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Ignite Christian Academy is the K-12 online school of Alpha Omega Publications. With multiple start dates each month, your family can decide when to begin enjoying the assurance of an accredited private school. Ignite Christian Academy also includes incredible teacher support and individualized learning plans, as well as dual credit for college and graduation ceremony opportunities. Choose from full-time enrollment or individual course enrollment.
Website: Ignite Christian Academy (formerly Alpha Omega Academy)
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Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Our 9th grader was asked at Christmas how her first year of homeschooling was going. She replied, “I have learned more in one semester than I did in a year at my old school.” That’s impressive. I feel like she is getting a sound, above average education. I like the access to the teachers and staff. They call me to check in and to see if we have needs or questions. Is it challenging? It can be at times but a challenge now saves remedial classes in college.
Alpha Omega apologized for their mistake and made things right by me. They went the extra mile to make sure we were happy with the experience and also said that their accreditation was excepted by colleges and universities. Great ciriculum and teacher support.
Very dissatisfied! This online academy burned our family horribly. Our kids didnt do well with the curriculum and we decided to pull them out and try public school. We agreed to make one more payment Feb 14 to finish paying for the semester. The school pulled the money without permission out of our account a month earlier than our agreement and refused to refund it. Then Emily stopped taking our calls or returning them. They took our grocery money for the week and admitted it was a mistake but didnt care. When we enrolled our kids in public school, to our surprise the school didnt accept the credits from A&O. All the work our kids did was worthless, and we paid for nothing. So if you think the transcripts will be accepted in college they probably wont. Absolutely worthless and no integrity. The lied to me and put our family in a really bad situation.
Absolutely terrible.
Pros: ???
Cons: Everything is taught very vaguely, the projects are absurd, and there’s far too many of them.
grade: 9th
This semester was my first at AOA. I was really looking forward to it, I was excited for the change. In the beginning it was good, but about a month in, everything began piling up. Bad grades due to not being truly taught the information, overdue projects because 5/6 subjects had long and intensive projects all at once, and simply getting no enjoyment out of it. Because it is online rather than a regular private school, it can be very isolating. While plenty of people (including some of my friends) do online/homeschool, it’s just not the same. School is exhausting, and doing it mostly alone (outside of parental help when needed) is just plain awful.
This school is “Christian based”, which is great, but the amount of things that had nothing to do with the bible or god getting overpowered by religion, is ridiculous. I have one good teacher . . . out of 6.
I cannot explain how much I dislike this school. I wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy.
Grades Used: 10-12
I really loved AOA! I graduated this year and the format worked great for me. I was involved in several outside activities. It allowed me to work my studies around my schedule. The Bible based curriculum is set up so you can do lessons at your own pace, any time of the day. Plus you see your grades right away. I was able to get my Private Pilot's license simultaneously with high school. Next fall my plans are to attend an aeronautical college. My AOA classes were challenging, but I was always able to complete my assignments. It helped to be self-motivated, but great teachers are available for support when needed. My Education Coordinator, Laci Meinerts, was always kind and helpful. (My Mom loves her!) She was ALWAYS encouraging and gave great advise. We are going to miss her very much. I highly recommend AOA for their academics and staff. It is fully accredited and it was nice getting a diploma. I can't say enough about it being an excellent choice for me.
Cons: yes
Grades Used: 8-12
I love AOA! My middle son, developed health issues the were impairing his ability to attend the private Christian school he was previously enrolled in and then we found AOA> That was five years ago and I am happy to say that he attended AOA 8th-12th grade and just graduated this past May. It was a great experience that allowed him to still learn, grow and achieve despite dealing with health related problems. We were very pleased with the coursework, the available electives, the teachers and the technology. We especially grew close with our academic advisor, Laci, who really walked this journey with us, gave us the advice we needed and really cared about my son and his future. If you are looking for a flexible, online, quality program for your child then I highly recommend AOA. The only con with all online learning is the lack in person social interaction and he did a few fun electives at a local homeschool group on Fridays. I don't think you need a lot of extra curricular activies- just find something they like and sign them up so they meet other kids with similar interests.
Cons: none
Grades Used: 11-12
My experience with Alpha Omega was great. The curriculum was great my teachers were amazing, and my coordinator Laci encouraged and pushed me the entire way. I am officially done with school.
Grades Used: 7-12
AOA like any other school will have some issues, however, the way you chose to navigate those challenges will determine your families success. When looking into distance learning in 2012 accreditation was most important to our family as this would be vital during the College Admission process.
