🎓 Courses and learning platforms · 🗂️ School platforms
Connections Academy
By Pearson. Visit Connections Academy
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A full-time online public school for grades K-12, run by Pearson with partner schools in many states and paid for by state tax dollars, so there is no tuition. Students take state-aligned courses in the Pearson Online Classroom, join live LiveLesson sessions with teachers, and do offline work. A parent or other adult acts as 'Learning Coach' for about 30 hours a week; younger children spend about 30% of the day on a computer, high schoolers about 90%.
Our take: Worth a look for families who need school at home and have an adult free to coach; families expecting it to match a good local school should read the research first.
| Ages it suits | grades K-12 |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | A parent enrolls the child. The platform terms forbid collecting personal information from anyone under 18 without verified parental consent. Availability depends on your state. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Tuition-free in states with a partner school; families pay for supplies, internet and optional trips. In states without one, Pearson points families to its paid Pearson Online Academy (Oct 2026). |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | A parent's account |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI features are described on its pages. |
What's good
- Tuition-free public school option
- Live lessons with teachers
- Flexible schedule for families who need it
- Clear no-sale pledge for student records
Watch for
- A parent must coach about 30 hours a week
- Most of the day on screens in upper grades
- National research shows weak results for online charters
- The info form opts you into marketing calls and texts
Data and privacy
Enrollment collects birth certificates, health records and proof of residency, and student records fall under FERPA and COPPA through the partner school. Pearson says it never sells student records or uses them for targeted ads, but its websites use retargeting and analytics cookies. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
No study of Connections Academy itself was read. CREDO's 2015 national study of online charter schools found their students gained the equivalent of about 180 fewer days of learning in math and 72 fewer in reading each year than similar students in regular public schools.
In the Big Index
- The maker in the who's who: Pearson
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Where these facts come from
- https://www.connectionsacademy.com/
- https://www.connectionsacademy.com/program/cost/
- https://www.connectionsacademy.com/support/how-it-works/
- https://www.connectionsacademy.com/privacy-policy/
- https://www.connectionsacademy.com/terms-of-use/
- https://www.edweek.org/technology/cyber-charters-have-overwhelming-negative-impact-credo-study-finds/2015/10
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.