Florida Virtual Elementary School

2145 Metrocenter Boulevard

School District

Fl Virtual
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:32
Type

public

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 February 12, 2024

FOR FLVS-FULL TIME-K-5 *Teachers teach as little as possible, lack of help when needed. you usually have to wait to have questions or help on a specific day at a specific time which, can put you behind. They pound tons of information into the kids in such a little amount of time. Pretty fast paced and once material is learned, they never go back and review.... it's basically up to you to do that. Live classes only 9-11 Monday - Wednesday. teachers are off Thursdays and Fridays. Specials like P.E. and Art etc. are on Thursdays. It is NOT self-paced with full time. The teachers grade papers with CHAT GPT (A BOT) My child's teacher is late for class by 5 minutes or so EVERY SINGLE DAY. Also, has been seen walking on a treadmill during class time. VERY life sucking as they take advantage of your time at home. I have basically no personal life and neither does my child. PLEASE look into reviews before deciding. Clearly, I should have. You (the parent) will do much more work/teaching than the actual teachers do. I've spoken out but as usual, blown off. I'm thinking I would have been better off signing my child up for flex since I do more work than the teachers. I sure wish I had Thursdays and Fridays off! Obviously, not all children will have an issue with FLVS-full time, but I do know for a fact I'm not the only one experiencing this.
Submitted by parent on July 11, 2022

My daughter went to FLVS for kindergarten in 2020 and she was an straight A student. Granted the workload is intense in the beginning and I expressed and her awesome teacher cut it down where it was challenging but not overwhelming. In 2021 she attended 1st grade at our local school who is 1 point higher in rating. They were teaching her the kindergarten material and she was not challenged. She had great grades but would finish her homework and school work in one day that we had a conference and her teacher told her not to because the would then get in trouble for doodling and talking because she was bored. This school is extremely underrated. Granted you have to print a lot of material and the books they choose for kids to read could be better but all in all it’s good school.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2020

Amazing!! Amazing! Amazing!! The teachers are amazing and the platform is Incredible
Submitted by parent on May 02, 2020

It is the best educational decision I made for my child up to this point. Taking her from the traditional public school to FLVS has made a world of difference. I have noticed a growth in her responsiveness in her school work with consistently good grades as well as increased independence and responsibility. I would do this again if I had to but earlier.
Submitted by parent on February 17, 2018

Our neighborhood schools (brick and mortar) are not good scorers on this site, nor do they produce students prepared to learn more challenging subjects. FLVS Full Time has been awesome for our 5th grader. He misses seeing other kids at school, but enjoys interacting with other students online and is learning a lot more and staying on grade level instead of falling behind. We never wanted to homeschool, but have found this option to be VERY good for us and for our kids.
Submitted by parent on October 25, 2017

It has been amazing! My kids are learning so much and working so hard. It's a lot of work, but we still have the flexibility of homeschooling. As a homeschool mom I have always had to do everything myself. It is nice to the support and structure of teachers and school, but still maintain the flexibility that I love. Literally could not praise them enough. The teachers are awesome! I have a 6th grader and an 8th grader.
Submitted by parent on February 03, 2017

The administration lies to both parents and students. It is nearly impossible to get them to respond. The administration thought it more important to attain more students rather than properly run their National Honor Society for the 2015-2016 school year. NHS advisor AND Vice Principal could not figure out how to fill out their part of the NHS scholarship for the seniors, so they just dropped the ball entirely. NHS elections were rigged by the same advisor. The "Director of Instruction" lied to us twice over the phone and by email. Wish they could be held accountable for their actions. Not the kind of role models you want for our high school students.
Submitted by parent on September 28, 2016

