How It Works

How Online Elementary School Works

Who can attend?

The Cyber Academy of South Carolina (CASC) elementary program serves students in grades K–5 who reside in the state of South Carolina.

What are the costs?

Because CASC is part of the public school system, it’s tuition-free. Enrolled families receive the K12 curriculum and qualified students receive a loaner laptop and an internet stipend.

What’s my role as a parent?

As a parent, you (or another responsible adult you choose) serve as your child’s Learning Coach. You’ll work with your child’s teacher to help record student attendance, monitor mastery of online lessons and assessments, and review student work.

Parent/Learning Coach involvement is vital to your child’s success, especially at the elementary level. The typical Learning Coach time commitment in grades K–5 is 4–6 hours a day. The initial 4–8 weeks can be intensive as your family settles into a routine.

Grades K–2

Parent/Learning Coach daily involvement is critical, and approximately 10–15 percent of this time is online.

Grades 3–5

Students begin to have increased independence, but parent/Learning Coach involvement is essential for about 70–80 percent of school time, and approximately 15–25 percent of this time is online.

mom and son studying and counting with hands

What will my child study?

Coursework is a mix of online and hands-on work, which caters to a wide variety of learning styles. Unit and course assessments are built in to each subject, and easy-to-use online planning and progress tools keep you and your student on track.

K–5th graders take courses in the core subjects listed below. Beginning in grade 3, they also take a self-guided elective course in music or a world language.

letters in a bubble

ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS

calculator icon

MATH

experiments icon

SCIENCE

raise hands icon

HISTORY

music note, violin and paintbrush icon

ART

Mastering Lessons

In the elementary grades, students are required to show mastery of each lesson by achieving 80 percent or better on all lesson assessments. If your child is having difficulty mastering a lesson, let their homeroom teacher know as soon as possible. Teachers offer many support sessions to help students gain mastery.

Working with Your Teacher

Teachers provide individual and small group assistance via online synchronous sessions called “Class Connects”. Students are expected to attend all required Class Connects and meet with their teacher to receive course assistance, tutoring, and instruction. Class Connects vary by grade level and are scheduled by your teacher.

State Testing

CASC students must comply with all South Carolina-mandated testing requirements. K–5th graders are required to take the following tests:

  • Grades K–3: DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) Testing 
  • Grades 3–5: PASS (Palmetto Assessment of State Standards)