Pacific Crest Academy

6540 Koki Ln.

School District

El Dorado Union High
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:23
Type

charter

School Map for El Dorado Union High School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by student on December 17, 2020

It is a really good school and I love it. The teachers are very nice and understanding. I had a rough start and I didn't get the grades I was hoping for, but it was my fault not theirs. They were all there for me and helped me get my grades up. The school goes at a really fast pace, but it is not that bad. I have noticed that there are really no bullies. It is a small school and everyone is very nice unlike Union Mine high school. I felt right at home and very welcomed.
Submitted by student on May 05, 2015

I switched to the Virtual Academy from Pondo when I was a junior and now I'm a senior. I didn't like sitting in a classroom for 7 hours doing mostly nothing so I transferred to this school. Most of the time, your classes are all in one or two days, then you can go home and do your work at home. If you're a student who likes doing things on your own and you are good at time management, I would recommend this school. A lot of students come to this school thinking it will be easy and that they won't have to do anything, but they are definitely wrong. Students of the Virtual Academy have to be self motivated--the teachers aren't here to baby you, so don't be a baby. A more mature and responsible student would do well at this school.
Submitted by student on April 21, 2015

I came to this school because I was having trouble at Union Mine, but now I realize that Union Mine really isn't a bad school. Shenandoah is. The teachers do not know how to teach us students. They say, "Read this and get started." while all they do is text. Goodbye Virtual Academy, hello Union Mine.. again!
Submitted by student on March 12, 2015

This is a great place to be able to enroll if you want to get ahead in school. The school is good for people who want to have more time to work, volunteer, or enroll in an internship. It helps you get lots of outside experience in the real world. The teachers make themselves available to the students, and try their hardest to try and keep up with each of them. The administration is very helpful and the principal, Mr. Palm, is very attentive and knows most of the students personally. The students are all supportive and because of the small number of students become very close-knit. Virtual Academy is a great place to go to school if you want to graduate early.
Submitted by student on March 11, 2015

Honestly, I do not like this school at all. I like how it's a small school kind of. But, the teachers pick favorites and its annoying. Some of them are really rude and talk to students like the're dumb also. I do like how the schedule is setup though.
Submitted by student on March 08, 2015

I personally love Virtual Academy at Shenandoah. I have had such an amazing experience so far and can t wait for what the rest of the school year has to offer. I am taking Life Fitness 2, Advisory, Service Learning, and Spanish 1 through Virtual academy and Foods and Nutrition at Oak Ridge High School. The staff at Virtual academy is outstanding. Whenever I have an issue with something I feel comfortable asking them for help at any time. Attending Virtual Academy has freed up a lot of my time and I have been able to spend more time with my family and have a more individualized education. I am able to go at my own pace and not feel rushed. I have more time to go to my sports and extracurricular activities which include going to the gym, Youth and Government, and obviously having a social life, which is very important to a teenager. To conclude, I feel that making the move to Virtual Academy has been extremely beneficial to me as well as my grades.
Submitted by student on March 06, 2015

Hello, I am a current student at Eduhsd Virtual Academy At Shenandoah. At first i wasn't to be attending but I eventually grew to like it. The staff here are amazing. They take the time to focus on you as an individual not just another student. Another thing that I love about the program is their schedule. This is not a program in which you have to attend daily. You have the option to attend twice to four days a week. And when we do go to the school our class time is usually a working period and the teachers help us with thing that do not yet understand. There are NO two hour lectures in which we try to soak up everything that we can and take long note. If we do take notes we take them online like the rest of our work is taken. We are also encouraged to make our own schedules and go at our own pace which provides us with the ability to be flexible and more responsible. I really like the Academy and I think that it gives me a taste what It'll be like after high school.
Submitted by student on March 06, 2015

The Virtual Academy @ Shenandoah is an amazing school. After transferring the beginning of my junior year I discovered the VA is a creative, supportive, and academically rigorous environment. Two of the many reasons I love the VA are the teachers and the ability to control my education. The fact that VA teachers have less students allows them to focus on everyone individually. For example, I took chemistry at my first high school and my teacher had so many students that I never got all of my questioned answered and, even when I was struggling, he never had time to spare to help me. I retook the class at the VA and I only had seven other students in my class. As a result the teacher was able to cater the lessons to what we needed more work on or had more trouble understanding. At the VA, the personal control a student has over her education, that allows a student to stay on track to graduate in four years, but to also take classes that interest her, is unparallelled. Also, with the blended learning method, a combination of in-person and online teaching, students have the schedule flexibility to hold a job, participate in the internship program, or work on community service.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

This is a great school if you want to take collage classes or have a job while in high school. I have taken college classes while also having a job and have gotten credit for both. They also pay for the college class so all that you have to do it buy the book. You have to go to school on the assigned date that your classes are on, but then you can pick the second day that you want to go. You only have to go the two days as long as your grades are above a D, and they'll inform you and your parents if you have to go all four days to get your grades up. They also have a website where you can see what your assignments are, turn them in, and they you can also see your grades. Parents can also have access to the site and see what their students grades are and what they've turned in.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

Virtual Academy is a great school. The teachers are always available weather during school hours or after. Although it is a small school, we still have the same opportunities other schools in the district have. This is a great school for people with busy schedules. You only have to attend 2 days a week but will have unlimited access to the curriculum. If Virtual Academy does not offer the course you want to take they will personally seek a way to get you into that class at another school. Virtual Academy in my opinion is the best school i have attended.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