Our son began 10th grade in 2012 and has since received his Bachelor’s from University of Central Florida, Masters from Duke Unversity and he will attend Flordia State University in the Fall of 2019 to begin work on his Ph.D. He accomplished this all by the ripe age of 21, which would not have been possible without AOA. My daughter started in 7th grade and finished her last assignment tonight and will graduate in a few weeks. Much like my son AOA afforded her the flexibility to take both high school and college classes at the same time (dual enrollment) and she will start Troy University this summer as a Junior. The school is not perfect but I have never found one that was.
We received weekly calls from teachers with words of encouragement and to make sure we knew they were there if needed. My kids were pretty self-sufficient and did not rely much on teacher support. However, when assistance was needed, we always managed to get our questions answered. I will say that I found my education coordinator Laci Meinerts to be a very valuable resource and an integral part of our success. Because my kids were older, I did not set aside designated school time. They were aware of their due dates and understood my expectations for getting work completed in a timely manner. If you are a family that requires a hands-on approach, my review may not be of much help to you. However, if your kids are self-motivated and you are looking for flexibility. AOA is the way to go!
Grades Used: 12
I am here only to post about the graduation experience. My son attended the physical graduation ceremony in Allen, TX on May 5, 2019. The experience was amazing! Jessie Eben worked very hard to acquire photos, future plans statements, and cap and gown sizes to have everything ready by graduation day. My son left public school at grade 7. Since then he has attended a very small school, and for his last year we opted to finish with Alpha Omega. Even still, he definitely wanted to have the graduation experience. We were fortunate to live close enough to attend without much travel. He was so very happy with the experience, and from a parent's viewpoint, it was an amazing experience. Not to large, not too crowded, not too long. The kids rehearsed before the ceremony and it went off without any problems at all. The photographer was amazing, and was able to take many quality photos that were made available online at no extra charge. They even had an iron set up to press the gowns if you wanted. Refreshments followed in the church's social hall. I've been to several graduation ceremonies, and this one by far was the BEST!
Cons: cumbersome time consuming projects & Lack of holidays
Grades Used: 3-11
We've been using AOA for a few years now. They offer a solid Christian curriculum and have great coordinators that are there to help you. I agree with other reviewers that the projects are very cumbersome. If they were limited to at least only one every other month in the upper grades maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but as our children got older, there were 3-4 projects in a month a lot of the time. If you child's project isn't done when it's due they can fall behind very quickly because they won't have access to work on their other lessons until it's handed it. We didn't care for their foreign language or their math, but were happy with everything else. One of our biggest gripes is that they don't give the holidays off that a traditional school, or other online school's offer and they add up, making your child fall behind if they take off.Yes, you can work ahead or make it up, but it's a hassle. Why would our children want to give up part of their summer so they can have the holidays off that every other child already has? Three of our children always needed assistance with the projects that took a lot of time out of my day, especially considering the amount of projects and the amount of children we have. So between the lack of holidays and not being able to always assist my children when they need it so they can complete the projects, they fall behind for two reasons. I pay for an online school because I can't afford to put the time needed into homeschooling, but 3 out of the four of our children that used AOA needed some kind of assistance with projects. We were happy with the curriculum for English, History and Science and overall found the curriculum to be solid, but have considered switching to a different online school due to the lack of holidays and exorbitant amount of projects or writing essays.
Cons: Not many courses offered in computer science and modern technology at the middle school level. Would love to see more of that.
Grades Used: 6
We are not necessarily Christians, but we do live by Judeo-Christian values. We left public school due to the far left, amoral, and degenerate turn they all seem to be taking and wanted our daughter to attend a private online school that was not only affordable, but also offered both a classical education and Christian values. AOA was just that. Taking a risk on AOA was the best thing I've done in my daughter's lifetime. Excellent curriculum, excellent support, excellent communication, excellent tuition fees, warm and caring teachers and advisers. As I mentioned earlier, we are not Christians. While I do want my daughter to both know and understand the Bible, I want her to learn a second language even more. AOA offers that option to families like ours and she is taking middle school Spanish in lieu of Bible studies. This school has FAR exceeded our expectations and we recommend them to absolutely everyone with an interest in online home schools. You will not be disappointed with this amazing school!
Cons: None
Grades Used: 10-12
We have been so blessed with this school!!! I thank God everyday for finding this school! My son would not be the person he is today without Alpha Omega Academy.
