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Celebrating 10 Years of Online High School at Achieve Virtual

Teenage girl friends blowing out birthday candles An online high school program that would allow any student from anywhere in the state of Indiana, whether a teenager or an adult, to get the education they need on terms that work better for them than traditional school was the vision that inspired the creation of Achieve Virtual Education Academy a decade ago. With 10 years of online high school programming under its belt, Achieve Virtual has shown thousands of students how technology and good design in online courses can be leveraged into quality education to obtain a high school diploma.

Online High School is Needed Now More than Ever

When the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. hard, schools across the nation were quickly shut down and forced to adopt remote learning in an incredibly short amount of time. It was a stressful and rocky transition for many high schools for everyone involved—students, parents, teachers, and school staff. But for Achieve Virtual, there was no transition to make because online high school is what we do every day. Whether it’s part-time for credit recovery or full-time to earn a diploma, Achieve Virtual understands online education inside and out.

Laying the Groundwork for Serving the Online Learner in Indiana

It didn’t take long after the internet emerged in the mid-to-late 1990s that online education became a real possibility. In the state of Indiana, the Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Wayne Township in Indianapolis was at the forefront of distance learning and created the first online school in Indiana in 1999 called Indiana Online Academy. It was largely used for the student who needed to take additional credits or make up missed credits. At first it was only available to students of the Wayne district, but was soon expanded to learners across the state.

Then the district’s night school and alternative school also launched online credit recovery with a blended approach combining virtual education and direct teacher interaction, with teachers guiding students through the online curriculum in a computer lab. This allowed the teachers to work one-on-one with each student or in small groups.

Launching Achieve Virtual Education Academy

Based on everything learned through previous online education programs, MSD Wayne Township decided a decade ago that it was time to create an even bigger, better version of a remote high school program. We wanted to build something that would be available to students who want to enroll with a part-time status for a course here and there to stay on track for graduation or who wanted to enroll with a full-time status to earn their high school diploma. And we wanted it to be available to both teenagers and older adult learners who needed greater flexibility in the where and when of taking high school classes than traditional school or night school could offer.

Achieve Virtual works and is successful because of our relentless focus high quality standards for both our teachers and our curriculum. Every course offered by Achieve Virtual is taught by a real Indiana Teacher who is highly qualified in their area of instruction. And our teachers are required to have weekly contact with students to find out how they’re doing, gauge their level of understanding, and ensure they are making adequate progress. In many cases, students in receive more one-on-one support in Achieve Virtual than they would in a traditional school setting.

20,000 Learners Served and Counting

In its 10 years of online high school, Achieve Virtual has served upwards of 20,000 learners in the state of Indiana. Students who thought they’d never graduate have successfully achieved their high school education. Older adult learners who couldn’t fit traditional night school into their schedules are finally achieving their dream of obtaining their high school diploma. And they’re all experiencing the benefits of making the grade, whether that’s getting better jobs or setting their sights on going to college or other post-secondary learning opportunities. Here’s how one parent described the impact Achieve Virtual had on her daughter (posted on our Facebook page):

Achieve is amazing! My daughter completed her Senior year online—the teachers were awesome! They communicated with me as well and most went out of their way to check in on my daughter! When the counselor took the admission info, he was so kind, he listened to the issues my daughter had and made me feel at ease. Her counselor, Mrs. Rose, was extremely helpful! Very communicative always! There was a computer glitch over the holiday and they fixed it ON the holiday so that they wouldn’t get behind. I really feel like Achieve gave my daughter the confidence she needed! She should be graduating at the end of summer school. I cannot say enough about this school! Thank you from the bottom of my heart Achieve!

Achieve Virtual Education Academy is a fully separate online high school that individualizes and personalizes education for students all over Indiana to provide a different pathway to a high school diploma. We offer students an affordable option to accelerate learning, recover lost credits, or earn a complete Indiana Core 40/Academic Honors Diploma. Achieve Virtual follows the state’s curriculum standards and is approved by the Indiana Department of Education. We are also a member of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and our courses are NCAA approved, which means the NCAA Eligibility Center has reviewed our classes and deemed them appropriate to prepare students for the rigorous coursework in a college setting.

A Full Range of Course Offerings Through Achieve Virtual

Students who need a particular course or credit always want to know what courses are offered at Achieve Virtual. The good news is we offer a wide range of classes across nine broad subject categories, including the following:

There are also AP (Advanced Placement) courses available for those who want to get a jump-start on earning credits that will be accepted by many colleges across the U.S. In the digital age of the twenty-first century, it makes more sense than ever to leverage the power of computers and the internet to make education work for more students. We hope you’ll take full advantage of what we offer to you as a learner or a family looking for a different way to complete a high school education.

Affordability in Online High School at Achieve Virtual

You might expect to pay lot for the flexibility of learning when and where suits you best to stay on track to receive your high school diploma, but we think you’ll find Achieve Virtual to be extremely affordable. The costs associated with enrolling in our online high school or either zero or very modest. Here’s the run-down on costs of attending Achieve Virtual:

Students enrolled with a full-time status pay nothing. It’s FREE!

Students of MSD Wayne pay nothing regardless of enrollment status.

Students enrolled with a part-time status pay $250 per semester course.

The fee for each Dual Credit course is $325.

Note that in some cases, a student’s regular school district may pay some or all of a course fee for part-time students. Contact us at 317-988-7144 to learn more.

Is Online Education Right for You or Your High School Student?

Online high school isn’t always the right choice for everyone, but we’ve discovered we can serve a huge range of students with diverse learning needs. We’ve published many an article on our website about online learning and how it works. You can search our site with your questions, but a good place to start is with the following articles:

Let Achieve Virtual put our 10 years of online high school experience to work for you or your high school learner. And if you’ve got questions after browsing through the above articles, we’re always happy to speak with you. Just give us a call directly at 317-988-7144.