How it Works
Online Middle School
Who can attend?
The Texas Online Academy (TXOA) middle school program serves students in grades 6–8 who reside in Texas.
What are the costs?
Because TXOA is part of the public school system, it’s tuition-free. We provide Texas-certified teachers and instructional materials.1 Students and families are responsible for providing some common household materials (such as printer ink and paper). Our enrollment consultants can help address your technology and computer questions and needs.
What’s my role as a parent?
In middle school, students become more independent and take on more responsibility and ownership of their work. Parents continue to serve as their child’s Learning Coaches to support their success. As a Learning Coach, you will:
- Help your child stay on track
- Monitor completion of lessons and assessments
- Communicate challenges with your child’s teacher as needed
Working With Your Teacher
Students work with their teachers and other classmates during live online classes where they:
- Receive live instruction from teachers
- Interact with classmates
- Ask questions and receive real-time support
Students can interact with their teachers and classmates by
- Typing in the chat
- Speaking over their microphone
- Typing and drawing with online whiteboard features
- Joining small group breakouts to work on projects or receive targeted instruction
Expectations for Completing Schoolwork
Expectations for Completing Schoolwork
To help students stay on track and make academic progress, middle school students are expected to:
- Earn a passing grade of 60% or above on assignments.
- Meet assigned due dates for lessons and assessments.
- Attend live, teacher-led class sessions.
- Complete online lessons according to the assigned pacing schedule. Lessons can be completed any time of day.
Attending live class sessions and keeping up with coursework will help students stay on track and be successful.
Teachers also provide additional support, including small-group sessions, to help students stay engaged and make progress.
Attendance
Attendance is logged Monday through Friday according to a traditional school calendar; however, academic progress can be achieved during the weekends as well.
Time Commitment
Middle school students are expected to spend approximately 4 to 7 hours on schoolwork per school day. Most of the school day is spent online, with some opportunities for offline work.
Email is the primary form of communication between the school and families. Learning Coaches and students are required to check and respond to emails daily.
State Testing
Families enrolling at TXOA must be willing to participate in all required areas of the program.
1Materials vary by course and grade. Please check with TXOA staff to see what offline course materials are provided.