NorthStar Academy (NSA) is an accredited, private, online Christian school (with a traditional Protestant biblical worldview) that currently offers students in grades 4-12 a complete academic and diploma-granting education. Academic and spiritual readiness is achieved through faith-based, student-centered courses led by credentialed teachers. NorthStar Academy’s program emphasizes spiritual emphasis, academic excellence, and personal experience.

Spiritual Emphasis – encourages students in their walk with God through Christ-centered, biblically-integrated instruction and interaction
Academic Excellence – prepares students for life-long learning through high-quality, college preparatory, interactive, differentiated instruction, which embraces multiple learning styles
Personal Experience – invests in students through friendly, supportive, responsive communication and guidance – and provides numerous extra-curricular opportunities

NorthStar Academy – Online Christian School Programs

NorthStar Academy offers a variety of academic programs.

VRP (their virtual program) is NSA’s most widely-used program, and it offers a personalized experience.

Courses are asynchronous, meaning students can choose the best time and place to complete their lessons.
Students, with their parents’ or supervisors’ permission, have the ability to craft their own schedule from working in a traditional 6-period day to working on one course a day – or another combination.
Students have the opportunity to work at their own pace, having 52 weeks to finish a 36-week year-long course or 26 weeks to complete an 18-week semester course.
Courses offer several individualized assignments, giving students the opportunity to choose how they want to demonstrate proficiency.
Opportunities to Skype, email, or instant message with the teacher throughout the week.

Enriched Virtual Classes are for those students who want a weekly live session with other students and for students or parents who want more accountability and firm assignment due dates.

A webcam, microphone, and stable Internet connection are required for EVP courses. These courses include:

A weekly live class session (live sessions scheduled to accommodate different time zones).
Firm, weekly assignment due dates.
A cohort of students taking the same course at the same time.
Courses for every core high school subject, plus some electives.
Opportunities to Skype, email, or instant message with the teacher throughout the week.

The NorthStar Cooperative Program is used by school partners as well as homeschool co-ops.

Organizations can offer a comprehensive blended learning program by pairing their own teachers with NSA’s state of the art online curriculum.

Dual Credit is also an option as is a Credit Recovery Program.

NorthStar Academy currently partners with LeTourneau University, Moody Bible Institute, Bryan College, and Colorado Christian University to allow students the opportunity to earn college credit while also earning credit with NorthStar.

Online Christian School Curriculum

Curriculum choice – The school offers over 200 core and elective courses, including 13 Honors courses and 19 Advanced Placement© courses. NSA offers courses in core subject areas such as language arts, social studies, science, math, and Bible and worldview. Elective courses are available in areas of fine arts, foreign languages, physical education and health, computers and electronics, and college and career preparation.NSA also offers an NCAA-Approved Enriched Virtual Program.
Curriculum Quality – Most of NSA’s curriculum is written “in-house” by curriculum and subject-area experts. Course objectives and content are based on international and national curriculum standards that reflect the school’s mission, purpose, vision, and expected student outcomes. Specific materials and resources are utilized from a variety of publishers to meet the curricular needs of each course. Integration of a biblical worldview is intentionally included in lessons, activities, and materials for students. In order to maintain high standards, NSA operates on a formal curricular review cycle, whereby all subject areas are regularly reviewed, evaluated, and changed or improved as needed.

You can check out courses here.

I took the VRP Orientation and the Physics course.

Below are some screen shots of the Unit 6, Week 12 lesson on Momentum (I want to show you a class that’s well into the course/semester).

I appreciate the real-world example of momentum that students can relate to! Without real life examples, I tend to lose interest.

I appreciate the different assignment choices – and the Engineering Projects are wonderful and fun. Who doesn’t want to do an Egg Drop experiment?

NorthStar Academy Review – What I like In General

It’s faith-based – NorthStar teachers build their courses from a traditional Protestant biblical worldview that neither avoids nor attacks controversial topics or authors, but rather confronts these issues and topics with critical analysis from a Christian perspective. BTW – I’ve included their faith statement at the end of this review, so you can see if it matches with your beliefs.

I LOVE that a number of courses are centered around VARK – The course I reviewed is centered around VARK and students can choose their assignments based on their learning styles. Lots of online courses have this option – but I think this is the best way I’ve seen it done. I’m a fan for sure.

More of what I like

Flexibility – I’m such a fan of flexibility. With our family, what works now, may not work in six months.

