One important and often missed piece of how to earn a high school diploma online is the accreditation part. There are at least as many fake online high schools out there as real ones. How can you tell them apart when they claim to be accredited? Not surprisingly, fake schools can have fake accreditation. Most of those fakes, though, are not stupid enough to claim a real accreditor. They make up a fake one.

There are several accreditors out there:

1. The six regional accreditors
2. CITA, a conglomeration of accreditors
3. Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)
4. Anyone mentioned on CHEA.org.

One thing that you will notice about the schools on this website is that, almost without exception, they are all accredited. We do have one that is state-approved (in a state where that means something; in many states it does not) that is working toward accreditation. The other one is having its site visit this month and everything looks good for its CITA accreditation bid.

Please do not choose an unaccredited option out there without stopping by our forum and asking a question about it first. Trust me, it is worth the time.

Do you have a child that is classified as gifted and talented? If you do, you have some sense as to how difficult it can be to find a school that serves your child’s unique needs. Up to now, there really was only the small program at Stanford University for those students and admission is incredibly difficult.

Laurel Springs School, long a home for gifted and talented students, has seen that need and has moved to fill it with its brand-new Laureate School for the Gifted and Talented.

You should bear in mind that Laurel Springs School is already in that top-tier of online high schools. Adding a program such as this will provide an even better home for the students who have always gone to LSS.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Dennis Rice, director of Laureate School. He offers a unique perspective on how the school came to be.

Colorado offers five online high schools; two private schools and a public one. Thankfully for the students of Colorado, all are good choices. You really cannot go wrong no matter which direction you head.

Colorado Connections Academy is part of the Connections Academy family of schools. As the CA system grows, it becomes a better and better choice.

Denver Public School Online, or DPS Online, is part of the public school system in Colorado and is open to all students in that state.

Colorado Virtual Academy is one of the K12.com schools, an early creator of curriculum for online high schools.

Karval Online Education is a public online high school in Colorado.

Monte Vista On Line Academy is a public online high school in Colorado.