The Khan Academy is a free, online system of tutored lessons available for math, science, humanities, and economics. Subjects are broken down into brief, carefully explained sections offered with clarity and humor. The lessons and test results are available to students, parents, and teachers. The system is designed to be user-friendly.The great advantage of this online service is that students work at their own speed—any lesson can be repeated indefinitely as required. In addition, the brief lectures and explanations engage students completely, encouraging concentration, and often leaving students smiling at the end of a lesson. Students can be coached in areas where they need special assistance, with parents sometimes acting as coaches.

Teachers can go online to see summaries of student activities, and parents receive information allowing them to keep pace with their students’ work. Yes Charter Academy has achieved promising results using the Khan Academy in seventh and eighth grade, and in the 2014-15 school year we plan to extend the system to fourth through eighth grades. We believe that including Khan Academy lessons in support of our classroom instruction furthers our goal of maximum attention to individual student needs and talents.