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Welcome to the American School's blog.  You will see our last thirty blog posts on this page.  View the ten most recent blog posts here.  View some of our favorite blog posts from the past decade here.

  • About the Online Counselor Office - Today's blog is about our Online Counselor Office.  The Online Counselor Office is available to school officials who have students enrolled in our middle school and high school independent study program.  Counselors can log into the Online Counselor Office anytime to view their students' records, download final exams, and much more.  We allow for one... Read More
  • About the Online Student Center - Today's blog is about our Online Student Center.  Any student who takes any course with us receives access to the Online Student Center at no extra charge.  The Online Student Center contains academic records, help sheets, additional links and much more.  Students in our print or online high school courses and print or online middle... Read More
  • American School and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce - Recently American School renewed its membership with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.  The Illinois Chamber is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and American School has been a part of it for more than 70 years.  We joined in 1946 when we only offered high school correspondence courses and our independent study high school program... Read More
  • ISCA Scholarship Opportunity - Today's blog contains information about a scholarship from the Illinois School Counselor Association.  Click here to view the scholarship application and read about eligibility requirements.  The deadline for this scholarship is February 7.  We try to inform our students of scholarship opportunities, but it is impossible for us to list all of them.  We encourage... Read More
  • American School Closed Monday, January 20 - American School will be closed Monday, January 20, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  We will reopen with regular business hours and post our next blog entry on Tuesday, January 21.  We wish you a good weekend and look forward to serving students in our accredited high school program and accredited middle school... Read More
  • Testimonial Thursday - It's Thursday, and so we have a testimonial from one of our students.  Kristian from Colorado writes, "I really felt the feedback and comments on my exams were so encouraging.  I never have had that in previous schools.  The American School has great encouraging instructors grading exams.  Thanks for helping me complete my U.S. History... Read More
  • Today’s Birthday: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - It's January 15, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on this date in 1929.  Until his death in 1968, he was a leader in the civil rights movement, and if you're in Atlanta, you can visit the King Center or the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park to learn more about his... Read More
  • Today’s Birthday: Mark Goodson - It's January 14, and television producer Mark Goodson was born on this date in 1915.  Before he died in 1992, he produced some of television's greatest game shows, many of which are seen in reruns to this day.  In today's blog we're going to go through some of them and tell you how the title... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: Public Radio Broadcasting - It's January 13, and the first public radio broadcast happened on this date in 1910.  It was an opera performance that occurred in New York City.  This anniversary got us thinking about the different media we use to try to reach new students who might be interested in our accredited middle school program or accredited... Read More
  • American School Sends Bulk Mailing - American School is always looking for ways to reach people who might be interested in our accredited high school courses and accredited middle school courses.  Recently we did a bulk mailing to school counselors in all 50 states to introduce, or in some cases reintroduce, ourselves to them.  The mailing contained information about our independent... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: Connecticut - It's January 9, and Connecticut became a state on this date in 1788.  Some years ago, we attended a homeschool conference in Hartford, Connecticut, where we distributed information about our high school correspondence courses.  We didn't have online high school courses or an accredited middle school program back then, so maybe it's time for us... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: A National Debt of Zero Dollars - It's January 8, and on this date in 1835, the national debt was zero dollars for the first and only time in American history.  Contast that with the current national debt, which is more than 20 trillion dollars, and you'll see why having a national debt of zero dollars was such a big deal.  Nobody... Read More
  • New Earth Science Course Available - American School recently released a new Earth Science course. The course is the latest addition to our impressive roster of high school correspondence courses and is a great fit for students in our accredited high school program.  We also have a robust lineup of online high school courses and an equally impressive accredited middle school... Read More
  • About Using Old Enrollment Applications - Last fall we introduced new enrollment applications for our accredited high school program, accredited middle school program and independent study high school program.  These new applications were available as PDF documents on our web site or by request through the mail and remain current today.  We hope to have online enrollment applications available shortly.  Old... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: Alaska - It's January 3, and Alaska became a state on this date in 1959.  We've attended conventions in our 49th state several times because many students there take our high school correspondence courses, online high school courses, middle school correspondence courses and online middle school courses.  Alaska is such a huge state that often schools are... Read More