A full and complete disaster. The principal is unavailable due to the fact that it's next to impossible to get their info out of the staff. Malfunctioning software and lousy teacher. Arrogant assistant principal. Useless customer support. If there is an issue - even with their communication system, it's the student's and a parent's fault. They demand that your child text the teacher's private phone for "assessment" as a "common" practice and disclose the availability of other options only after the parent interferes. My child thought the whole experience was grossly inappropriate, however, per their assistant principal, they can do no wrong and my child is not a "good fit" because he happens to think that it's gross when his teacher would call his personal phone or he would be required to call or text teacher's personal phone as a condition of the class.
Submitted by other on May 24, 2016

This was our first year at FLVS and we absolutely loved it. I love it, my son loves it. Such a big difference than going to a physical school and not getting the time and attention to actually learn something. We worked at his pace and he has brought his grades way up. He's already saying that he wants to go all the way to graduation with FLVS. I do believe that's what is going to happen. Thank you FLVS !!!
Submitted by other on March 09, 2016

This is an amazing option if you feel stressed and exhausted trying to be involved with Polk County Florida schools and just feeling like you are getting no where.
Submitted by parent on December 15, 2015

My son has been going to FLVS for a few years. This past year they went through some changes for the worse. The best thing about virtual school is that you can work with your child at their own pace. This year, however, they are narrowing down on that flexibility. They are demanding that you follow their schedule that they provide, or you won't get the school hours for that day, which gives you less time in getting your child to master the subject if they are having trouble as they expect you to move onto the next lesson on the following day or you will not achieve attendance for that class. They also can assign your child extra mandatory lessons where they have to attend online, whereas in the past these were provided, but not enforced. If you miss them, they will give you an assignment to get partial credit, but the partial credit is still a 50% which is a failing grade. My issue this year has not only been the lack of flexibility, but lack of help as well. My computer had broke, and unfortunately I was told that it would be cheaper to buy another rather than to get it fixed. The school says that they will provide you a school laptop if needed, but when I asked them for one temporarily, they told me to take my son to the library. Also, unfortunately for us, I did not have the transportation at the time as my transmission went. Still after explaining this they still declined, stating that my income was too high. I am a single mother and a waitress, so go figure. In the meantime, we tried to make it to the library as often as we could and did lessons in the book, and workbooks everyday. I finally did get up on my feet and eventually got a new computer for my son, but he was too far behind at that point. Even though we had taken the time to catch up and worked everyday (weekends included), they still wouldn't remove his failing grades for missed live lessons we couldn't get to, and wouldn't give us attendance for the days we stayed home and worked in the books. Because of the lack of support and flexibility, I am now choosing to transfer my son to another school, with mostly A's, a few B's and a couple of F's due to their "school policy" of not being able to assist us, or allow us a reasonable credit for makeup work that we did. With their new policies, I don't see the benefit in going here unless your child is being bullied in school.
Submitted by parent on September 06, 2015

Teachers are always on conferences and have more than 300 students each. There is no real one-on-one instruction like they advertise. Principals and staff are always unavailable to help.
Submitted by student on March 27, 2015

I was shocked at how great this program is! I have gone to public school all my life and when I had to do FLVS this year I thought it would be very difficult. It is one on the best things that has happened in my academic career. The teachers are so amazing and completely dedicated to teaching us, all of my emails and questions are answered within 24 hours. There is an abundance of extra help whenever I am struggling and the teachers are always understanding. The program is extremely organized at all times and it allows everyone to work at their own pace. I honestly wish I didn't have to go back to my local high school next year. I think this program is especially good for high school students, it has given me so much more time to do my community service and focus on getting ready for college. Do not hesitate to enroll!!
Submitted by student on February 09, 2015

I have been an FLVS student for over 3 years now and I absolutely love it! I get to work at my own pace, have great help from teachers, and I still get to participate in many clubs for volunteer hours or just for fun! I love how I can make friends like at an actual public school and also get my highschool credits on time. :)
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2014

