K12: General

General

How much time do students spend on the computer?
- We expect that students will spend no more than 20–30 percent of their time on the computer in the early grades. We believe in a balanced approach toward education. Computers help us provide you with effective assessment, planning, and time-management tools. Computers also act as powerful teaching tools that can motivate, stimulate, and inform children about the world around them. They do not, however, replace a solid education. Rather, they help facilitate one. That's why we use a unique multimedia approach that also includes a great deal of old-fashioned books, workbooks, and instructional materials.
What are your educational standards?
- The K12 team developed a program with extremely high standards. Our comprehensive program is designed to exceed national and state educational standards. Our goal is to help you provide an education that is comparable or superior to that provided by the nation's best public and private schools.
How does the program teach reading?
- K12 has developed a proprietary PhonicsWorks reading program, designed to help young students take those important first steps toward becoming a skilled reader. PhonicsWorks provides easy-to-follow online lessons, and supplemental materials, including a training video, a magnetized letter-tile kit, and illustrated books. PhonicsWorks is designed to help your child recognize the relationship between letters and sounds; blend sounds represented by letters into words; read and spell longer, unfamiliar words by breaking them into syllables; and read sight words .
Is the K12 curriculum for children or adults?
- It’s for both; K12 helps make children better students and allows parents to get involved in their children’s education. In the end, K12 helps adults deliver a great education to the children they care about.
What do children learn in the Music program?
- The K12 Music program provides comprehensive lessons to help your child learn the basics of music and develop an appreciation for great music from diverse traditions. Our lessons assume that neither you nor your child has prior training in singing or reading music. As you participate in these activities you and your child will learn and have fun together.
What do children learn in the Math program?
- The K12 Math program offers a carefully structured sequence of lessons designed to help students make steady progress from fundamental skills to more complex mathematical concepts. The program takes an active, multisensory, hands-on approach, to ensure that children understand the concrete realities that underlie mathematical concepts (e.g., shape, length, quantity). Regular practice, review, and assessment ensure mastery of basic skills; online games and animations help illustrate concepts and motivate and instruct children.
What do children learn in the History program?
- The K12 History program, with integrated topics in Geography and Civics, invites children to go beyond the immediate, the local, and the personal. We open young minds and imaginations to far-off lands, distant times, and diverse people. By exploring how people have lived and how civilizations have developed, young people are better prepared to do everything from reading a newspaper to appreciating a painting to casting an informed vote.
What do children learn in the Science program?
- The K12 Science program encourages children to explore scientific concepts through hands-on activities. Students learn to make careful observations, ask relevant questions, draw conclusions, and communicate information. They think carefully about what they do and see, and they learn about great scientists who have shaped our understanding of the world we live in. Each lesson provides clear, detailed instructions for experiments and activities.
Can I preview a K12 lesson?
- Yes, you can. Click here to explore our sample lessons.
What is K12?
- K12 is a curriculum developer and provider committed to excellence in education. It is our goal to provide any child with exceptional and meaningful curriculum and tools that allow him or her to maximize the potential for success in life, regardless of geographic, financial, or demographic circumstance.
What do children learn in the Language Arts/English program?
- Phonics and Handwriting. Developed for students in kindergarten and first grade, the Phonics course gives you the tools you need to help your child take the first steps toward fluency, competence, and confidence in reading, writing, and spelling. The Handwriting Without Tears program helps your child develop handwriting skills at a gentle and reasonable pace.
  
  Literature and Language Skills. Structured lessons on readiness, language, and literature help develop comprehension skills, build vocabulary, and open the doors to a wide range of imaginative experience. We focus on classic literature—folktales, fairy tales, fables, and poetry—with an emphasis on works that embody exemplary virtues, as well as a generous variety of titles for fun reading.
What is the relationship of K12 with Core Knowledge Foundation?
- The content recommended in the Core Knowledge Sequence is one major foundation of the K¹² curriculum. K¹² is also built upon analysis and comparison of state standards; curricular recommendations of prominent professional organizations (such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Council for History Education); and extensive research into the cognitive psychology behind effective learning, with a focus on the structure of knowledge in each academic discipline, as well as common misconceptions that block effective learning.
  
  One distinction should be made: While the Core Knowledge Foundation provides curricular guidelines, K¹² goes much further by providing a fully developed and comprehensive curriculum, including complete lesson plans and assessments for a 180-day school year, interactive online lessons with teaching aids, and a comprehensive array of offline materials (books, workbooks, lab supplies, art supplies, maps, math manipulatives, and more).
What do children learn in the Art program?
- In the K12 Art program children make fun projects while learning about great art and artists. Focusing on the basics of line, shape, color, pattern, and texture, children will draw, paint, work with clay, and do other activities to learn how artists design their works. Children will explore different forms and styles of art—painting and sculpture, portraits and landscapes, realistic and abstract—while becoming familiar with important works of art from diverse times and places.
What are K12 Virtual Public Schools?
- K12 works with schools in various states to supply curriculum and learning management services. Combining the structure and accountability of public and private schools with our comprehensive curriculum, these tuition-free online public schools offer families unprecedented education opportunities.
What role do computers play in the K12 curriculum?
- Generally, children in grades K–5 do about 20-30 percent of the work online. They do much of the work offline—reading books, solving math problems on paper, drawing, and conducting science experiments. Middle and high school students have more refined reading skills, so instruction and activities involve increased computer use, according to educational standards. However, offline work will always be essential.
How do I apply for a job?
- See our job listings on our Careers page. To apply for a position, e-mail your resume and a brief cover letter, including salary requirements, to jobs@K12.com . Or you can send your information to:
  Human Resources Manager
  K12
  2300 Corporate Park Dr.
  Suite 200
  Herndon, VA 20171
  
  (fax: 703-483-7330)
Where and when will you be attending an event near me?
- Please see our events page.
What subjects does K12 offer?
- K¹² offers the following subjects:
  
  Language Arts/English
  Math
  History
  Science
  Art
  Music
  High school students can take courses in the above subjects, as well as foreign language, health and PE, AP courses, and electives.
Will K12 work for children with special needs? What about gifted children?
- Yes. We provide tools that allow students to work at their own pace. K¹² works for children who need extra time to master a subject, as well as those who learn quickly. Find out how the K12 curriculum meets the needs of gifted students .
What computer skills are required?
- Some basic skills are required. Use of the computer is an important part of the program, but in the early grades it is mostly the parent (or other responsible adult) who interacts with the computer. The program is user-friendly.

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