  • The First Blog of 2020 - It's January 2, and since we were closed yesterday, today is the first blog of 2020.  Every year people make New Year's resolutions, so that will be the theme of today's blog.  Our resolution is to continue to provide our students with outstanding curriculum and caring student service for an affordable cost.  The curriculum includes... Read More
  • The Last Blog of 2019 - It's December 31, and today we are writing the last blog of 2019.  It's New Year's Eve, and since we are closed tomorrow on New Year's Day, our next blog will be the first blog of 2020.  Today is a good chance for us to look back on what we've accomplished in 2019.  Most notable... Read More
  • Winter Spectacular Ends Tomorrow - Today's blog announces that our Winter Spectacular will end tomorrow.  As posted in an earlier blog, the Winter Spectacular allows for current students in full years of our accredited high school program and accredited middle school program to make double monthly payments now and receive a $25 credit.  The offer is not available for students... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle - It's December 27, and on this date in 1831, Charles Darwin began his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.  It was on this voyage that Darwin began to formulate his theory of evolution which is sometimes taught in biology courses.  The purpose of this blog is to let you know that you will not be forced... Read More
  • Today’s Special Occasion: Boxing Day - It's December 26, and countries all around the world are observing Boxing Day.  No one knows for sure how Boxing Day got its name, but one theory is that, on the day after Christmas, people would give boxes of gifts to needy service workers in their towns.  Over time, like many other holidays, Boxing Day turned... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: The Federal Reserve System - It's December 23, and the Federal Reserve Act became law on this date in 1913.  The Federal Reserve Act created the Federal Reserve System, often called The Fed, which, as its web site says, is the central bank of the United States and provides the nation with a safe, flexible and stable monetary and financial... Read More
  • Winter Begins Tomorrow - It's December 20, and winter officially begins tomorrow.  It's the season most associated with cold, snow and ice, and so why not stay inside where it is warm and work on some American School courses?  Our accredited middle school program consists of 5 units of credit per year in grades 6, 7 and 8.  Each... Read More
  • Testimonial Thursday - It's Thursday, so we have a testimonial from one of our students.  Devin from Michigan writes, "I liked the fact that my instructors commented on my exams.  It added a personal touch.  They also gave me hope that I was doing ok.  I also liked the self-check tests.  They just added that little extra chance... Read More
  • American School Announces 2019-2020 Holiday Schedule - While many schools take a week or two off at the end of the year, that is not the case with us at American School.  We will work most of the next two weeks but will be closed December 24, December 25 and January 1.  We plan to have regular business hours on all other... Read More
  • American School Celebrates 122nd Anniversary - It's December 17, and today is our 122nd anniversary.  We received our charter on this date way back in 1897, and our founder R.T. Miller would probably be surprised to see what we've become in 2019.  High school correspondence courses have always been an important part of us, and we have no plans to eliminate... Read More
  • American School Closing at 12 Noon on December 17 - American School will close at 12 noon on Tuesday, December 17, for a staff event.  We will reopen with regular business hours on Wednesday, December 18, and look forward to assisting you with courses in your accredited high school program, accredited middle school program or independent study high school program at that time.  Thank you... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: An American in Paris - It's December 13, and George Gershwin's An American in Paris was first performed on this date in 1928.  Since we know that many Americans live in Paris or elsewhere outside the United States, today's blog will be about enrolling with us if you do not live in the United States.  If you live outside the... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: Pennsylvania - It's December 12, and Pennsylvania became a state on this date in 1787.  Today we wish to discuss homeschooling regulations in different states.  While we do offer accredited high school courses online and in print and an accredited middle school program, it's important to remember that each state has its own homeschooling regulations.  These regulations... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: Indiana - It's December 11, and Indiana became a state on this date in 1816.  Because we are located so close to the Illinois-Indiana border, many of our employees are Hoosiers, and we are happy to have them.  Of course we also have many residents of Illinois working for us, and we are happy to have them... Read More
  • Today’s Anniversary: Mississippi - It's December 10, and Mississippi became a state on this date in 1817.  Today's blog kicks off three days of blogs about state anniversaries, and we're doing so by featuring a state we've never visited for a convention.  When we think about which conventions to attend in a particular year, we take a lot of... Read More