Questions parents ask before enrolling

Pioneer Academy is an online school for kindergarten through grade 12. Students take their school day with us: live classes taught by subject teachers, set work between lessons, termly reports and a school transcript. Teaching is in English and follows the school year, three terms from late August to June.

No. We are not an accredited school, and we are working toward accreditation; we will publish the outcome when there is one and we will not claim it before then. Our report cards and transcripts are school-issued, so a district, school or college may or may not accept them. Please confirm with whoever will receive the record before you enrol.

Every grade from kindergarten through grade 12. Children entering kindergarten should turn 5 by 1 September of the school year. For other grades we look at the most recent school report and run a short placement check in English and mathematics, so your child starts in the right place.

Tuition is per student, per school year: $1,499 for kindergarten, and $500 more for each grade above it, so grade 12 is $7,499. It can be paid in full or in three term payments. Tuition covers live classes, teaching materials and the parent portal; books for the year are listed in the enrolment pack.

Classes are live, on weekdays, in the morning Eastern Time for elementary and middle school and into the early afternoon for high school. Families abroad do enrol, but check the timetable with admissions first: a class at 9am Eastern is the middle of the night in some places, and we would rather say so before you pay.

Every enrolled family has a parent portal account showing attendance, assignments, teacher comments and termly reports. Teachers contact parents directly when something needs attention rather than waiting for the report, and you can book a meeting with any teacher through the portal.

A parent or guardian enrols the student, agrees the terms and is the contact for everything. We collect what the school needs to teach and report on your child, we do not sell personal information or use it for advertising, and a parent can ask to see or delete their child’s record. Our Privacy Policy sets out the detail, including how long we keep records.

You can cancel within 14 days of paying, before the term starts, for a full refund. After a term begins, tuition for that term is not refundable, and any later terms already paid for are refunded in full. The Refund Policy has the complete terms.