South Tulsa Today

Schools and families across the country face difficult educational choices due to COVID-19 — whether they deal with virtual learning, hybrid programs, or concerns over in-person instruction — and some families are taking a closer look at independent homeschooling as an alternative.

With all the socialization and academic concerns surrounding virtual learning, homeschooling may be the safer option and even potentially a better choice than regular school. The majority of peer-reviewed studies conclude homeschooling yields some of the best academic and socialization results.

But it's one thing to teach a child from kindergarten on, learning as they learn, and something entirely different to step into the middle of their education and take it over. That leads some parents to Acellus, an online education program from the International Academy of Science.

Acellus markets itself as a learning accelerator and alternative for situations where in-person instruction may not be possible, according to the website.

"Backed by scientific research, Acellus delivers online instruction, compliant with the latest standards, through high-definition video lessons made more engaging with multimedia and animation," according to its website.

It comes in forms tailored both for schools and for homeschoolers, and even offers a self-contained online academy for those who want to teach children at home, but don't feel up to becoming a teacher.

Doran Smith, superintendent of Mounds Public Schools (MPS) in Mounds, told South Tulsa Today they have been using Acellus for two years.

As is the case across the country, Smith said that MPS students have had to do a lot more virtual learning due to the coronavirus, and Acellus has become an important part of that for MPS. 

"In grades six and up, if they go to virtual, then Acellus is the predominant delivery that we use," Smith told South Tulsa Today. 

While it is not the only source in their curriculum, MPS gets a lot of use out of the Acellus courses, he said.

"We use just about all of them," he told South Tulsa Today.

In addition to the courses offered, the way they are offered makes the Acellus work for the district, he said.

"It's a good delivery system, has good content, good flexibility," Smith told South Tulsa Today.