Minnesota Virtual Academy

306 West Elm Street

School District

Houston Public
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:29
Type

public

School Map for Houston Public 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 parent on October 23, 2024

Save yourself the headache of dealing with this supposed educational facility. The principal is more concerned with money than educating the students. Elementary levels were better than the higher grades. In the upper level classes, be prepared for teachers to go on vacation for a week at a time and have NO way to communicate. If you need help with anything, you’re screwed. You will get zero help and left to fend for yourself. But if they need to contact you? Prepare to be harassed endlessly with no actual resolution to issues.
Submitted by student on April 12, 2024

I am a first year mnva student with autism and this school is great compared to past schools ive gone too. Thanks to them my ability for self advocacy has gotten better! I also love my teachers and the awesome electives the school offers
Submitted by parent on September 14, 2020

Excellent! We use this school as a transition from homeschool to public, so basically for junior high. We've used the school in this was for 3 children. I highly recommend the k12 program. Instead of the stress and bullying of brick and mortar public junior high, my kids can focus on learning. We choose to use this school at junior high because kids are more independent at that age and can get used to having multiple teachers' expectations and planning accordingly which is what will be expected of them in highschool and college. Over the years the school has switched from an 80% pass system to now a letter graded system. It has been a very good choice. My 3rd child using this program studies for unit tests and reviews the information and usually gets a C. For him this is an achievement and overtime as he learns to take better notes on key ideas he can better himself. This is an excellent school choice for junior high. They also support low income like ourselves with a loan of a labtop which is much appreciated.
Submitted by parent on June 07, 2020

0 It was horrible. I am just glad it is over.
Submitted by parent on March 15, 2018

My kids were here part-time for a language course for a total of 5 years. The teacher is TERRIBLE. MNVA has no other teacher (just this one), so she stays by default. She should not be teaching. She cannot carry a conversation in this foreign language, never-mind witting in it. Grading is whenever! Quite often we've had to call the school about it to get the work corrected. Teacher has also been absent on NUMEROUS occasions with no substitute provided. We have noticed that MNVA has quite a high turnover in staff over the years (which says a lot), . The only reason we enrolled is that we had no other choice for a public school. I would not recommend MNVA. This is enrollment season, think long and hard before committing. Look elsewhere.
Submitted by other on December 29, 2015

Could have been better, but still has its good points too. would do it again, if the circumstances were right.
Submitted by student on May 14, 2015

How could this school be considered a school at all? I wanted a change of pace compared to my local school . This was a quite a change, quite a change for the worse. There is almost no student teacher interaction. Even for high school, I disliked this very much. The grading scale for the school is TERRIBLE! If you get anything below a "B"( or under 80%) you will not receive a credit for doing that class and you will have to retake it. I found that out the hard way. I got a 78% for algebra 2, and they refused to give me a credit for completing the class! They said I "Failed the class so I didn't receive a credit"! Shouldn't anything under 60% be considered failing and not 80%?! The teachers are terrible, or at least all of the ones I had. At the open house thing they had in September they said that teachers would help students out at any time and respond to them ASAP. Teachers almost NEVER respond to KMails. On average it takes them about 1-2 weeks to send you back a reply! Long after the due date of assignments! Please don't enroll into this school and save yourself the hassle of having to contact the state to get your credit for classes like how I had to!
Submitted by parent on August 08, 2014

I would give it negative 5 stars if I could. This was one of the biggest mistakes we made for my child. Only one teacher ever responded to concerns. And the principal was not very receptive to any of my concerns. The technology didn't work. waste of time and energy.
Submitted by parent on July 08, 2014

The teachers really care about how my daughter is doing. They do whatever they can to encourage her and to help her when she gets stuck. One teacher even helped her with her time management problems (she was getting behind because of procrastination) and I was so grateful for that. It is a great alternative to the local public school--bullying and other disruptive behaviors caused us to switch schools.
Submitted by parent on November 15, 2012

Great option for children with parents who want to be intimately involved in their child's education. You will get to know your child on a new level and will learn many things yourself! It is a great choice for many families.
Submitted by parent on October 19, 2012

A wonderful option for kids who failed to excel in traditional schools or for parents who want to be more involved in their child's education. Kids are allowed to go at their own pace and are backed up every step of the way with licensed teachers. My child is on par with her peers in brick and mortar schools in most subject and flying far ahead in others. The time investment is far less than that of a traditional school because it's much more efficient to teach a child one on one than teach to a whole class and you ensure that your child is absorbing it all without the pressure to keep moving along even if they are struggling to grasp a concept. My daughter has been in MNVA for 3 years and we are absolutely loving it. I read the one negative review here and it just sounds like they have a chip on their shoulder. They ARE a public school and they don't make any claim to be anything other than that, but you are still schooling your child at home with the guidance of an excellent curriculum that is far more interactive and hands on than in traditional schools. All lessons are presented in a way so all types of learners can benefit equally.
Submitted by parent on May 20, 2012

This school was not satisfied with a D+ for English like my local school was. They would not let my son advance to the next assignment until he got it! What a great school! Teachers connect with my 2 boys daily. Teachers have called many times on their days off with reminders... encouragements, etc! I am puzzled why a person would give this school a "barely one" star. We have been going online to MNVA for 3 years now. A WONDERFUL SCHOOL. Comment from my 12th grader who finished up school in January: " I never would have graduated it if weren't for MNVA !" SPECIAL THANKS to teacher, Tracy Lermon for her dedication to my son's education! ... as well as MANY others!
Submitted by parent on November 14, 2011

Is it possible to give ZERO stars? The "school" insists on calling the parent who does all the teaching of the material a "learning coach", while a person who interacts with the child directly perhaps once a month is called a "teacher" and is responsible for assessing student work when they have not even seen the child working day to day. The curriculum is sub-par: repetitive worksheets, a very few mediocre online "activities", such as hopping a frog down a number line, and a dumbed-down "script" for parents to follow when presenting the material. The "school" is not receptive to parent input (in fact, the "teacher" seemed quite resentful of it), and the whole model is front-loaded with as much, or more, bureaucracy as a regular public school. I enrolled because I thought that for a first-time homeschooler, the idea of free curriculum and computer and support was a good one. MNVA is not in place to support homeschoolers, it is in place to provide a "Public School AT Home" option. Don't do this if your reasons for homeschooling include any disklike or mistrust of public schools - because you ARE enrolling your child in PUBLIC SCHOOL, with all the bad that comes with it.