We love Alpha Omega Academy. They have provided a curriculum that is challenging enough for my son as well as the support necessary to succeed. The staff and teachers are wonderful. They are available to answer his questions and regularly communicate with me about my sons progress. The curriculum is great and I am confident that he learning everything necessary to prepare him for college in the future.
AOA is one of the absolute best things I have ever done for my children’s education. The teachers are fantastic, the curriculum is challenging, and the staff (especially our education coordinator Lacy Meinerts) is top notch. I wish I had used AOA from the very beginning of schooling my children...they make it so easy!! I’m forever grateful for the freedom they have given me as a mother while providing my children with an excellent education. All I do now is oversee that they are working and communicating with their teachers when they need to. My kids love it because it allows them the freedom to work at their own pace. Now we foster, we have already decided that if we adopt any children then they will be using AOA for their education. AOA is the way to go for homeschooling!!
Cons: Cost
Grades Used: 7,8,9
Alpha Omega is an amazing school for kids looking to get an online education with a Christian focus. The teachers actually care about your children and help them in any way that they can to make sure your children actually grasp the material. The staff is also very responsive to any questions and follow up with you often.
Grades Used: 8th grade
We chose Alpha Omega Academy for our 12 yr old daughter after much research. I needed her to have someone to be accountable to while I focused on our LD 7 yr old. With our older girls we had put them in other online academy’s but the cost was exorbitant and couldn’t sustain the cost. AOA exceeded my expectations right off with kind and encouraging conversations. After she started we received monthly calls checking on us and encouraging us to use their resources. I am very thankful for everything they have done to make this a great 8th grade year.
Grades Used: 2-6
We have been homeschooling our son since 2nd grade. Our son struggles with attention issues and having the flexibility to work at his own pace and take breaks as he needs them has been a true blessing. The teachers throughout the last five years have been very accessible, caring and supportive. Laci Meinerts constantly reaches out to us to make sure my son is doing well and that we have everything we need. She is always sweet and welcoming and makes us feel at home. Our son is doing very well, and he is very happy. We love everything about AOA and look forward to continuing our work with them.
Cons: There are not any kids in my area that go to AOA
Grades Used: 8th and 9th
Our daughter has been attending AOA for two years (8th and 9th grades) and we have seen her grow soo much! Her organizational skills and level of personal accountability has soared!!
Through AOA our daughter is totally positioned for success. She has full access to state of the art education, fully certified teachers, online tools, and rock solid support through her amazing student advisor, Laci Mienerts. We couldn't be happier!
If you are looking for a Christ-centered, challenging, fully accredited (NCAA recognized) online school, AOA is the place to be! What an honor and privilege to have an education of this caliber available to all students, with online pacing tailored to each student and personalized student advising and academic support.
We thank God for AOA and the highly qualified and sincerely caring staff.
Thanks AOA!
Sincerely
The Spears family.
Cons: NONE
Grades Used: 9th
I can not say enough Great things about Alpha Omega Academy !
My daughter loves the flexible hours, all the teachers are there when you need them! She has joined so many clubs and gets to meet friends from all over the world at the same time while getting a great education! This school is always on top of everything, continually checking on us if we need anything or do not understand something, they are right there to help. We feel so Blessed that God lead us to this solid Christian Online school !
I would recommend this school to Everyone !! I want to personally thank Keith Holland for being so amazing at helping us enroll and thank our Education Coordinator Laci Meinerts for checking on us and Always being there for us when we need her. Thank you Lord for such amazing people and such an amazing school !
Grades Used: 8, 9
My daughter is currently in her second year with Alpha Omega Academy. We could not say enough about how happy we are with the curriculum, teachers and support we have received through the years.
The teachers call monthly to check in, are always available for any questions and happy to help in anyway. Her French teacher , Mrs. Klimes, is amazing and is in contact every three weeks for an oral project, and available for online classes. This is her favorite class and she is currently enrolled in French 3 next semester.
The curriculum is set up in a way that students can work independently while staying on pace. Alpha Omega is in constant contact if my daughter falls behind with pacing. Laci Meinerts is always helpful and encouraging. I always look forward to our talks.
My favorite part about the Academy is my daughter is getting a great education, loving to learn and the people that have become like family. They really do care.
We have now successfully educated 2 high school daughters through AOA and are very pleased with our decision. Through AOA those daughters got a Bible-based education from an accredited academy, and each had no problem applying to and being readily accepted at the #1 Christian college of their choices! Over the years, we had the assurance of Christian studies supported by professional teachers and when difficult times hit our family, the whole team at AOA was behind them encouraging their success. I am very grateful for their personal attention and caring attitudes when we needed it most. Cheers for AOA!
