More local field trips.

Less stringent reporting.

I would love to see a continuation of live classes. I would also like more support with ISAT testing practice sessions. Currently, the sessions fill up very quickly, and I often don’t see how my daughter did/ what areas to work on with her.

I think it would be helpful if mentors had annual phone calls with parents. It would be really helpful to go over resources available, apps, testing, and tools that would help each individual child.

We are so new I can’t answer that.

We have enjoyed our year with Harmony and appreciate Anneliece very much!

I fully understand the requirements the state puts on Harmony. That being said, I would love to not have to report so often. I have 5 children enrolled in Harmony this year and it is very time consuming. I would also love to see more paid field trips in the Idaho Falls area. I would love if Options Day didn’t cut into the funding quite so much, but we do love having Options Day and are grateful for all those who put time and effort into providing this service.

Enrollment quicker

Continue the live classes, to include writing.

Honestly I can’t think of any changes I would want to make. We have been super happy with the program.

Free field trips, can be reimbursed with our state funding is not free.

No changes–if it was any more complicated we wouldn’t do it.

I would love more Harmony/IHLA sponsored field trips! Especially educational field trips that support the state standard learning goals. Once a quarter would be really great.

Free options day.

Lots of glitches this year on the canvas videos…poor audio (no sound on several), missing videos, videos not available in a timely manner for second semester, etc. and leaving feedback for these problems is difficult to do. It made watching canvas videos unreliable for lessons which was frustrating for my kids.

Lots of glitches this year on the canvas videos…poor audio (no sound on several), missing videos, videos not available in a timely manner for second semester, etc. and leaving feedback for these problems is difficult to do. It made watching canvas videos unreliable for lessons which was frustrating for my kids.

Activities near where we live.

Can’t think of any at this time.

More me on one learning for children that need help understanding

Activities near where we live.

We would love more field trips and maybe a survey for parents regarding which online programs we would like offered with school enrollment such as TTRS (typing program) or generation genius (science videos). Thanks!

More field trips in the Idaho Falls area.

Not sure. We have been happy with the way things are run.

Against weekly submissions/ mandatory contact with teacher

More polished flex recordings and tests. Reduce the technical issues with audio, and typos. More consistent recording length from worksheet, to worksheet.

I would like to see more teachers with a background in Behavioral Health. I would so appreciate a curriculum that works well for families with children that have complex needs.

I’m nervous about the new weekly requirements Harmony will be requiring for the 2023-2024 school year now that it’s a charter school. It is stressful to have check-ins and deadlines every week, and so my hope is that admin will be as careful as possible to only implement the bare-minimum for check-ins that meet the requirements, but also try to keep the freedom in homeschooling. May it not be forgotten that the whole reason we homeschool is to educate our children as individuals not under the general model of a brick and mortar school.

I am very happy with Harmony. I appreciate how things are now, so no changes need to be made. Thank you

I am very happy with Harmony. I appreciate how things are now, so no changes need to be made. Thank you

Not a change but to continue to prioritize that the videos on Flex courses are clear & engaging as possible for the kids. We really enjoyed the Science and the Social Studies videos. (We did not utilize or have much experience with the other subjects.)

I have nothing specific that I can think of that I would like to see changed.

Fix your website, it’s terrible.

More support for middle school students using Harmony curriculum. Even a biweekly meeting time with a teacher to allow the students to ask questions about the course content after they have watched the videos would be helpful.

I love it the way it is. Please don’t change 🙂

Cover Christian curriculum

I would like to understand the purpose of the monthly learning logs. It seems a waste of time to have to copy and paste the monthly lessons into the monthly learning log when they are already provided in the semester learning plan. In my opinion, the monthly learning logs seem like a trivial submission yet they still have the same impact on my child’s grade as the portfolio submissions.

It would be very helpful if IHLA could provide practice tests for ISAT etc. with an answer key to be able to identify areas that need further instruction. I have found it challenging to know what we should be reviewing in preparation.
Also, as a parent it took me a while to figure out how to best utilize the various curriculum and materials available. It would be nice to provide a number of real world examples of ways families can utilize resources. For example, for math, our family:
1.Consults the upcoming Flex assignment worksheet.
2. Searches on BrainPop to introduce the concept using the provided video.
3. Consult our home text book and find matching topic sample problems.

