When you’re searching for an online high school, you’ll likely consider important factors such as accreditation, curriculum quality, and tuition costs.
While these elements are crucial, there are other equally important considerations. You want to ensure your child receives the high school education they need to prepare for college and career success, both academically and personally. Additionally, the right online program will depend significantly on your child’s learning needs and whether they require structured support from faculty or can manage that structure independently.
That’s why we also recommend that families consider:
- The online learning environment. Many high school students find it challenging to stay focused in online classes, retain information from lessons, or grasp new concepts effectively. The most effective online programs utilize interactive learning tools, multimedia content, and other strategies that make virtual learning more engaging and meaningful.
Also, consider how the online classes are organized. Are the online classes similar to recreating a traditional large classroom, where thirty or more students attend a Zoom session listening to a lecture? Are they pre-recorded lessons where students can’t easily get help but can work at their own speed? Or do the online classes offer more personalization, with one-to-one sessions between student and teacher?
- Scheduling flexibility. A major advantage of online schooling is flexibility. Adaptable class scheduling can help students plan school around their commitments, pursue personal interests, and engage in extracurricular activities.
- Social opportunities. Online learning shouldn’t isolate students. An excellent online program creates opportunities for peers to connect — whether through joining online clubs or collaborating in virtual classroom environments.
- Student services. High school students may need access to tutoring, college counseling, and other support services. If your child would benefit from these resources, seek an online high school that provides comprehensive student services.
A quick note: Throughout this post we look at Fusion Global Academy, a private school with a fully online high school program designed for current high school students. If you’re an adult learner looking for online high school courses, you can jump down to the second half of this post, where we cover self-paced online high school programs.
Fusion Global Academy: A Highly Personalized, 1-to-1 Online High School
Fusion Global Academy is a fully accredited private online high school specializing in live one-to-one classes (one teacher to one student). We offer both middle school and high school courses, so we can provide a seamless educational transition as students advance through their academic journey.
One of the primary differences between our online program and others is the completely personalized educational experience that comes with one-to-one instruction. This individualized approach enables our teachers to develop a customized high school curriculum and adjust their teaching methods and classroom environment according to each student’s specific needs.
This level of personalization helps maintain student engagement during virtual learning. It reduces distractions and prevents students from falling behind because they’re unable to ask questions or express confusion. Furthermore, this personalized approach benefits all types of students. Whether they’re gifted, seeking to advance at their own pace, or managing a learning difference such as ADHD, dyslexia, or anxiety, students thrive in the live, 1-to-1 model.
In addition to interactive and personalized classes, our online high school also provides:
Flexible Scheduling
With Fusion Global Academy, students have extensive flexibility when creating their class schedule. Classes can be held any time between 5:30 AM and 11:30 PM Eastern Time, based on your family’s needs.
With this flexibility, a student can:
- Choose which days of the week to schedule classes. Classes don’t need to follow a traditional five-day schedule. Some students prefer to concentrate their classes on two or three days per week.
- Decide whether to take classes earlier or later in the day. This helps students create a schedule that accommodates other commitments and preferences.
- Strategically plan when to take specific classes. For some students, a calculus class requires much more mental energy than an art class. With Fusion, it’s easier to schedule classes so their workload doesn’t become overwhelming. For example, they could schedule a challenging math class, followed by a break before jumping to the next class.
Additionally, Fusion offers open enrollment, allowing students to begin online learning at any point during the year. This flexibility supports families who are relocating, students aiming to get ahead academically, or those needing to catch up or take remedial courses.
A Vibrant and Active Social Life, Online
Attending school online at Fusion doesn’t mean pursuing academic goals in isolation.
Students have access to the Global Homework Café, where they can complete coursework alongside other students, work quietly, or ask questions with the help of staff.
Additionally, we offer online events and clubs, including D&D Club, Yearbook Club, Cooking Club, and many others.
Fusion Academy also maintains a physical campus presence. This is ideal for students who want to begin taking in-person classes or create a hybrid schedule, combining remote and in-person classes. We have over 80 physical campuses throughout the United States, each offering personalized, 1-to-1 learning.
If Fusion Academy sounds like a suitable online school for your high schooler, you can contact us to learn more, or continue reading to discover how online classes at Fusion are tailored to each student.
Interactive Classes Designed for Each Student
At Fusion Global Academy, classes frequently employ a multimedia approach to keep learning engaging, along with interactive tools that maintain each student’s focus and participation throughout the lesson.
For instance, in an English class, a teacher might design a lesson for their student to digitally annotate pages of a poem, encouraging them to share their own interpretations and analysis.
Second, due to the one-to-one classes, teachers have a smaller roster of students, allowing them to truly get to know their students and act as a mentor.
This approach allows us to incorporate your child’s interests into their education, creating custom content that resonates with them personally and gets them excited about learning.
For example, if a student learning about statistics is passionate about sports, their teacher may create a lesson that prompts the student to analyze athletic performance data, helping them explore concepts like standard deviation and probability distributions.
We’ve discovered that personalized learning not only helps our students feel valued and understood but also creates much stronger relationships between them and their teachers. Additionally, it enables students to advance academically faster than their peers.
Hybrid Learning Options
Because we maintain physical campuses alongside our online academy, students may take some classes in person for hands-on experiences while completing others online, creating a personalized hybrid program.
