iForward Wisconsin Online Charter School

The school is out to make money - I worked for iForward and witnessed them keeping students who were failing and truant just to keep the state funding for the students. Teachers are encouraged to pass students who achieve little more than 50% and there have been multiple instances where even when the teacher submitted a failing semester grade for a student, the student was passed by higher ups.nnIf you are looking for an online school for your student, you should be aware that the curricula iForward uses is low quality and the school does not allow for the kind of flexibility other online schools in Wisconsin do. Students need to be very independently motivated and high achievers to expect to succeed here. The teachers are fantastic on the whole and the only reason the school is able to function at all, but there are much better options available for Wisconsin students.nnIf you are looking at the school as an employment opportunity, you should be aware that they cut teacher salary while taking in a profit. They fire their teachers every year and then re-hire them (or most of them). You are expected to cover a very high number of different types of courses and a high number of students. They avoid having full-time teachers and they love the fact that there is no longer a union to negotiate. Teachers are frequently reminded that they can be replaced easily. You will work very long hours and the work load for each course is the same as if you were in the traditional school, so you gain nothing in flexibility. Current admin will act like your friend, but don't let your guard down - if you question what they do, they will not rehire you the next year.nnI strongly urge anyone considering this school to look elsewhere - there are better options in online education.

This program was an awful experience for our family. Neither of our children would ever return.nIf there was a way to give it a negative rating a minus 10 stars, I would.nnThe program has low expectations for students which is good if you are looking for a slacker education where you are just passed through.nnIt's pretty tough to fail. If you want to actually be prepared for college and learn anything, THIS is not the program for you.nnThere are a lot of technology problems.nnMany of the teachers are lower quality , nice but not of the quality you will find in a traditional setting.nnThe Administration is a large part of the issue, and several key people should be replaced.nnIf you want a quality education, this is not it. If you want a program you can really not work at or learn much in or be prepared for college or tech school later, then yup this might be for you.nnIt is a good program for delayed learners or otherwise special ed etc.. otherwise .. I would rank it the lowest out of all the WI online programs available.nnThere are a lot of issues with this program and very little accountability. Go out here and read some of the lower reviews, one is even by a former teacher at the school.nnThey also use Florida Virtual academy courses and those are well known to be substandard.nnThey are REALLY good at making the program look awesome, but stay away .. it is not what it seems and there will not be support when you run into issues.nnThe Dept of education has numerous calls about this program from concerned parents and others..nnJust say NO and choose another program. Connections Academy is reputable.. as are many other WI online programs.

iForward is amazing! This would be my forth year at iForward. I started iForward in 7th grade due to many reasons. I was home lone every school day all day. Even though I was home alone all day I never felt alone. The staff and teachers are amazing, the students are warm and welcoming, and I love the course work. You do need to have self motivation to be able to secede. If you want to do well here you will!!!! I love iForward with my whole hart. I recommend it to everyone.

This school is great for kids who have a lot of free time and are highly self motivated. I only did online my senior year and it seemed like there was so much more work than youd do at a public school, I found myself working for hours on the assignments each day and was sort of struggling to get things done on time. For the classes that came naturally to me I'd get weeks ahead and then wouldn't have to worry about it. What I like about this is that you can work at your own pace you just need to be attending the live sessions for participation points. I have a 3 month old daughter and this was the best option for me, I could graduate and get things done at my own pace without being stressed out. The teachers are all pretty nice and will help you the best they can, the guidance counselor is great and is really lenient. I like that they give you a little extra time to get things done too and aren't so strict on things like a public school would be. I really felt like I learned something because I could go at my own pace rather than be rushed into it everyday and be distracted by other students. The teachers at my last public school never had time to answer questions or do some one on one time with you but these teachers do. I found myself getting a lot better grades than I did in my last school, I was able to focus on what I needed to do and then get it done. It took a lot of motivation some days so if you can't do that then this isn't for you. Otherwise it's a great school and I am really glad I had this option because being a stay at home mom can be stressful and this helped out so much.

It is a really good school. It is nice. And the teachers help as much as they can. I really like it.