I'm beyond satisfied with FLVS. My son is in high school, and the classes offered at his level seem to be more challenging than traditional classes, and I like this because I know he'll be better prepared for college. I think the school is much better for the students than it is for teachers...as they sometimes seem a bit overwhelmed. They work hard! My son's teachers have always been available via email, text, or phone whenever he needs assistance, and there is a helpline available for students as well. If my son is struggling with a particular topic, he can stay on the lesson as long as necessary until he has a firm grasp of the information, unlike traditional school where they move on even if students are still struggling. When the lessons come easy to him, he can zip through them quickly and move on. The teachers are more like my son's partners rather than strict authoritative figures...and they seem to want him to succeed. I've actually experienced situations with teachers who did not like my son or were trying to sabotage him...I don't have to worry about those types of situations with FLVS. The flexibility is great as well. My son takes Regular, Honors and AP classes.
Submitted by parent on October 03, 2014

Second experience with FLVS and neither one good. First child was trying to fit classes around chronic illness, FLVS unwilling to be flexible due to need. Second child now needed enrichment at level not offered by their school, finding course is designed with roadblocks preventing moving forward, unable to take module without collaboration partner which they do not assign, provide or assist, unable to take end of module test without conference with teacher, have to take pre-test to determine what to take in next module but all instructors unavailable due to conference, they provide no coverage or support. FLVS, do not pull out all teachers, leads and backups simultaneously for a full week, leaving students adrift! Teacher seems nice and sincere but the system is poorly designed. New student cannot catch up because obstacles placed in the way, disappointed.
Submitted by parent on June 22, 2014

Florida Virtual School is free online public school serving students in the state of Florida. The full time program runs on an academic calendar but they also have a program where students can take courses to work toward early graduation or if their current traditions school does not offer the course they are seeking. Certified and caring staff that really do out the student at the center of all decisions.
Submitted by other on May 02, 2014

The middle school is excellent. The teachers prepare students for FCAT and high school. Teachers are very helpful whenever students need them. If students webmail them, they will reply within 24 hours or less. A student's homeroom teacher also checks in with them every month by phone call to make sure they are on track. In addition, students can attend live lessons in which there is a virtual white board. Livelessons are like virtual classrooms. If you are concerned about the socializing aspect of the school, there is no fear. Usually before the livelessons start, teachers allow students to talk amongst each other, and everyone is really nice. There is also a school directory where you can contact other students. They also offer field trips all around Florida and many clubs. The art classes are great! They give instructional videos on how to draw. Science is very interactive. In Science students can do virtual labs or small, safe experiments at home. I enjoy their Spanish program. Students use a lesson with audio of Spanish words to learn how to say things. The school also provides native spanish speaking tutors. Algebra offers tutoring everyday from 5-10p.m. I recommend FLVS.
Submitted by parent on February 14, 2014

This school is absolutely wonderful! The teachers are completely amazing, helpful, and very caring! We could not ask for more in a school! Their curriculum is wonderful and my kids enjoy learning again! Thank you FLVSFT! We love you! We have recommended you to a few other parents and I know of one family that has made their change in schools! Thanks again!
Submitted by parent on January 30, 2014

Great academically great teachers...I wouldn't recommend it for elementary school kids unless the parent expects to be completely involved. Even a middle school child has to be very independent to do the program without any assistance. There is a lot of great courses for academically ahead kids. As in any school, I think true help of a child on a 504 or IEP falls on the parent's shoulders, which only makes sense, it is at home. There is also a homeschool version for middle school, so parents can opt for that and put them back in the public school version for high school to get a diploma. In states that don't allow Connections Academy (FLVS-FT), there is a public school version that costs $600 a month. Basically, it is the same program. That says a lot. You can't compare these little $25 a month virtual homeschool programs to FLVS-FT. Pluses and minuses in any school, but overall, I find it a big plus. It can be difficult to be the authority figure for teaching, but in today's day and age with what is going on in schools, I feel better with my choice, and my school district is very well rated. It is not just about the education available, but the atmosphere.