Welcome to the American School Blog!
Since 2006, the American School Blog has kept students, parents and school officials up to date on what’s happening at American School. Below are our most recent blog posts. Visit the American School Blog Archive to read noteworthy blogs from over the years.
American School Staff Completes Mandated Reporter Training
American School staff recently completed mandated reporter training. By law our staff is required to report suspected instances of child abuse, and the mandated reporter training helps us do that. Although we may not see visible signs of child abuse or neglect...
American School Closed Monday, October 9, 2023
American School will be closed Monday, October 9. We will reopen with regular business hours on Tuesday, October 10, and look forward to assisting you with your accredited middle school courses and accredited high school courses at that time. Thank you for making us...
Today’s Anniversary: PBS
It’s October 5, and the Public Broadcasting Service, more commonly known as PBS, was launched on this date in 1970. PBS airs a variety of programs, including shows relating to current events, science and history, but a good portion of its programming focuses on...
American School and Twitter (X)
Today’s blog has an update about American School’s page on Twitter (or X as it is now being called). American School has had a page on that site for several years @as_hsdiploma, but due to the uncertainty surrounding that site, we have scaled back how often we post...
American School Nominated for 2023 BBB Torch Award
American School is proud to be nominated for a 2023 Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics. According to a press release, the Better Business Bureau Torch Awards are the highest business honor given to business, based on exceptional dedication to ethics,...
Additional Update to Frequency of Facebook Posts
Today’s blog has an additional update to the frequency of our Facebook posts. Effective October 6, we will no longer post general education articles every weekday evening. Instead our Facebook page will continue to focus primarily on American School and events...
Today’s Birthday: Miguel de Cervantes
It’s September 29, and author Miguel de Cervantes was born on this date in 1547. You may know his name because he wrote Don Quixote, which is one of the first great world novels. You can read other works of literature by authors from around the world by taking one...
Google Celebrates 25 Years
Today's blog celebrates Google's 25th anniversary. Sometimes it's hard to believe that the internet existed before Google came along on September 27, 1998. That's because today the word "Google" is almost synonymous with internet searching. We know that so many...
Today’s Anniversary: Silent Spring
It’s September 27, and Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring was published on this date in 1962. The book led to a renewed focus on environmental awareness and eventually led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. American School offers...
Today’s Birthday: Jack LaLanne
It’s September 26, and fitness expert Jack LaLanne was born on this date in 1914. His food intake regimen and exercise plans helped him live to age 96, and his birthday got us thinking about physical education. Because we are a distance education middle school and...
New Year-End Schedule Reminder
Today’s blog is a reminder about our new year-end schedule which will go into effect this December. Starting this year and going forward, American School will always be closed from Christmas Eve (December 24) through New Year’s Day (January 1). In 2023, that means...
Tomorrow’s Special Occasion: The First Day of Fall
It’s September 22, and tomorrow is the first day of fall. When people think of fall, they think of falling leaves, football and cooler temperatures, but they might also think about going back to school. If you’re in the latter category but haven’t decided on your...
Today’s Special Occasion: International Day of Peace
It's September 21, and today is the International Day of Peace. It's a United Nations initiative which promotes peace around the world. Today's celebration got us thinking about our international students. We are proud to serve students in 65 countries around the...
Today’s Anniversary: The Battle of the Sexes
It’s September 20, and 50 years ago today a very famous tennis match took place at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. Billie Jean King (a female) defeated Bobby Riggs (a male) in the “Battle of the Sexes” and that match got us thinking about the students we serve. It...
ISBE Region County District Type Schools Lookup
Today’s blog is about the Illinois State Board of Education’s Region County District Type Schools lookup, often abbreviated at RCDTS. Although we are a distance education middle school and distance education high school, we appear on the list because our headquarters...
ISBE State Course Catalog Numbers
Today’s blog is about the Illinois State Board of Education State Course Catalog. Occasionally homeschool families or school counselors will contact us about this catalog and ask us if our accredited middle school courses and accredited high school courses match up...
25 Years at American School
It’s September 15, and today the person who regularly writes this blog is celebrating 25 years at American School. A lot has changed in the last quarter century, most notably the introduction of an online high school diploma for adults or children and the addition of...
Testimonial Thursday
It’s Thursday, so let’s hear from a testimonial from one of our students. Sheila from Ohio writes, “I liked American School a lot because of the detailed instruction. Some parts were difficult for me and took a little extra concentration and effort, but it was well...
American School Trustees Hold 2023-2024 Budget Meeting
It’s September 13, and earlier today American School’s Board of Trustees met to discuss the School’s budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. As with any business, American School sets a budget and does its best to stick to it during the course of the year. We know...
About Diploma Covers
Today’s blog is about covers for an online high school diploma or a correspondence high school diploma from American School. After you earn a high school diploma at home, we send you a diploma, tassel and simple diploma holder. No other types of diploma covers or...
22nd Anniversary of September 11, 2001
It’s September 11, and for people of a certain age, today’s date is one they’ll never forget. As we remember the tragic events of September 11, 2001, we encourage students in our accredited middle school program, accredited high school program or independent study...
Grandparents’ Day 2023
It’s September 8, and this Sunday is Grandparents’ Day. We know that many grandparents are deeply involved with their grandchildren’s educations and in some cases serve as guardians or guarantors for their grandchildren. We are grateful that many grandparents over...
American School and the U.S. Open
It’s September 7, and we are down to four men’s semifinalists and four women’s semifinalists in the singles competition of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. American School students have reached this round many times over the years, but some have gone one or two...
About AI, Chats and Bots
Recently there has been a lot of chatter about artificial intelligence and various chat programs or bots which can produce words, sentences and entire paragraphs as if they were written by a human being instead of by a computer. The purpose of this blog is to let you...
American School Receives 2024 Homeschooling Parent Certification
American School recently earned Homeschooling Parent Magazine’s Homeschool Friendly Certification for 2024. We are proud to receive this recognition which attests to the fact that we know the needs of homeschool families all across the country. Students from coast...