Central Virginia Times

Jessica Boyd has some advice for parents whose children are struggling in school: Try Acellus Academy.

She did, and it made a world of difference for her son Jacob. Jacob was diagnosed with ADHD, had failing grades and no interest in learning.

Jessica decided the solution was an individualized education plan, since Jacob’s inattentive ADHD and Executive Function Disorder was making public school unpleasant and unrewarding. 

Jacob had struggled in elementary school, but a team of teachers helped him pass without the need for a 504 Plan, a blueprint for how the school will support a student with a disability, remove barriers to learning and ensure the student has equal access at school.

But things were different when Jacob entered middle school.

“A small group of assistants was not available for us,” Jessica said. “In middle school, my son was lost in the crowd.”

It seemed like a never-ending spiral toward failure, as Jacob’s grades declined throughout middle school and his freshman year of high school. That’s when Jessica realized she had to make a dramatic change to give her son the opportunity he deserved.

Jacob was at a crossroads. He wanted to quit school, and it appeared he would never earn a high school diploma. 

Was home-schooling the best option? How about an online course of study? If so, how to create the proper curriculum?

Jessica wasn’t sure what steps to take.

So she turned to the experienced educators at Acellus, an accredited, self-paced online schooling program, hoping that it could provide the incentive to improve.

Acellus Academy says its goal is to isolate learning challenges pertaining to each student, and to fill academic gaps so that the student can improve and quickly increase their educational pursuits. 

The results with Jacob were amazing, Jessica said. He became more interested in assignments and a productive and rewarding learning style began to take shape.

Because Acellus was so self-driven and based on its own curriculum suited for her son’s method of study, Jessica could rely on it to continually propel her son’s engagement.

“He couldn’t move forward unless he had passed the previous lesson,” she said. “It was nice to know he could take the time he needed to absorb the information.”

Jacob showed a renewed interest in learning and his progress far exceeded the standard of his local public school, Jessica said. She was elated that the program could cater to her son’s conditions and learning needs while also giving him the opportunity to surpass his typical standards.

“He graduated more than a year in advance,” she said.

Acellus Academy is a program of the International Academy of Science, a Kansas City-based non-profit organization. Founded by Dr. Roger Billings, Acellus is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Schools and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

“Graduates of Acellus Academy have been accepted by prestigious universities and the military, and are prepared with the skills required to be successful members of the workforce,” the academy's website states. “Acellus Career and Technical Education courses and the Acellus STEM-10 program provide Acellus Academy students with specialized training for careers in high-tech fields.”

Acellus courses, developed by master teachers, are taught at K-12 schools in all 50 states. These experienced, dedicated educators are hired through money raised by grants and other funding sources.

“These grants also cover most of the costs that are associated with creating and maintaining the courseware,” the website states. “This allows the academy to provide Acellus courses to schools at a fraction of the cost that most online courseware providers charge.”