Tara made me write this. I attended this school from 2012 to 2013 in my freshman year and returned in January of this year. It s not the best school I ve ever attended, but it s a good alternative to other schools in the district. When I returned in January this year Aaron had taken over the program. He told me that he had changed it a lot, but it isn t particularly different. I don t think that the majority of students should be in a school like this. Less self-motivated students who are looking for an alternative to normal school won t find the involved teacher support that they need.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

Although it has "Virtual" in the name, I still find myself coming to school. The only "virtual" thing about this school is the fact that instead of turning in my work to a teacher throughout the week, i turn in it in online on Friday mornings. When i first heard about this school, i had the impression that it was independent study. i had the impression that i wouldn't have to go to school. That i would be able to easily make up my lack of credits. I find myself coming to school everyday of the week because of this "virtual" school. I am concurrently enrolled in my host school, so i go there on Mon., Wed., and Fri. However, since i am required to come here 2 days a week, i still have a 5 day schedule. It's more of just being enrolled in 2 different schools rather than doing online school with a couple classes at regular, public school. If you're looking for an independent study school, you're better off doing IPS, Apex or online BYU classes. Or maybe just stay at the school you're at currently.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

l hate the virtual academy. Even though we get good help from the teachers when we need it, we mainly work on our own. l don't like sitting in front of a computer all day long. Even if you are excelling in every class you still have to go to school twice a week. The whole point of me going to virtual academy was to not got to school. The only thing that makes this school virtual is dropboxing our assignments. It is terrible here and l can't wait to leave this miserable place.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

The Virtual Academy is a great school if you re good at managing your time wisely since you don t go to class daily and get assigned homework from the class that day. You re given the week s assignments on Friday and each class meets once per week. A student who would be successful at this school is a student who has a consistent daily schedule for doing work and such and can stick to it. It may be more at your own pace , but it s best to do the work on the day it s assigned to be done. . The staff members at the school are rather nice. The English teacher here does assign about 2x too much work, though. It s also a much smaller school than a traditional public high school. Currently, we have fewer than 200 students and between 4 and 6 teachers on any given days.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

The Virtual Academy works for some people, but not all. In order to succeed at this school, you need to know how to work independently and have self-discipline to do your work on time. The other thing about this school is that despite the school being "virtual", your attendance is very much required. You have to be at school at least 2 days a week, and 4 days a week if you're getting below a C in the class. The school will definitely make sure of that as well. Even if you have all A's, you must attend two days a week, just to show your presence. So that is something to keep in mind if you're going to the school because you're busy with something else or you can't be at school. All of the teachers are great, and help you out with your work, and most of them always grade work on time. They try to push you to succeed and have great teaching skills. Overall I would say that the school depends on the student, and you definitely have to have the independent and social skills to succeed. It's also important to stay socially active and continue to hang out with kids from others schools to build social skills.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

This school is good for people who have excellent time management skills and an overall sense of self-motivation. If the student can t make a weekly or monthly schedule for themselves and stick to it then they will find that they need to put a lot of extra time and effort into succeeding. VA works best for people who can be mostly self-taught and only need help from the teachers a few times during the day (if at all). If the student has the time and motivation to work from home then they can still get a lot done without having to go to school every day. The student also needs to be on top of all their assignments because falling behind in a class is not really an option, and the student needs to make sure that all of their makeup work is graded on time. If a student has all of these skills then they will do very well at the school, otherwise it may not be the best option for them.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

What makes a good VA student? Well there is many things you can do to become a great student such as keeping your grades up, asking questions, being social and being respectful. By keeping your grades up you can work with ease and not worry and stress about assignments. Asking questions is always the easy way to get answers to problems so don't be afraid to ask when it comes to a difficult questions or situation. By being social you can have friends and have a great time at school as well as work. Lastly, being respectful can get the answers you need smoothly and easily and everyone likes a good sport!
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

The environment of Virtual Academy is very welcoming and relaxed. The teachers are very supportive and willing to help you with whatever you may need. The homework load is easily manageable and stress-free. All of the students at Virtual Academy are very welcoming and kind. I recently transferred here from Oak Ridge and have had no problems with the transition. I rarely get behind in my work and always have free time to focus on other things. I would recommend this school to anyone who is a self motivator and is willing to work on their own. This school is also best fit for kids who work better on their own or in small groups.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

Something that makes a good student at Shenandoah is you have to be on top of all your work. If you get behind in any of your classes then it's hard to catch up. If you procrastinate a lot then it will probably be hard for you to be successful at this school. Since I've started going to Shenandoah my grades have improved greatly. You get a lot of schoolwork top do during the week, It's not extremely challenging work but a lot of it is there to keep you busy.
Submitted by student on March 05, 2015

Due in large part to the reduced student population of this school (little over a hundred) there is a definite informal quality to the relationship between student and teacher. Students refer to the teachers by their first name so often that they can at times be unfamiliar with their respective last names. This quality of relationship may seem detrimental but in fact it is helpful for students, in the online and vastly more independent scenario that the Virtual Academy offers, to be able to approach their teachers in a less-than formal tone without sacrificing professionalism. This school operates in much same way as a college campus does; Professors (teachers) hold a handful of classes to cover the topic for a given section or subject and are available for consultation during the remainder of the time. Overall the virtual academy can be most closely compared to a community college for high school students.