Autauga County Schools (ACS) recently announced the launch of a new online virtual school for students "desiring an alternative educational setting."
The school system announced on Thursday that enrollment applications for the Autauga Virtual Academy are immediately available for students seeking virtual schooling.
The district uses Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to open the school since the system must pay all start-up costs, including personnel costs for the first year, as state and federal educational funding is paid in arrears.
Gloria Jerkins, a 20-year educational veteran of the district and the virtual school's newly named principal, will be one of only two employees of the new school until it's fully established. Once the school reaches an enrollment of 250 students, ACS will receive state funding for all school positions the following fiscal year.
"I'm excited," Jerkins said. "It's new, but I'm excited for it. I'm a teacher at heart, so I can't wait to see where this takes the students of Autauga County."
ACS is partnering with Edgenuity, an online learning resource that teaches core, elective, credit recovery, technical, and career subjects from kindergarten through 12th grade. Edgenuity will initially employ all teachers, with the goal of ACS hiring additional district employees in future school years.
"We've seen the interest in our virtual program growing for several years now," said ACS Superintendent Lyman Woodfin. "While we believe there is tremendous value in the traditional, on-campus learning model, we also recognize the online shift in education that seems to work better for particular student populations. Families are seeking flexible and personalized educational models, and we are proud to support these families by providing innovative approaches to help students discover their passions while mastering the curriculum and skills necessary for success beyond high school."
"Academics is priority one for us. Long term, I do see it being its own school, graduating its own students, and having its own socialization and extracurricular activity opportunities," Woodfin continued.
The virtual school will maintain the same curriculum standards outlined by the Alabama State Department of Education as the district's brick-and-mortar campuses. Students will work in the self-paced program while required to meet course benchmarks. Students will only come on campus for state-mandated standardized testing. ACS fully intends to expand extracurricular and athletic opportunities as the school grows.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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