I would like to know other ways families are utilizing the resources.

Flex worksheets that are a little more interesting.

more (flexible) testing dates for the ISAT.
More user friendly Canvas type app.

It would be very helpful if IHLA could provide practice tests for ISAT etc. with an answer key to be able to identify areas that need further instruction. I have found it challenging to know what we should be reviewing in preparation.
Also, as a parent it took me a while to figure out how to best utilize the various curriculum and materials available. It would be nice to provide a number of real world examples of ways families can utilize resources. For example, for math, our family:
1.Consults the upcoming Flex assignment worksheet.
2. Searches on BrainPop to introduce the concept using the provided video.
3. Consult our home text book and find matching topic sample problems.

I would like to know other ways families are utilizing the resources.

Religious curriculum being covered in expenses.

I don’t have anything I would change

None

I would like them to provide more options for special needs children. While teachers and support staff work hard to support kids, they do not have the range of resources necessary to align with children individually.

I don’t have any changes that I would like to see. Harmony and IHLA are great. The only reason that I would not enroll my child in a live science or social studies class is because she is a resource student and cannot participate in the same level of activities/exercises as her age/grade level peers. I am sure that the classes would be great. We do access the course materials in Canvas and she watched the videos attentively when given multiple breaks. This school and her teacher have provided truly wonderful educational experiences.

None comes to mind.

I can’t think of anything. It works really well for my family.

Carefully review individual student online teacher’s presentations. We had a problem at the beginning of the year with a teacher who seemed very uncomfortable with web presentations. I ended up reteaching her lessons. Other teachers were very good. I did leave messages for the teacher and some things improved.

None

Nothing. Nice options.

I would love to see the special needs teachers use and make available to the students, IXL. It is very interactive and easy for the kids to use. The diagnostic allows the student to begin right where they need help. It enables the teacher to help the child gain so much more in a short time. The student learns quickly from the more interactive lessons and have many games available to give them a fun way to learn. In fact, this program would be a great asset to all of the students.

The flex modules could be taught with more enthusiasm.

We are happy with our time and experience with Harmony. Jackie has been an incredible mentor for us. She responds quickly and always finds a way to get the answers we need. She has been super supportive and encouraging!

No suggestions here. As a first time family enrolled with Harmony Educational Services, we are very pleased and happy we found this resource. Everyone is knowledgable and helpful. Thank you all.

No suggestions at the moment.

I’d like it to stay the same.

I would love to see some changes to the website and/or app. Make submissions easier to navigate. Allow me a “family” page so I’m not having to back in and out of multiple subjects, for multiple kids, every time I need to submit their work.

Make sure Flex classes are working. It was a great resource for my first grader but the audio quit working which added more work on my plate to supplement or switch to Portfolio. It would have been nice for that resource to work like it should.

Be able to retake failed quizzes on Science and social studies.i have to send in and ask for retakes but I don’t on language arts

No changes.

Mostly, I would just like to exactly what stays the same and what changes before registering for the school year.

Simple submissions.

Making website a little easier to use

I would like more video instruction available

Allow funds to be used for faith-based curriculum.

Less intense worksheets

Some teachers are very boring. Hard for young kids to sit through modules when they are so blah

Remove monthly log submissions since it’s just a repetition of the semester plan. Portfolio submission is enough. Move annual tests from March to May.

I would like to be able to have more flexibility in science and social studies. I don’t like having to do the same thing all year long. ie earth science all year..and US history all year.

Website upgrade!

Reduce the teacher contact. It is not necessary to make us check in every week under the new protocols. We personally don’t need the additional support.

Change the IRI tests. I find them way too hard for the grade level. And have funds cover trampolines and school equipment like book shelves.

Na

None

Na

I don’t know of any changes I would make.

I would like to see the same flexibility in curriculum options and portfolio submissions for high school students as is offered during K-8th.

The website is a little hard to navigate in the beginning but overall everything is great.

All classes should be free, online and have learning tools included

All classes should be free, online and have learning tools included

I realize that harmony must follow state standards, however I would like to have more freedom with what/when I teach my children.

Istation is outdated and my kids hates it.