NSA has rolling enrollment. Students can enroll and start at designated times each month during the school year throughout the year. (The school operates year round.)
Students can enroll as a part-time student in one course for just one semester. Or they can enroll as a full-time student taking a full 6.0 credit course load. As a general rule, students can have up to 52 weeks to complete 36 weeks of lessons or 26 weeks to complete 18 weeks of lessons.
At NorthStar Academy, you can do school anywhere, anytime, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
The school’s conferencing and productivity software can be used by both Macintosh and Windows users. We use both in our home.
Student activities are available – https://northstar-academy.org/student-activities.php
Diploma options – students can choose to earn a Standard or an Advanced Diploma. NSA also offers courses for a student to earn the AP International Diploma.
I LOVE dual credit!

Payment plans are available – plus there is a refund policy. This tells me the school stands by their products/services.

What I like about the Orientation and the Physics Course

I LOVE the Orientation – there’s a very friendly welcome video.
Plus, all the info you could possibly need is included, such as info on Digital Citizenship, the Library and more.
Also, Physics Equations and Instructions on how to Write a Lab Report, are provided.
The Physics course uses the following resources – CK12.org/ – I’m a total fan of CK12 – as are most homeschoolers; physicsclassroom.com; pivotinteractives.com.
The content is super. I learned so much! For instance – Momentum is a vector quantity. From the definition of momentum, it becomes obvious that an object has a large momentum if both its mass and its velocity are large. Both variables are of equal importance in determining the momentum of an object. The momentum equation can help us to think about how a change in one of the two variables might affect the momentum of an object.
The interactive opportunities are fun and educational.

There are examples and answers.

Plus, the course shows students that science and faith aren’t in opposition with one another.

When the course is completed there is a final exam. But no study guide! My college professors usually gave study guides/hints. Still, this is probably good – as not all professors do.

NorthStar Academy’s statement of faith –

We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God (Exodus 24:4; Psalms 19:7-10; Luke 24:44; Matthew 5:17-18), without error in the original writings (Deuteronomy 4:1-2), the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of man, and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith, life, and conduct (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
We believe in one God (John 10:30), Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1), infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
We believe that Jesus Christ, without any change in His eternal deity (John 10:31-38; Hebrews 1:3), became man through conception of the Holy Spirit and virgin birth (Luke 1:31-35), that He died on the cross (Mark 15:23-26; John 19:16-18), a perfect and complete sacrifice, in our stead and for our sin according to the Scriptures (Hebrews 9:13-15; Ephesians 1:6-7). He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Acts 1:6-11) where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and Advocate (Hebrews 2:16-17).
We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:13-14) and, during this age, to convict of sin and regenerate the sinner upon belief in Christ (John 16:7-12; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:11); at the time of regeneration baptizing the believer into the one body of which Christ is the head (Galatians 3:26-28) and to indwell, guide, instruct, fill, and empower the believer for Godly living and service (Romans 8:26-27 & 15:13; Proverbs 3:5-6).

More of NorthStar Academy’s statement of faith

We believe that man was directly created by God in His own image (Genesis 1:27), but fell into sin (Genesis 3). The entire human race is, therefore, lost and only through repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10), faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:4-9), and regeneration of the Holy Spirit, can salvation and spiritual life be obtained (Romans 8:13-14).
We believe that the atoning death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground of justification and salvation for all who believe (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), and that only such as receive Jesus Christ by personal faith are born of the Holy Spirit and by Him sealed to the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).
We believe in the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 4:1), and that the hope of His appearing has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer (2 Timothy 1:8-10).
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all the dead (Romans 8:11), of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord (Romans 4:7-8), and of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting and conscious punishment (Matthew 25:46; Hebrews 10:29).
We believe that the Church is composed of all such persons who, through saving faith in Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the body of Christ, of which He is the head (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13).

Even More of NorthStar Academy’s statement of faith

We believe that water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances to be observed by the Church during this present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as a means of salvation (Matthew 28:19; Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29).
We believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, that homosexual behaviors or any violation of the unique roles of male and female including traditional, biblically defined and genetically determined gender identity standards and definitions are moral misconduct. (Romans 1:21–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9–20; Genesis 2; Ephesians 5).
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as will honor and glorify and not bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord, and that it is commanded of God to remain separate from false doctrine, sinful pleasures, practices, and associations (Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Peter 2:11).

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NorthStar Academy - an Accredited Online Christian School