The novel coronavirus pandemic deeply impacted traditional education during the last half of the 2019-2020 school year and continues to be a challenge for schools across America so far in the 2020-2021 school year. Parents, teachers, and staff all have questions and concerns not only about the health and safety of every student and their family, but also the quality of academic instruction students are receiving as many toggle back and forth between in-person classes in school buildings and online courses from home. It’s incredible to think how one microscopic virus can cause such upheaval to educational systems all around the nation and the world. Indiana families with high school students who don’t feel comfortable with how school is happening in-person have the option to go all-remote with Achieve Virtual Education Academy, which is open to students from every single school district across the state of Indiana.
Achieve Virtual Offers Online High School Indiana Districts Can Trust
Every school district in Indiana had to come up with some kind of plan for how school would happen this year while the pandemic has no real end yet in sight. The plan in one school district could look substantially different from the plan in another school district, or even from school to school within a district. Most involve some kind of mix of online and in-person education where the student body is divided up into pods or groups that come to school one day and the attend virtually the next in order to avoid overcrowding and maintain social distancing in classes to prevent students from contracting COVID-19 and stop the spread of the virus. But many parents and students are still unhappy with the quality of instruction for the online days of learning. This year Achieve Virtual is celebrating 10 years of online high school experience, which means we know how to do it right.
Online High School by the Numbers at Achieve Virtual
Over the course of 10 years Achieve Virtual has served upwards of 20,000 students, the vast majority of which have been part-time students who need a particular course or want to make up credits (credit recovery). We offer classes during three semesters, including Fall, Spring, and Summer school. In reviewing the reports we prepare each year for the state of Indiana that give a snapshot of full-time enrollments each fall, you can see the growth over the past decade with a tell-tale spike in the current year because of the pandemic:
That dramatic rise in full-time enrollments is clearly driven by the coronavirus challenges traditional schools are facing with varying degrees of success. Another way to look at our growth over our first 10 years is the number of diplomas awarded each year:
Throughout these 10 years of online high school, about one-third of enrolled students are adult learners who want to obtain their high school diploma. That figure will probably be smaller this year as the spike in current-year enrollments is primarily learners of high school age. And so far in this first decade, Achieve Virtual has had students attend from at least 60 different school districts representing nearly 15% of Indiana’s 420 school districts.
Metropolitan School District Wayne Township: Achieve Virtual HQ
The Wayne school district of Indianapolis is the home of Achieve Virtual Education Academy and was also home base for the precursor to Achieve Virtual—the Indiana Online Academy. The secret to our success besides being involved in online high school programming for many years is our focus on delivering a quality educational experience and courses. All our instructors are real Indiana teachers qualified to teach in their subject areas, and our virtual high school is fully approved by the state Department of Education and every class follows state curriculum standards.
Last spring when all schools were fully remote, many families learned whether or not online learning was something that could work for their high school students, although the quality of instruction varied wildly in terms of quality. For those students who can thrive with virtual learning done right, it’s clearly the safest option to protect the health and safety of your student(s) and your family while the pandemic continues to disrupt normal education. Here’s how one parent described Achieve Virtual from their perspective in a review posted to GreatSchools.org:
“My daughter graduated from Achieve Virtual. I pulled her out of her regular high school. They were amazing in working with me to make sure she graduated on time, and even have their own graduation ceremony. My 17-year-old just finished summer school through them to make up credits she was missing. Anytime she had a question, her teachers would answer fairly quickly. People think it’s ‘online’ school, which it is, but your finals have to be proctored through them, your regular school, or a library to ensure they know the material. Both my girls thought it was a great experience and that is saying a lot coming from the child who hates school.”
The technology exists to do online learning right, but not every school or teacher knows how to make the most of it. We’ve been doing it for a decade and have the knowledge, experience, and passion needed to support each student in achieving successfully academic outcomes.
Got questions? We’d love to answer them! You can explore our website to find answers, but you should always feel free to call us directly and speak with us. Our phone number is 317-988-7144 and we’d love to talk to you.
