Profiles in Education: The Lintow Family

Online education is growing by leaps and bounds, and the Lintow family knows why. With two kids in online school, they know it well and are excited to share the experience. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lintow attended traditional public schools and, at first, so did their daughters. As the girls began to struggle, and Spanish became the first language of the school, they decided to look elsewhere. After researching many online schools, they decided that the girls would do best with the provider K12 when they were in 6th and 8th grade. Their 6th grader, was reading at a 3rd grade level, but kept being passed to the next grade in school. By the time she had finished a year of online schooling, she was reading above grade level. Their 8th grader was bored at school, which led to arguments and disruptions in the classroom. 

After just a year spent year in online school for one daughter, and 2 years for the other, they went back to traditional schooling. One daughter, now a junior, has chosen to go back to online schooling. “She also doesn’t like or want drama or to be pressured by her friends to have a boyfriend….” said Mrs. Lintow “she said they are unimportant at the moment school and education is primary…and I can’t argue with that.” 

Mrs. Lintow has been pleasantly surprised by how tailored the educational experience has been for her children. They have a wide variety of courses from which to choose, and they have easy access to the teachers when needed. When asked why she liked online schooling so much, one daughter stated, “I love the no drama, or loud disruptive kids…who have no interest in learning.” She said she can focus on her classes better. She was also was excited by the plethora of classes she could take that would never be offered at a traditional school. She chose Psychology and Music Appreciation.” 

The Lintows have been pleased to have the girls at home where they can be more involved with their education as “teaching coaches.” They’ve been in charge of entering attendance to ensure the girls complete at least 6 hours of schooling every day.

“Online schooling is not to be taken lightly, you HAVE to be committed to wanting better for your child and you must be proactive in it daily. You can’t be a slacker as I call it. It is a very parent active school as well.”  Mrs. Lintow said both of their daughters have active social lives outside of school, at their church, and with other groups. 

All in all, online education has been a great option for the Lintow family, and that’s the most important thing. Education isn’t one-size-fits-all, and it’s time the American educational “industry” accepts that.