"So first of all, wake up, get dressed, make my bed, clean my desk off with my homework, and then I'll get in homeroom. I do my classes. Then on my break, I'll do, like, some homework. Then, like, I'll go down, say 'Hi' to my mom and everyone, and then I'll get more homework done. Then I go to other classes and then I'll do like some more homework and then I'll school off."

-Joey, 6th Grade

"We do a lot of assignments where you get to do it on the computer or  if you want to write it down. I always choose on the computer because it's way easier."

-Joey, 6th Grade

"There are so many benefits. Number one, it challenges a child to be more honed in and focused on what's happening; not distracted by all the things in the classroom that are happening, but honed in on what the teacher is doing at that moment and really paying attention and focusing on what they need to do. Also, the testing, the testing, everybody complains about it. I know it is a lot and it's hard and I've heard so many different things, but it is actually helping them to learn because while they're testing, they're having to study and now they're learning. Whatever they didn't pick up in class, they're picking up on their studying and learning. I'm learning things through them. They're coming back and telling me to stop at the Berlin Wall with them. And I'm like, 'Really? Whoa!' You know? It's very exciting because they're doing a lot of projects that are fun and stimulating that creativity in their mind. To think deeper, go further."

-Christine, Joey's Grandmother

"I wouldn't say that we're like the teacher because they have that teacher that they can go to. They can raise their hand if they have any questions. We're just like the moral support. And if they need help with any assignments or work, we can guide them in that situation. But we're not doing the work for them. We're not doing their school homework assignments or reports. It's them 100%. We're just that guiding light and that moral support in the background."

-Kara, Joey's Mom

"You have to have a very good working relationship with your FSL. I speak with her on Mondays. We have this great relationship and she and I talk about concerns and all the things that we may have. She's been invaluable to us.

You have to be able to be interactive with each child. In the beginning when they're starting, you cannot lose patience. Sometimes you have to make sure your child is logged in and ready to go on time. You have to make sure you just give them that little bit of a push and encouragement. You have to take the time to show your child how to get in the system and how to navigate through that system. If you're not willing to take the time to show them, you will not have success and you'll be in there all the time with them. But once they learn it, they're great. At the end of the day, my recommendation is check their work, make sure they have done everything. Make sure everything's done and submitted.

Keep in constant communication with your teachers. Sometimes grades get mixed up or messed up or something. Get in touch with the teacher. They correct it immediately. There's never been a problem with them correcting what they need to correct."

-Christine, Joey's Grandmother

"His science teacher, she does these science labs which are really cool. She'll send us the list of, (I call them ingredients) that's needed, and they can do it right there along with the teacher. It's really fun because they put their camera down on their little desk and show what they're doing so she can see that they're doing it right. And the last one was with the tectonic plates. They used marshmallow and chocolate and graham crackers and stuff like that, just to show how they move and make mountains. So that's one of his favorite subjects. He loves it."

-Kara, Joey's Mom

"It really got him to focus more. With me being able to keep on him and watching him, I can keep him in his seat... being that constant reminder, 'Make sure you attend your classes on time. You have to put yourself there. You have to make sure you're at your desk. You have to make sure you're in your seat and getting all your work done'.  So it's been a major help with responsibility and just the growing process."

-Kara, Joey's Mom

"Georgia Cyber Academy is an incredible way to do homeschooling with your child, which is also guided by a teacher and a staff that will help your child as if in school, without the distractions, without the problems that the school has. [Having been] in a brick and mortar school and then having this, I have seen it all. So now if you have a child who is struggling in school or a child who is average, or a child who's excelling and in a gifted situation; either way, Georgia Cyber Academy has been able to meet those needs and effectively.

You can try yourself at the brick and mortar, but what you're going to find is you're dealing with a lot of problems, problems with academics, problems with the distractions and problems with the drama of what's going on with the kids and everything else. And I've heard a lot of people say, 'But your child isn't getting socialization at all'. Your child is getting socialization. I just had two children in this house go to the Science Fair and the Social Studies Fair. They met with their friends. They totally socially interacted. They do boot camp. They play football. They play. They do things outside of school. I also know people who have sent their kids to school and the kids are so unhappy because of bullying and the way other kids do. You're not going to change that. You can't change how kids act in school and what they do to other kids. This (GCA) takes out all of that nonsense. And kids can just be friends who want to be friends with each other. Nobody is pushed or forced to do anything. It is very stress free. Right now I'm watching three children who learn at Georgia Cyber... who are extremely happy, happier than I've ever seen them."

