It’s easy to think that online school would be an impersonal experience, but it’s quite the opposite. “Sitting in this seat, you really see the value of alternative options-and the way that it can really and truly save lives,” she says. She thinks about her LGBTQ students who’ve found a safe, accepting place at Connections Academy, or about the USA Swimming and Diving Olympians who will be able to compete in this summer’s Olympics because of the flexible Connections Academy schedule that allowed time for their rigorous training schedules. “I think about all the times a parent called me to say something like, ‘I got my child back,’” says Brown, whether it was being able to make a fresh start from a bullying situation or working towards regaining their mental health and wellbeing. Now that COVID is beginning to wane, students and families are starting to think seriously about next school year and their full range of options-including online school. Or, maybe they liked the quiet and convenience of learning from home without distraction. Kids who learned from home during COVID may have loved being able to sleep in without worrying about running for a bus.
Kids come to online school for a wide variety of reasons, but what’s common to all of them is the search for something they’re not getting in their local schools. She really gets to know them-and she really understands why online schooling is the perfect solution for so many students.
Melissa Brown, the executive director of Connections Academy Schools, told us that the thing that gets her excited to go to work every day are her students and their families. And that’s no different at a school like Connections Academy, a tuition-free online public school that’s been delivering a high-quality online learning experience for 20 years.
Most teachers will tell you that their students are the best part of their job.
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