Continental Academy is a non-public, grades 9-12, alternative online high school located in Miami Lakes, Florida. Since 1996, Continental Academy has been able to provide an alternative education to students that have not been able to either graduate from their local public high school, pass the G.E.D. exam, or pass their public high school state exit exam for high school graduation and are seeking an alternative to a traditional high school diploma program or G.E.D. program.
All applicants will be considered for enrollment regardless of the last grade completed. However, all students must be at least 16 years of age to enroll and students who are under the age of 18 must provide a parent or guardian’s signature of approval.
Continental Academy is an alternative online high school that primarily provides adults with an opportunity to earn their high school proficiency diploma. Continental Academy’s P.A.C.E. program has been designed specifically for students who need an opportunity to earn a high school proficiency diploma for private sector jobs that require proof of high school proficiency, or, students who desire an opportunity to obtain a high school proficiency diploma for self-improvement and/or personal satisfaction. Our program is not designed for college admission, military enlistment, or for government/public sector employment. Please be advised that the P.A.C.E. program is not a college-prep program that prepares students for admissions requirements of a college/university/trade school and is not a high school completion program that prepares students for educational enlistment requirements of the U.S. Military. The P.A.C.E. program and this diploma may not be accepted by ALL educational institutions or employers as evidence of a high school education or diploma. “The P.A.C.E. program and this diploma are not high school equivalencies and may not be accepted as evidence of a high school education or diploma by ALL colleges or employers. Students should check with any potential college or employer as to its specific criteria. This diploma is not accepted as evidence of a high school education or diploma by any branch of the United States Military.”
Please be advised that the decision to recognize or accept Continental Academy’s high school proficiency diploma or any other diploma that you have earned is always the prerogative of the receiving institution in the United States. The decision to recognize or accept a diploma credential is usually based on the admissions requirements of the college or the employment policy of the employer. Continental Academy makes no representation that the P.A.C.E. program and this diploma will be recognized or accepted by ALL colleges or employers or that you will be guaranteed a job after graduating from Continental Academy. Continental Academy makes no representation of any kind concerning the fitness of its curriculum to meet any legal, educational, certification, licensing, or employment requirements.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OR MISSION OF CONTINENTAL ACADEMY?
Continental Academy provides a quality online high school proficiency diploma program for a broad community of alternative learners in the United States. The institution aims to put practical, academically-rewarding and affordable, high school education within the reach of alternative and lifelong learners ill-served by more traditional, mainstream instructional systems.
WHAT IS THE INSTITUTION’S PHILOSOPHY?
Vision Statement: Continental Academy recognizes the need among a broad spectrum of secondary education students in the United States for an alternative approach to high school education. This alternative approach includes novel instructional strategies and varying, distance-based delivery models. Through these indices, Continental Academy provides alternative students with the curricula, tools and support to achieve academic success in their own “classroom of one.” The institution possesses a wealth of experience in meeting the needs of many alternative students.
Continental Academy was established in response to the belief that the traditional classroom-based model for secondary education is unsuitable for a significant, alienated and disenfranchised portion of the population—the alternative learners. In our opinion, this community of learners is best served by educational philosophies other than those of the conventional mainstream. We recognize that students maintain various learning styles, and that the alternative learner may have obstacles which interfere with their learning and therefore, require flexibility in their academic program as well as a means of support. We believe in utilizing alternative instructional strategies as well as fashioning our program in a way that caters to our students’ needs.
In order for alternative learners to experience a sense of academic accomplishment, they must learn in an environment that sufficiently supports their intellectual growth. Our pedagogy, which is based on the learning philosophies of Constructivism, Cognitivism and the Sudbury Model, reflects the belief that the learner finds his/her own meaning through practice, and prior knowledge. Ideally, learning is a process you do, not a process that is done to you. Our program recognizes, validates and successfully reconciles what struggling students already know: there are many ways to learn without the intervention of a teacher. The institution’s aim is to put a practical, academically-rewarding, and affordable, high school education within reach for students ill-served by more traditional instructional methods, taking into account their hardships, diverse learning styles and various rates of progress.
Our distance based model is part of an emerging trend that is becoming widely popular around the globe. This style of learning and instruction is recognized as an effective means of delivering quality instruction that allows alternative students to personalize their education so they may navigate through the coursework at their own pace. All the while, our alternative students have access to ongoing academic support that will guide them through the process. The foundation of Continental Academy’s educational philosophy is our conviction that all alternative students can become successful learners and that there are no preordained limits to what alternative students can accomplish at any age.