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Gaston County stay-at-home students attend virtual school

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GASTONIA, N.C. — The Gaston County Virtual Academy is connecting some middle school students with a new approach to learning.

Brothers Jacob, Andrew and Benjamin Odom begin their weekdays between 8 and 10 a.m. After eating breakfast, it's time for school. But they don't head to the bus stop or hop in the car to be driven there.

Instead, they grab a space on their living room couch, on their bed or at the dining room table - anywhere there's an electrical outlet - and log onto their laptops to take classes exclusively online through the county's new virtual public school.

Their mom, Andrea Odom, has homeschooled the boys for all but one school year, when their younger sister was 2 years old. She says the Virtual Academy allows her sons to be involved with the public schools but maintain a flexible schedule.

"I knew that they were going to be on the same level as their peers and they would sort of have an actual teacher to hold accountable instead of mom just saying 'do your school work,'" she said. "They can pretty much log in any time, any day and complete their schoolwork. They can work further ahead if they want to, if we have a trip planned, or if they want a day off they can get several days done at one time."

Twenty-five students are currently enrolled in the Virtual Academy, which opened in August. The Virtual Academy is open free of charge to students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade who live in Gaston County. It's operated through Gaston's public school system in partnership with Edgenuity, an Arizona-based company that provides the online learning platform, courses, instructional support and teachers.

Students can take a minimum of three courses and a maximum of six through the Virtual Academy. Core curriculum courses are offered online in English/language arts, math, science and social studies, along with additional world language and elective courses. Students may also choose to participate in band, chorus or career and technical education courses at the brick and mortar middle school to which they would normally be assigned.

For example, Jacob takes a photography elective and Andrew takes a digital arts elective, both online.

The district pays about $2,000 per student in the Virtual Academy, according to Kathleen D'Avria, the school sytem's virtual learning coordinator. She said a good portion of the cost goes to Edgenuity to provide its services.

Students must demonstrate regular attendance by demonstrating that they are progressing or making a clear effort to progress through their coursework, according to school leaders. State assessments, such as end-of-grade exams, will be taken at designated testing centers.

The whole program is hosted on a web-based application which allows students to easily view calendars, assignments, lectures and other course information, and exchange emails with their teachers. All they need to access the application is a computer or digital tablet and internet connection.

Textbooks aren't required, and students can even take electronic notes on their computer.

Andrew Odom showed Channel 9's partners at The Gaston Gazette an example of a social studies lesson where he read through the written copy of a lecture while the content was read aloud in an audio recording from the teacher. He said he typically has to take about four quizzes each week that relates to course material.

Students can follow-up with their teachers through email or phone calls. Though it's not a recurring issue, the boys say it can sometimes take up to a full day to receive an answer to a question, particularly if it's an email sent to a teacher late in the day.

"The hardest part about interacting with the teacher is if you are behind or if you need to do something and you can't do it so you can keep going, and you email a teacher and say 'I can't do this,'" said Jacob. "The hardest part is waiting for a response."

Virtual Academy students can receive face-to-face tutoring with Gaston public school teachers at two brick-and-mortar schools.

Virtual Academy students are required to attend at least one field trip or other social enrichment activity with other students every month, such as a trip to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden or a presentation about anti-bullying and self-empowerment held at one of the brick-and-mortar schools.

The boys say there currently isn't much interaction between the other students enrolled in the Virtual Academy beyond the monthly field trips and other enrichment activities.

Andrea Odom says next year, the boys will likely get involved in other extra-curricular activities or enroll in an elective course like band, where the class is held at a school with other band students. She's also hopeful that Virtual Academy students will be eligible to join school athletics teams in the future.

"It would be nice to have an option for them to sign up for one of the public school's team," she said. "As far as the education, the teachers, the program, I'm really very happy with the way it's run."