by Anne Marie Gurney
It’s 7:30 a.m. and time for me to get the kids out of bed, dressed, fed and off to school. Sounds familiar for a lot of families, right? For my two boys, though, school isn’t far away: it’s in the part of the house I affectionately call the Gurney family schoolroom. My boys receive a public education from home with Oregon Connections Academy (ORCA), an online K-12 public charter school in Oregon. With online learning, we have increased flexibility that allows us to plan schoolwork around a schedule that works for us.
Just like all other public school students, my boys receive their instruction from state-licensed teachers. The school also provides a high-quality curriculum and access to cutting-edge technology. I act as Ben and Jake’s Learning Coach, supporting their education throughout the day, helping to encourage and keep them on track.
Jake, 14, is a freshman in high school so he’s pretty self-directed with his classes. He checks his school webmail, an internal email system, and looks at his grades online. I can also see Jake’s gradebook, which allows me to understand how he is progressing. Jake then quickly gets started on whatever assignments are due for math, English Literature and other courses.
My 5th grader, Ben, 10, needs a little more attention from me, so I help him get started on lessons in the morning. By 9:30 a.m., it’s time for a break. Ben is a kid who doesn’t stop moving, and at break time, he loves to go outside and jump on our trampoline.
Around 11 a.m., the boys typically join their LiveLesson® sessions, online classroom sessions, where the teacher leads an interactive discussion or lesson and students participate and chat with one another.
At noon we stop for lunch, and then go back to “class” to work on other lessons until wrapping up by 2 p.m. If a big project needs to be done, we may dedicate the whole day to that project and rearrange our schedule for the rest of the week. Flexibility in terms of scheduling and pace is one of the great attractions of Oregon Connections Academy for our family.
Other families may do online learning differently, but this is a typical day for the Gurney family. I’m sharing my family’s story because this is the time of year when parents are thinking about switching to an online school for their children, and they often have questions about how it works. Here are a couple of the most frequent questions I get asked:
Question: Isn’t this just like homeschooling?
Answer: Oregon Connections Academy is not homeschooling; it is public school from home. The curriculum is provided to you, meets the state standards and is taught by state-certified teachers. With online learning, I am able to be more involved in my children’s education. I also appreciate that Jake and Ben have great teachers who are in frequent communication with them through webmail messages, by phone and in the online classroom.
Question: Do your kids still socialize with other students?
Answer: My boys have lots of friends, and I believe they have a more active and positive social life now than whenthey attended the local brick-and-mortar schools. The flexible schedule with online learning allows our family to have more free time for activities outside of school. Ben enjoys a local skateboarding club and has participated in gymnastics, karate, and soccer. Meanwhile, Jake likes skateboarding, riding his scooter and playing basketball with his buddies.
I was a parent who asked questions like these six years ago before enrolling my children in Oregon Connections Academy. I did my homework on the different online schools around Oregon and encourage parents considering making the switch this fall to do the same by attending an information session or parent meeting to learn more.
Anne Marie Gurney lives in NE Portland with her husband Mike and two boys. She is a member of the Oregon Connections Academy Board of Directors. For more information visit: connectionsacademy.com/oregon-online-school
