Will going to an online distance-learning school ruin my future?

[Nicole]

I am currently a sophomore enrolled in a public high school, but I want to transfer into an online school. I am considering Ashworth College's College Prep Online program. I want to be able to graduate a year early, but because I didn't start off at my current school in my freshmen year, they won't allow me to. Last year as a freshmen, I went to a really rundown public high school for my first semester and an online high school for my second semester (Primavera, which was free since I lived in Arizona). I now live in North Carolina, and there are no options for high school students who prefer independent study and distance-learning. The public high school I am now attending is uncooperative and not at all supportive, and the social/classroom environment is a mess.
The Ashworth program costs $1,295, and you can pay $45 a month. My mom and I can't afford this right now, so we asked for my dad's help (my parent's are divorced). I only need them to pay for the first month, as I would get a part-time job and start paying for the program on my own. My dad has since threatened to cut off all communication with me unless I return to my public high school, or unless I can prove to him that earning my diploma from an online school is no different to colleges then earning a diploma from a public high school.
I find it strange that he won't support me in this endeavor, because he always talks about how my brother and I need to get good grades and go to college. All I am trying to do is succeed. I get straight A's, and I even completed my Spanish I course online in just one month last semester when the school couldn't find a teacher and we had a month without instruction (most kids failed the course because they were playing online games instead of doing the work). I'm sick of being belittled and pushed around by the public school system. My brother, who is a year younger than I am, is living with my dad, attending the same school, and is currently doing drugs and receiving C's, D's and B's, even though he is actually very smart and talented.
Is he not being supportive because I'm not living with him? He isn't doing anything about my brother's situation, but he is very upset about mine.
He says that colleges will frown upon an online education.
Ashworth is accredited, and I called all of the colleges I'd like to attend to ensure that they would accept the diploma. I even asked if they valued public school diplomas over distance-learning ones, and they said that they are no different in their eyes.

I also feel that with an online school, the study is more independent, whereas in a public school you are constantly being "babied". In college, students have to study independently and know how to manage their own time. Because of this, I feel that earning my diploma online through an accredited school is just as good, if not better, than attending a public high school.
My ideal plan is to finish high school through Ashworth and graduate a year early. Because Ashworth doesn't offer electives, I would then take several courses of my choice at the local community college to diversify my resume and stock-up as many extracurricular activities as I could in a year. I really want to go to Washington University in St. Louis to major in Anthropology and minor in Religious Studies. I think this is a good plan for me.
What else can I add to this to convince my dad that going to an online school will not ruin my future?

[sha_lyn68]

Sounds like a great plan so far. The only thing I would add is that maybe you could get some info from Ashworth on the percentage of graduates to go to college.