Cheryl Kelly-Van D.
Biology Series 2
My student took Biology Series 2 Level 2. I watch along with my student as he does the lessons. We enjoyed the slides and videos that are included, though many slides include unnecessary rants about pet peeves and cheesy quips that take away from the main topic. I do wish that the parent could have access to the course so we could watch the vidoes or get an idea of what the upcoming assignments will entail on our own time. We learned about cells, genetics, and evolution. The evolution was especially interesting to me, as I have never had much schooling in it. The due dates are very strict, which causes us anxiety and frankly makes my student prone to rushing through the assignment when I know he would love to take his time on it and thereby letting the lesson sink in and learning more. My student did have several assignments which were selected to be promoted on the Next Level socials, which made him proud. But even with that, he still had points taken off for late submissions. I wish that this class was truely more of an "on your own time/schedule" kind of class instead of the strict schedule it follows. One of the perks of being a homeschooler is that we can take vacations when others are in school, but we got so far behind in this class when we took a vacation. The class is quite expensive and we most likely will not take additonal classes in the future.
Response from Next Level HomeschoolJan 21, 2026
Thank you for taking the time to leave a detailed review. I’d like to clarify a few points so prospective families have a clear understanding of how this course is structured. The High School Biology lessons are intentionally content-rich, with many lessons exceeding 100 slides. To help students stay engaged through challenging material, I include occasional humor and conversational commentary, the same way I did when I taught live classes. My goal when writing my curriculum is to make complex biology concepts a little more fun and approachable, rather than using a dry textbook format. However, I understand there is no one teaching style that works for everyone. I reviewed the entire class to see whether I was overusing “pet peeves” as you mentioned, since it’s been a while since I created the course. There is actually only one slide in the full 12-week, 800+ slide course where I reference a pet peeve. It’s directly relevant to the content. I mention that one of my pet peeves is when people say, “Evolution is just a theory,” and then use that statement to teach students what the word theory means in science, how it differs from everyday usage, and how that misunderstanding can lead to confusion. I want to clarify that parents do have full access to view lessons and assignments. This can be done creating a free Parent Observer account in Canvas. Instructions for setting this up are included in the user manual that I email to both students and parents at the beginning of each course, and is also linked on the course page in Canvas. Regarding scheduling, the only firm deadline is the final end date of the course. I accept Week 1 assignments all the way up to the very end of the class- I never turn away assignments for being late. Students receive a lesson each Tuesday, and the assignments are due 2 weeks after that, giving them 2 full weeks to work on the lesson and assignments. Late penalties apply only to students who have chosen to be graded in the class. The maximum I deduct is 20 points, and that is for assignments that are over 2 weeks late (so 1 month from when the lesson was posted). Students will never fail a course due to late submissions. Families who prefer complete flexibility may choose the ungraded option, which has no late penalties. Additionally, when families reach out to me about upcoming vacations, illness, or other circumstances, I give them a work-around so late points aren't deducted. Communication is key. My full year science classes are designed so all of my students stay on track together as we navigate the complex topics of each section. This structure helps many students build time management and executive functioning skills, which parents often tell me they value even over the subject matter! However, we do offer many self-paced classes as well that are completely on your schedule throughout the semester with no due dates except the end of the course. My high school biology is a rigorous, college-prep course, and your son truly did excellent work! His passion and dedication to his studies shone through in his assignments, and it was a pleasure to have him in class! I hope he feels proud of what he accomplished, because I am definitely proud of him. Thank you again for sharing your experience.