Cons: More expensive than just using Monarch
Grades Used: High School
I just wanted to point out, that the Monarch Curriculum that the AOA online is based off, allows for a two week Christmas break, a one week Spring Break, and a few days off per year. Therefore, if the Academy is scheduling every day, your workload is much lighter. That means, that all you need to do, in order to get a Christmas and Spring break is, a few weeks ahead of time start working ahead. Another option is to start the work earlier in the summer (we usually start mid-August) so that you are automatically ahead. 🙂 There is no need to feel that you can't get a break, as long as you have this info ahead of time just work ahead and earn a break. As to the projects and essays - they are extremely important in an online learning platform. They provide the hands on work that is missing. Your student absolutely needs these, and AOA should be commended for having them included! Additionally, students need the extra projects and essays and reports in order to learn the time management skills they will need for life and college. Colleges do not pre-package all the learning in neat little online programs. Profs are constantly assigning new things, so it's important that homeschool high school students learn to manage all of these things, and learn a system that works for themselves.
Grades Used: 12
After we moved to a new area, the local public school couldn't offer the variety and quality of classes our Senior needed, so after researching all the options, we were happy to choose AOA to meet his needs. We love that it is a Christ-centered, quality, and accredited online option. While his calendar is different than the rest of our kids', he is getting a great opportunity to self-motivate, self-pace, and still be supported in the process. I homeschool a younger child so wanted something he could independently do, and I have been rarely needed!
Proud and thankful that AOA is helping get him ready for college. Thankful, too, that he has an opportunity to go to D.C., and will have a graduation ceremony to participate in!
Cons: I agree with all the other reviewers.... I can't stand that there is no Christmas or winter break and no break in the spring. So unless you do the work ahead of time, or opt to fall behind and try to catch up, this is a big hassle. We start our school year right around the time a traditional school would start and right before the Christmas break there are all these projects and reports due. So not only are we behind, but until the reports and projects are completed you can't do your other lessons. As a mom, right before the holidays is probably our busiest time of year and hardest time to sit down and devote a few hours to the various projects and reports do at that time. If they gave a traditional winter and spring break and made the projects or report extra credit instead of mandatory I would love their curriculum. This way if you want extra credit or if you have a low grade level you can use them to raise your grade and in the meantime, they don't cause you to fall behind I'm not super in love with their math. We switched back to teaching textbooks. I liked having a teacher and the accountability of their scheduled work gave us a push, but not worth the aggravation. All of my children learned more from Teaching Textbooks who may introduce some concepts later, but it all gets covered in the end and does a much better job of explaining.
Grades Used: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10th
They need to add holidays where work is not scheduled, for at the very least, Christmas and a couple of days during the Spring or Easter. Projects and reports are cumbersome and given right around the same time for all the subjects and scheduled right before the holidays. Really? Students won't have access to other lessons until reports and projects are done. Overall, even though I find these issues very annoying, I still like the curriculum and continue to use it, because the good outweighs the bad, but if they made a couple of small changes, their curriculum could be the best or one of the best around. Liberty Online is very similar, but slightly more expensive every time I have compared them in the past, but I liked their online academy better when we used it because they gave the holidays off. They had some website issues with the being able to quickly access if your student was on track when we used it, but I've heard they now have a "snapshot" similar to AOA where you can see all the subjects, grades and if a student is on track, all on one page. Overall Alpha Omega Academy is a solid, Christian Curriculum and I appreciate how they keep us on track and usually allows my children to work independently. In previous years, prior to using an online academy and working independently, we would be so much more behind, but I do wish they would add the holidays and make the projects and reports extra credit for students who need, or want to do them, and not prevent students from being able to access their other work until the projects are completed.
Cons: No Spring Break, Very Short Christmas Break
Grades Used: 9 and 10
We chose Alpha Omega Academy after taking my daughter out of public school. She worked at a faster pace than her classmates and bullying was a huge problem. AOA offers the Christian based curriculum that we were looking for and my daughter is able to work ahead if she wants. She is very shy and her teachers have worked with her to help overcome her debilitating shyness. We have been very happy with her progress.
I am not certain why there isn’t a break in the spring. While all other schools private and online are getting a much needed break, AOA students are required to work ahead if they need to travel. It has been hard for us this year because of an illness in the family that required travel often. While your friends are off school for a week, she is unable to participate in some activities due to her school work.
All in all, we have been pleased with AOA and I would recommend to anyone with a self motivated child.