Tonight was the meeting for parents to attend and ask questions of the Assistant Principal of Oklahoma Connections Academy. Though there was low attendance, it was a very insightful meeting! Tonight we saw the future. Here is some of the things we learned and want to pass on to you!
Virtual Public School in Oklahoma is FREE online schooling. The school operates under a statewide virtual public school state board of education (just like the State Board of Education that is over brick and mortar schools). The virtual school does have to follow all state guidelines. There are a set number of hours of school with vacation days scheduled. There are three major virtual public schools in Oklahoma, K-12.com, Epic and Oklahoma Connections.
Now the differences. The difference in brick and mortar and the virtual public school are many. The number one factor we found interesting is that some students are able to complete their full day of studies in half the time a child spends in a brick and mortar school. Students are also allowed to work ahead of the schedule in the virtual school, banking hours of study, for those days that they do not work on their studies. Thus allowing your child to actually follow some of their passions such as personal coaching in their sports, master classes in dance and music, vacationing with grandparents.
It was easy to see that students enrolled in Oklahoma Connections Academy can become a specialist in their field
prior to even high school graduation! (The assistant principals daughter left brick and mortar last year and now attends OKCA
AND is in a nursing program at a Vo-Tech. Thus allowing her to progress past others her age and go into college with hours already accomplished for her nursing degree!) Oklahoma Connections Academy offers electives in entrepreneurship, technology and engineering. Students can learn website and virtual game design even before leaving high school.
Teachers are more accessible with OKCA. You do not have to wait for a note to come home or receive a call from your child's teachers. The grade book is available 24/7 and the entire school year is planned and mapped out for your child's success. There are parent teacher conferences to work as a team in educating your child.
What a bout socialization? OMGoodness! There are approximately 2 field trips a month that your child can participate in. A large outing at Frontier City is planned in May at the end of this school year. There are clubs to participate in and much more. Couple all of that with your child's local music lessons, dance lessons, gymnastics, cheerleading and local sports leagues and you will realize that there are plenty of opportunities for socialization.
But what about sports like football?? Well, we were given information on that too! Did you know that some OKCA virtual public school children are actually playing sports at their area public brick and mortar schools? That is right! They are still playing school sports! (you really need to talk to us about this)
Foreign language? Oh yes! How about Spanish and Chinese? Spanish fits our area of the US and Chinese is the fastest growing global language !
Music? OKCA has partnered with Julliard with Julliard's e-learning in music! Outstanding! Your child will be better prepared for college in music!
How about life skills that can lead to careers? Yes they still offer home ec style of classes such as baking, cooking and even an auto mechanics course for those that have an interest.
The biggest aha moment has to be that you and your child have an opportunity to design an education that can work for your child and with your child's interest in mind. No boring, out dated classes to have to drag through with low interest. They even have peer tutoring sessions!(sounds a bit like college, right?)
We even went a bit further and asked about special services for students such as learning disabilities and college advisement. We were informed that they have people already in place for this. I asked about a speech therapist and they gave me the name of the person.
So here is our conclusion from tonight's meeting. Oklahoma Connections Academy ( and our energy, ideas and programs) can give your child everything they can get in the public brick and mortar. But they can give more. Much more.
Your child can enjoy school, like they should. No bullying, no school drama and gossip, no fear of failure. School should be fun and enlightening. It should challenge your child and cause them to dream of a bright future. School should be the first step towards your child's future (and it is never too early to start planning for that!).
OKCA allows a child to be challenged so that they can grow. OKCA's schedule and lesson plans work towards an education with plans for college admittance. OKCA's well planned year allows for more family time and time for your child to find their passions.
Do we think Virtual Public School is the near future? It is already here and has been for some years in in other areas of the United States. Colleges have been offering online courses for graduation for adults for several years now. Virtual training and education is not new.
Educating our children as a country for decades has offered public education, private education. home schooling, tutor training and more. For generations, elite athletes in high school and college have used tutors and other alternatives for education. This is how Olympians are made.
Child actors and musicians on Broadway and in Hollywood have also received their education from those sources in the past. This is how movie stars and the Hannah Montana's of television and music were created.
It is just this day and age, the system of delivering the education has changed. No longer are there tutors at the gymnastics gym, but now through the computer. No longer does an athlete, musician, actor or just a very mobile family have to carry a huge amount of books to travel and continue the studies. No longer does a family have to beg the school district to permission for their child to be allowed to vacation in February instead of the summer.
OKCA has 740 students this year. Some are athletes that need more time to spend on their sport. Some are students that need a bigger challenge. Some are actors that go to Hollywood to film pilots for television. A very few are those with special education or health needs. Most are just average kids enjoying the freedom from bullying, school violence, school drama and more.
In any case, we have concluded that Oklahoma Connections Academy is still a school district (even though virtual) that we will recommend to our family, friends and students of our performing arts schools. We have seen the future and it shines very bright.
**We have six bags with registration information, class information and a t-shirt to the first 6 families that comes in and says, I want my child to attend OKCA this next year. Registration is now open until May. Once registering for OKCA, then contact us as to how we can offer Learning Coach Services for the success of your child! You do not have to be the learning coach for your child in virtual public school. You can outsource it! Call us now at 580-256-3262 or 580-747-4799