Everything was great this year. Would want to change anything.

Allowing an option for online testing or more flexible administration of tests would be really nice.

I would like to see a more user-friendly website that is easy to navigate. Also, I would like to see a MUCH easier way of submitting work samples. It can take me over 1 1/2 to submit work for my 3 kids and a total of 12+ work samples.

Everything was great this year. Would want to change anything.

I understand there is no getting around state standards, but as a homeschooling parent, I wish that I did not have to abide by them. I would like to have the freedom to teach my kids what I want when I want.

Having better communication with online submissions and better communication for when things are due for each submission.

Nothing it’s been great so far.

Allow religious curriculum to be purchased with funds

Nothing it’s been great so far.

Allow religious curriculum to be purchased with funds

Less submissions and better communication

None

I think I would like more information and insight on how to properly execute portfolio submissions. I also went on a field trip where I feel like there was a lost opportunity to build community and connections.

None

Nothing at this time. This is our first year and Malorie has been extremely helpful navigating my questions and has really helped me gain confidence finding the right material and just overall experience has been great.

Nothing at this time. This is our first year and Malorie has been extremely helpful navigating my questions and has really helped me gain confidence finding the right material and just overall experience has been great.

Overall I am very pleased with Harmony and we have loved having Malorie as our mentor. I would like to see more field trips (especially a big beginning and end of the year one) in North Idaho. Silverwood was so fun last year and it would be great to get a field trip like that more often then once every 4 years. It would also be nice to have a document for parents to access about what items are approved/denied and which curriculum is approved/denied.

Ability to do isats in my own town and not have to travel so far away. Field trios in my area.

I would like to have somewhere for my son to take the ISAT test that is close to where are in Sandpoint. Or, if it’s still in coeur D’Alene, it would be helpful to have some compensation for the fuel and food that will need to be purchased, since I will need to take such a chunk out of the day to take him and the three younger children along for testing days.

None at this time.

Everything is great.

Not sure what to say here, this is our first year we have had a great experience

Please get rid of weekly teacher check ins. That is literally taking time away from actual learning to micromanage the parents – who are doing the actual teaching – even more.

None at this time.

Nothing

Nothing

Everything is great.

Closer ISAT testing locations for those of us who live rurally.

Closer ISAT testing locations for those of us who live rurally.

Find additional ISAT testing centers in Nampa or at least closer to it. I liked the virtual proctored ISATs during Covid also. Always helpful to increase the amount of reimbursement to keep up with inflation. The cost of apple computers is a lot more than when we first started with harmony six years ago and devices unfortunately have to be replaced after a while.

None

Options for at home ISAT

Nothing, I think this is a great program.

An extra options day and it not costing crazy amounts

Require fewer work sample submissions. For example, once per learning period rather than once per month.

Simplify things. Explain things better. It’s extremely confusing and I have never had things explained well. To this day I still don’t understand how things work. I thought IHLA and Harmony were two completely separate things. I don’t even know what role IHLA has played, I thought everything was Harmony. When I ask others who are in both, they can’t explain it either.

When submitting portfolios, it would be nice if you put which class at the top.

More online classes, and or options for alternatives to traditional homeschool. I like the ability to have a hybrid sort of situation.

None

The program works great for our family. I don’t see a need for change. Thanks for being awesome!

Honestly, don’t really have one.

None I can think of

I think you guys are great only thing I seen was maybe getting rid of the noisy guy on the tests makes it hard to focus but other than that wouldn’t change much

None

I think you guys are great only thing I seen was maybe getting rid of the noisy guy on the tests makes it hard to focus but other than that wouldn’t change much

I think you guys are great only thing I seen was maybe getting rid of the noisy guy on the tests makes it hard to focus but other than that wouldn’t change much

I think you guys are great only thing I seen was maybe getting rid of the noisy guy on the tests makes it hard to focus but other than that wouldn’t change much

I am very happy that there is a plan to change the way the portfolio submissions will be done. I find submitting monthly plans is unnecessary if there is a year plan (and option for second semester plan change(s)), and way too time consuming. I also think that submitting a really nice portfolio at the end of each semester would be much less time consuming and even give a better portrayal of work completed by the student for IHLA.

