Great Hearts Online—Texas: Classical Education in a Full-Time Online School

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Great Hearts Online girl with parents

Great Hearts Online is a full-time, online school that offers a classical education model to students all across Texas—not just in communities that have a bricks-and-mortar Great Hearts campus. Great Hearts Online will begin accepting applications for enrollment for the 2024–25 school year on November 1, 2023, and the deadline to apply during open enrollment is November 30, 2023. We have put together a guide to help you learn more about Great Hearts Online in Texas and take steps to enroll your child for the next school year.

About Great Hearts Online Texas

Great Hearts Online—Texas began serving students in January 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Great Hearts Online continues to meet the needs of families who want to educate their children at home with the support of Great Hearts curriculum and teachers.

Great Hearts Academies was founded in Arizona in 2003, and Great Hearts Texas opened its first campus in San Antonio in 2014. Opening an online school was a departure for Great Hearts, which is known for traditional teaching strategies that rely on face-to-face interaction, like Socratic seminars. The challenge for Great Hearts Online is to stay true to the core purpose of Great Hearts—to cultivate the hearts and minds of students through the pursuit of “Truth, Goodness, and Beauty”—while using technology to deliver instruction remotely.

Great Hearts Online has stayed true to the original Great Hearts vision, using different tools but still offering a rigorous, classical liberal arts curriculum including advanced math and science, and robust arts and foreign language classes. The school helps to meet the growing demand for virtual school options, and adds a classical education model to the range of choices. Families like the Hornoks, who live in a Texas community that does not have a Great Hearts campus, as well as families like the Branyons, who have medically complex children and prefer to educate at home, can access Great Hearts curriculum and teachers through the online school.

To read more about Great Hearts Online in the news, we recommend that you click on the articles linked at the bottom of this post. Also, we invite you to join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group on Facebook and ask questions; the group includes current Great Hearts Online—Texas families who can comment with answers based on their own experiences.

Great Hearts Online Texas teacher music

Great Hearts Online Texas School Models

In the 2023–24 school year, Great Hearts Online—Texas is available to students in grades K–9 who are Texas residents and meet a set of eligibility requirements. They plan to add more grade levels, up to 12th grade, one year at a time. Great Hearts Online—Texas is among 16 extended virtual school campuses that are authorized by the Texas Education Agency through the 2024–25 school year.

Great Hearts Texas earned an A on their district report card, while Great Hearts Online earned a C on their school report card. The 2023–24 calendar shows that Great Hearts Online follows a traditional school year schedule.

Great Hearts Online Texas offers two educational models: a teacher-led live instruction model and a flexible week model. The teacher-led model is optimal for families who are looking for a more traditional classroom experience virtually. Students are learning in community together; they experience interactive instructional time, live discussions, and classroom engagement. Looking at sample schedules gives a sense of when students of different grade levels will experience live, synchronous learning. The flexible week model is a good choice for families who value flexibility and are able to make a substantial time commitment to supporting their children’s education.

For high school students attending Great Hearts Online, two advanced paths are offered to graduate. Scholars can choose a Traditional High School path or a College Credit path. Both prepare young adults for a bright future; however, the College Credit path offers transferable college course credit and industry certificates plus the opportunity to graduate with both an associate degree and a high school diploma.

For students to succeed in virtual school, they also need access to high speed internet, an adult at home to support them, and a computer with a camera—a laptop or a desktop, with either a built-in or external camera. For families who qualify based on income, the school will provide a laptop. The FAQ offers more information about topics such as special education, class sizes, school uniforms (polos only), and moving from a bricks-and-mortar Great Hearts campus to Great Hearts online and vice versa. The family resources page includes links to the family handbook, reading list, and more.

To find more information about virtual education in Texas, look at our guide to full-time online schools. To learn about bricks-and-mortar Great Hearts Texas campuses in the San Antonio area, check out the enrollment guide blog post. For more tools to help with your school search, download the free San Antonio Charter Schools app and visit our page Guide to Charter Schools in San Antonio.

Great Hearts Online girl presenting to class

Enroll at Great Hearts Online—Texas

Families can apply online to enroll their children at Great Hearts Online—Texas. Open enrollment for grades K–10 in 2024–25 will begin on November 1, 2023 and will continue through November 30, 2023. On January 24, 2024, Great Hearts Online—Texas will begin sending enrollment offers to families. For students who receive an enrollment offer, their families can begin the registration process; for the remaining students, they will be placed on waiting lists, and will be notified if a spot becomes available. Find more information in the Great Hearts Academies enrollment FAQ and the policies and procedures.

Virtual information sessions are a good opportunity for families to learn more about Great Hearts Online Texas. Parents and caregivers can sign up for email updates by joining the interest list from the homepage.

We also recommend following these Great Hearts social media accounts:

In addition, please join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group on Facebook to post questions and search previous discussions about Great Hearts Online Texas.

Great Hearts Online girl with teepee

Facts About Great Hearts Online Texas

The teachers at Great Hearts Online are working hard to help students and families feel like they are part of a community. In a 2021 interview, teachers Bridget Saltmarsh and Emilie Sullivan discussed how they build relationships with their students. For example, fifth graders are asked to fill out a sheet about their interests so the teachers can get to know them better. Different homeroom sessions have themes, like sharing riddles. Students are eager to share, whether it’s playing piano or violin, or showing off their artwork. Bridget uses songs and movement—like a phonics scavenger hunt—to bring students together and keep young learners engaged. On Fridays, when there are no synchronous classes, students are invited to log in for Lunch Bunch; Bridget plans events like Flapjack Friday to celebrate tall tales and Paul Bunyan.

Preliminary data show that Great Hearts Online students are performing well. Families are also sharing testimonials about their experiences. On a survey, a parent wrote:

Thank you so much for this opportunity! We enjoy having our scholar learn from home. By doing so we have grown closer as a family, and we have all avoided poorly spent time which gives us more time to actually learn and grow together. My scholar also now has time to peruse many of his extra passions which is much broader than what he would be able to take on in a traditional school setting. The quality of instruction and responsiveness of the Great Hearts Online teachers continues to astound me. We recommend it to anyone looking for a school from home approach. We are very grateful!

Another family reported:

Great Hearts Online—Texas is a partner of Choose to Succeed, a nonprofit organization working to attract the nation’s best public charter schools to San Antonio.

If you like what you have learned so far about Great Hearts Online—Texas, we recommend that you apply for enrollment. You are also welcome to join the San Antonio Charter Moms discussion group to learn more and interact with current Great Hearts Online families.

Charter Moms Chats

Watch Roger LaMarca, Senior Vice President of Business Operations for Great Hearts Online, speak with Inga Cotton on Charter Moms Chats on November 2, 2023 at 4:00 PM Central live on Facebook and YouTube.

Roger LaMarca Great Hearts Online

Roger LaMarca is the Senior Vice President of Business Operations for Great Hearts Online. For the past 20 years, Dr. LaMarca has been actively involved with the operations, marketing, sales and strategic communication of educational products for several major educational institutions including: Great Hearts Online, ADEN University, Brigham Young University, Southern Utah University, Snow College, University of Phoenix, Western International University and Legacy Traditional Charter School. Within these positions, Dr. LaMarca has been responsible for curriculum, enrollment management, communication strategies, customer services and social media marketing for hundreds of programs and dozens of individual markets. Additionally, he possesses a strong background in developing content, teaching classes, training and developing faculty. Dr. LaMarca is also a father of six children, one girl and five boys. He and his wife love to travel and have visited over 40 different countries. He loves to hike and be in nature. 

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