Along with our full-time online program, we also offer:
- Tutoring packages that can be focused on a specific course or on helping students develop better study habits and executive functioning skills.
- Post-secondary counseling services that help students create a post-high school roadmap. One post-secondary counseling session is included with our full-time program for high school students.
- A math remediation program for students who are a grade level or more behind in their math studies.
- A reading remediation program for students who are reading a year or more below their current grade level.
You can learn more about all of our academic programs on our website.
Connect with Classmates Virtually and Build Lasting Friendships
Often, the advantages of online education (such as flexibility) can come at the expense of socialization. However, Fusion’s online school recognizes the importance of meaningful peer interaction.
We organize online clubs and events for our students where they can connect, participate in activities, socialize, and build friendships. We also host in-person meetups where online learners can meet their virtual classmates in person.
Some examples of online clubs and events we’ve organized for our students include:
- Open Mic Night
- Movie Night
- D&D
- Gaming Club
- Fitness Club
- Winterfest
- Art Club
- Anime and Manga Club
Our teachers pay attention to each student’s interests and actively create opportunities to connect students with similar passions. This significantly helps build meaningful online friendships that extend beyond school hours.
Additionally, our students can collaborate on homework online through our Global Homework Café — a virtual space for Fusion students worldwide to work on projects together and socialize.
We provide virtual rooms for focused academic work, ensuring everyone engages in similar activities:
- Quiet Study Café: A space for students to concentrate on assignments they don’t need help with.
- Math Meetup: A room for students who need help with mathematics homework.
- Science Lab: Students can get help with any of their science homework and lab here.
- English Corner: A space for students to get help with all things English and language arts.
- History Hub: History and social studies homework is worked on here. We also host social science debates, current affairs discussions, and more.
- What the Tech: For students experiencing technical difficulties.
More often than not, the majority of a student’s homework is completed during school hours in the Homework Café. This helps make sure each student gets the time and support they need to master their coursework.
We also have virtual spaces dedicated to socializing:
- The Hangout: A room for general socialization, breaks, games, and more.
- FGA Student Community: A hub for student life programming such as meetings, movie nights, contests, and more.
College Preparation and Post-Secondary Counseling
High school students and their families prioritize college readiness and post-secondary planning. Fusion Academy addresses this priority by offering comprehensive college counseling that goes well beyond traditional guidance services.
Fusion maintains a national team of post-secondary counselors who work as essential resources in leveraging students’ strengths, interests, and abilities. These college and career specialists provide personalized one-to-one guidance as students develop and implement their plans for life after graduation. Working collaboratively with students, families, and campus staff, Fusion’s college counselors develop strategic approaches that help students achieve their post-graduation objectives.
Our post-secondary counseling services include:
- College essay support
- Post-secondary planning
- Resume development
- Course selection guidance
- College preparation timeline review
- SAT/ACT testing timeline review
- Practice SAT/ACT support
- Scholarship and financial aid assistance
- College application review and completion support
- College admissions interview preparation
Fusion’s approach delivers exceptional results. In fact, Fusion Academy achieves a 99% college acceptance rate for students who apply to college, with 87% attending their first-choice institution. Additionally, 58% of Fusion graduates receive merit scholarships, demonstrating the high quality of their academic preparation.
Other Online High Schools to Consider
Below, we look at three other online virtual schools, including an online school that helps homeschool students graduate. However, the programs below are self-paced. This can be beneficial for students who are extremely self-motivated or have a strong support system at home to help them study.
Excel Online High School
Excel Online High School, like the other two programs listed below, is a fully asynchronous, self-paced high school program.
This means students are responsible for logging in, making their way through the pre-recorded lessons, and mastering the content. This can work for students who need to make up one or two credits (also known as credit recovery) or highly motivated students who aren’t struggling with learning differences like ADHD or dyslexia. This kind of program can also be helpful if the student is being homeschooled by an involved parent. In this way, the program functions as a curriculum that students and their homeschooling parents can follow.
Excel High School is also experimenting with using an AI tutor to help students stay on track.
Acellus Academy
Acellus Academy is an accredited online school that has programs from elementary school all the way up to high school.
Acellus is a self-paced online program with year-round enrollment, and they use pre-recorded modules to teach students the course curriculum. These video-based lessons also include practice problems, extra help problems, reviews, and exams.
Students have access to a dashboard where they can track their progress through the program.
The Keystone School
The Keystone School offers several online programs, including online high school courses, like American Literature, Geometry Honors, Geography, and AP® Biology.
You can take such classes individually, ideal if you need to get just one or two credits to graduate, or enroll in a full-time program through The Keystone School.
The Keystone is an accredited program with both honors-level courses and Advanced Placement® courses. They also offer credit recovery courses, which are similar to remedial programs, designed to help students catch up if they’re behind.
Start Your Teen’s Personalized Online High School Journey
Fusion Global Academy is a fully-accredited private online high school. We serve students in grades 4-12 around the world and specialize in 1-to-1 personalized learning.
We’ll collaborate with you to design a custom and flexible high school program for your child, ensuring their online education fits around your family’s life — rather than the other way around.
Interested in online 1-to-1 learning for your teenager? Reach out to us and we can answer any questions you may have.