I am not 100% sure on this one since I haven’t gotten my response back yet, for approval/disapproval of this reimbursement. However, I hope that getting funding reimbursements can be very easy(?)(not sure if that’s the best word). For example, I am currently trying to get reimbursed for gas on commuting to my daughter’s Irish dance class which is an hour commute (one way) for us which may sound crazy, but it is that important to her, and she is very good at it, she even competes in competitions. For me it is worth the sacrifice for now, but it has become necessary for our continuation, to get reimbursed for gas. So, I think it should be fairly easy for parents to get funding for whatever it is they want to do for their children’s school experience, as long as it is clearly going to their child’s school experience, and not going to something else entirely.

I also hope that funding for religious curriculum will be possible for next year too (we use Mystery of History and Abeka, which are amazing and high quality curriculum).

I think you guys are great only thing I seen was maybe getting rid of the noisy guy on the tests makes it hard to focus but other than that wouldn’t change much

That Christian curriculum should be allowed if it meets the state’s educational standards

It would be cool if the website was a little easier to navigate.

Please work to have glitches on Canvas fixed.

We have loved everything about this school and all the resources that are provided!

We are very thankful for Harmony. I’ve been recommending Harmony to my friends. We especially love Epic. That has really helped my child’s reading.

I feel like things have been great in our experience so far.

It’s nothing Harmony can control. If we had more Harmony students in our area to get together with.

This is our 2nd year with Harmony, and have been quite pleased. The only thing I wish is that we could use our funding for any type of curriculum..

It’s nothing Harmony can control. If we had more Harmony students in our area to get together with.

So far we have been very happy with our experience

More scheduling options for in-person tests (or ideally, allow proctored testing online).

None.

None.

Happy overall, it’s been a great thing for our family!

I don’t think this is something Harmony has the power to change, but I am not looking forward to putting my child through the stress of in-person testing for two 4-hour sections with people they do not know. I would like to see us be able to do online testing from home.

So far we have been very happy with our experience

No, Melanie is great and supportive.

Field trips not just in Boise. The website to have better functionality on mobile devices.

I don’t see anything that I would change.

We have been happy using harmony. I think having a family account for funding instead of individual would be appreciated.

Sending out information about local groups. For example, options day. We learned about from going to a field trip. Had I been informed sooner, we would have enrolled in options day sooner.

I do not like that I have to set a program. I would like it better if I had the opportunity to be more spontaneous with the assignments.

Odyssey is clunky. I would like a parent handbook to go along side it with resources like the periodic table or a list of supplies needed for the science lessons so we aren’t held up getting the needed supplies. When a chapter test is next, there is no review session. My kid’s success on those test would be better with a review.

Dont make ISAT testing the week of spring break for most students

Virtual teachers to send links prior to class times (day of or before) to allow ease of access for more independent students.
Carly Gonzales always sends a link prior and prepares the students for what supplies and or worksheets need they need to have in advance.

None

I can’t really think of anything. We’ve been very happy with Harmony and Paula.

I have no recommendations 🙂 We use alternative curriculum.

Testing should be able to be done at home. Once a month submissions would be great. App needs improvement.

No in person testing

Faith based curriculum accepted.

The canva App is utterly painful for submitting work and lesson submissions. It takes several steps to end wolf for 1 subject and when you have multiple kids to do it for, it’s awful to toggle between them all. I absolutely wish you’d find a better platform for this piece. My least favorite thing to do.

Get a few more things covered like different online curriculums. It’s sad we have to use funds for those.

There needs to be more details and communication about funds. Only half of our reimbursement went through, and I had to follow up with our mentor. I had to reach out again to see why the reimbursement didn’t go through that I submitted. They just sent a check for half of it. There needs to be a way to communicate with the reimbursement staff. In other states they send you a card (like a debit card) and you sent in receipts with those purchases. Since Harmony has it set up with separate funds for each child, it’s a lot of work to submit when they’re in the same class.

Since kids start typing in public school at grade 3, it would be great if there were more help with that for families. Free online versions are not very thorough.

Be more accommodating of homeschool families rather than operating like a public school with distance learning

Submissions! The process can be streamlined much more effectively.

Allow families to use religious curriculum and not have to submit all the extra things when they are doing their own curriculum