditional school he would always say recess. Now he tells me things like “Math was fun today because we got to fly on pets”

So to sum up this review, the pigs are flying. My son is flying with them and I couldn’t be happier!

At the end of the 21'/22' school year our family set out, as usual, to find a homeschool curriculum option for the 22'/23' school year that would close all the gaps that our children were experiencing as homeschoolers. Having over 10 years of homeschooling experience (with 7 being in the Classical discipline) I was familiar with most of the curriculum that was being offered. However, while we have been pleased with many curriculums, we haven't found any that quite compare to Optima. We were looking for a synchronous option that was classical in nature that would provide our children with an opportunity to interact with teachers and students while still being under our supervision and allowing us to be involved in their education. We wanted them to have a platform to develop as self guided and motivated learners. We wanted each student to have an opportunity to develop the art of conversation. Optima has offered all of these things, and more. We really feel connected to the faculty and staff. Our children have made great friends with the other students and their highly respected teachers. We are so pleased with the accountability Optima has offered. It has helped cultivate the virtue of self governance, and we couldn't be happier! Thank you Optima and all faculty and staff for pouring into our kiddos! We look forward to next year and all that is to come!!

My fifth grade daughter always struggled in school- public school, homeschool, homeschool co-ops- we had tried all the options, but we were still searching for the right fit. With OAO, everything changed. This child of mine, who has never had positive things to say about school or her teachers (yes, even while homeschooled, lol) has completed an entire academic year and STILL loves her teachers and does not complain about schoolwork.

The blend of homeschooling and live classes, along with the benefit of the social aspect of VR have given her such a boost in confidence, both socially and academically. Her teachers have worked hard to create a positive environment where all of the students accept each other and encourage one another, and many of the students have established friendships outside class time as well.

Academically, she has jumped from below grade level in math to at or above grade level, because her teacher was willing to differentiate to meet her individual needs. Latin and book club have kept her motivated and challenged in other areas as well.

You will understand how strongly I recommend OAO when I close with her words about the school year drawing to a close: “I don’t want to take summer vacation! Why can’t we just do school all summer?!” 😊 Thank you OAO for an amazing year, and we look forward to seeing you again in August!

I can’t say enough good about this school and how it has turned my son's education around. My third-grade son didn’t fit well in traditional schools. We’ve tried lots of different kinds, but it always ended up the same. He would have crying fits and meltdowns when he realized it was a school day or the night before he had to go. I stumbled upon Optima via the news or newspaper. We applied, were excepted, and the school is amazing. Everyone is so helpful and so supportive, the teachers are so supportive, you would think being an online, virtual school you’d be cut off from any help, but that’s not the case at all. Teachers keep office hours like college professors so I can always reach out to them and my son can get extra help when he’s struggling. The virtual reality segment is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen; my son loves it. I believe all the kids love it and it is such a neat and efficient way to educate, our kids. I believe my son has made more progress academically this year than he has in all of his short academic career. I work from home, so it works in my schedule perfectly, and being a Florida resident it doesn’t cost us anything, the school even supplied the VR headset. That’s another thing, anytime there were technical issues tech-support was readily available. I’m just amazed, they thought of everything. I honestly had no idea how it was going to work or if it was going to work but I am so happy with my son's success and I’m excited to see what next year holds. Thank you OAO for giving my son a better chance of succeeding.