California Virtual Academy @ San Mateo School

I have to say I had mixed thoughts when my son started but I was pleasantly surprised it was a very positive experience for my 8th grade son! He has always been at a brick and mortar school until 8th grade. We left high tech for the lack of displine, learning and bullying… my son thrived here but online is not right for every student… my son is advanced learner and can work independently if your student is not they will probably not thrive without additional support…First thing to consider…there is no hand holding! Students are expected to do their work independently and the learning coach is expected to ensure work is getting done. Second, there is one hour of instruction, one hour to work offline independently for each subject but your student can work at their own pace which helped my sons anxiety…our teacher Ms. Kim was a rockstar so attentive and also responded to all my sons emails. My son is also on IEP and all services were done over zoom. The curriculum was average but my son learned a lot and independent learning skills for hs. I did notice that there was a 50/50 split on students taking online learning seriously they either did or didn’t.The only negative is beyond the teachers it is nearly impossible to reach school admin if there are problems and we did not get to choose electives… if you have a student facing challenges in a traditional school environment this would be a great option to consider… my son would like to give traditional hs a go but if it doesn’t work out we will be re-enrolling…

My daughter is in her 10th year with CAVA. I feel she really benefited from starting in kindergarten with CAVA. Most important to me is her safety. She thinks school is great! I want her to enjoy learning and to see her education processes as positive and beneficial for her. She is very challenged by the awesome curriculum provided by K-12. Over the years I have researched other schools and other curricula and I have yet to come across a better package than K-12. We started mapping out her college plans in 8th grade with support and information provided by CAVA. She's involved in fun extra-curricular clubs with other CAVA students. She enjoys meeting and hanging out with other CAVA students at routine "outings" provided by CAVA and supervised by CAVA Teachers. My daughter joined the National Junior Honor Society in 6th grade. I am more involved and have a better understanding of my daughter's abilities and potential because of her attendance at CAVA. Her state testing scores are great. The first time she took the State Science Test, she scored super high. CAVA offers Science from 1st grade on. I just can't say enough about how happy I am that my daughter attends CAVA - Sonoma. I have 7 other children, all grown. The older kids all went to public schools; brick and mortar. Two went to a K-8 Charter School for a few years but graduated from the local high schools. I wish they all could have gone to CAVA.

The worst experience I have had with this online school is that when I have questions or concerns, I can't reach out to anyone. Why? I've reached out to almost everyone, including the principal, and sent them several emails, texts, and phone calls. They seem unresponsive. It's so frustrating! Perhaps their lives have beaten them up!

My eleventh grader has had a terrible experience at Cava@Kings - online school is isolating and her motivation has plummeted. Receive very little support from the school - staff is ineffective, and unresponsive to real concerns. About all I get from them is a constant barrage of useless canned emails. Time requirements are extremely high - feels like I'm doing all the work. Would not ever do this again.

Horrible school I have no idea how they’re even accredited. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN HERE. They are extremely unorganized and lied about programs and classes they offered it seemed like just to get me to enroll my child. If you want your kids getting into a good college after high school, this is not the place for them. Extremely dissatisfied with their staff.

Super School ,Best Teachers very qualified some Teachers have degree too. Very kind Owner .I am highly recommend this school