-Christine, Joey's Grandmother

"I actually know someone looking at Georgia Cyber, one of my husband's coworkers, because her kids are having issues in brick and mortar with his grades and everything. And to me, it's an A-plus school. I mean, I can't beat it. I just think it's the best."

-Kara, Joey's Mom

"I think that virtual school is the right environment for a child because it allows a child not to be limited... They're not limited. They feel free. Kids are afraid that they're going to, you know, make a mistake, say something wrong, do something wrong, and everybody's going to be embarrassed... and everybody will be laughing at them. The teachers really take control of that. I really have not seen (and I've been in the room watching) bullying or any type of making fun of. The teachers really hone in on that and take control of that and stop that. Every kid feels free to be able to answer or do what they want to do to the best of their ability without having a fear of failing."

-Christine, Joey's Grandmother

"Well, it's the right environment for my child because he's very shy. So it gives him the option of being on the camera, but not where everyone else can see them. The teacher has that thing where only the teachers can see but the other students can't. So with him being a shy kid, it really helps. Like he can then go on camera and not worry about everyone staring at [him]. So it works best and great for us because he also is a little homebody and he doesn't like going anywhere. And he had started getting anxiety going to a brick and mortar school because kids were picking on him and teasing him. And so just being home really helped build his self-esteem back up and his confidence."

-Kara, Joey's Mom

"Well, that's up to the student. They have their little interim breaks because obviously class is like a college campus. You may have three classes in the morning and then not one until 2:00. It just depends on what your schedule is like. But they get up in the morning and they start. Then they'll spend the entire time that they're in class, obviously, on their schedule. In between classes is when they do the required work or they'll do it after school, depending on what's happening in that day. They take a healthy lunch break of an hour, which they're able to relax, go outside, play a little."

-Christine, Joey's Grandmother

"In his grade band, it's five and a half hours from 8:00 to 3:35, but he doesn't have classes the whole time. So in those three periods, we take the time to get his homework done. So he's not sitting after school having to do all this homework. If he has any reports, we get a jumpstart on it and we'll do that every day just to keep ahead of the schedule."

-Kara, Joey's Mom

"We get up at 7:00, he gets his breakfast and then he has homeroom at 8:00. So he has three classes Monday morning and then he has his break and then two classes starting at 1:50, and then that brings him to the end of his school day. Then Tuesday and Thursday are more of his light days. That's where he gets more extra work added for him to get his school homework and reports and stuff done. So, I mean, it's it's flexible. It works out really good."

-Kara, Joey's Mom

"They're amazing. Any time I email a teacher or have to call a teacher if I have any questions about an assignment, probably 99.9% [of the time] within an hour I'm getting an answer back. We just had a baby January, so Joey has a little sister now. She's six weeks old and they've been asking questions. They want to see her. You know, it's that little bit that they remember that he just had a baby sister. It's just like that cherry on top, I guess you would call it."

-Kara, Joey's Mom

"I have had really successful interactions with the faculty and the staff and everything else. It's up to you also to take advantage of the opportunities that Georgia Cyber offers. We take advantage of every opportunity. Go to the the field trips that they offer because they're really worthwhile. They're fun and they're very educational and they really teach a lot. So, I mean, it's up to you. Everything in life is going to be you making the most of it."

-Christine, Joey's Grandmother

"Oh, I consider it to be very challenging and very exciting. I think it's hard. I think it needs to be hard. And they're being pushed and they love it because it's learning new things. So, you know, it's challenging, but I like that because life is challenging and the more you learn, the greater you're going to accept those challenges and be proud of yourself."

-Christine, Joey's Grandmother

"It is a little more challenging than what he is used to, but it's a good challenging because you have to challenge yourself to grow. I look at challenging as being good because you're growing from it."

-Kara, Joey's Mom

"Number one, safety. Your kid is safe, completely and totally safe. Wow! Isn't that something that you can just take a breath and say, 'Yay, my kid is actually safe!'? Number two, there's freedom from bullying. Freedom from lack of feeling like you're not going to succeed. Like you're not good enough. You're not worthy enough. Georgia Cyber has a reward system that always makes you feel like there's a there's always a way you can succeed and achieve something. You're either getting, you know, a little certificate in the mail with candy or a present. I mean, teachers have sent little gifts, just really special gifts to these kids for succeeding. They it's just a great reward system. Makes a kid feel so empowered and so special. So why wouldn't you want your child to feel special? And why wouldn't you want your child to feel safe? To me, it's a win win. There is just no other. I would be devastated and heartbroken if Georgia Cyber were not here."

-Christine, Joey's Grandmother