New K-12 Virtual School
Autauga County Schools is expanding its virtual program to a soon-to-be K-12 virtual school for local students desiring an alternative educational setting. The district has offered an online format for secondary students for several years but is now launching a virtual public school that services all grade levels. This tuition-free remote instruction model can enroll students from anywhere in the state. School is no longer a place to be physically but a goal to achieve, whether it’s from the comfort of home, the dance studio, a sports field, or while traveling across the globe due to a parent’s job.
“We’ve seen the interest in our virtual program growing for several years now,” said Lyman Woodfin, Superintendent of Autauga County School. “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.”
Autauga County Schools is partnering with Edgenuity, which is an online learning resource that teaches kindergarten through 12th grade in core, elective, credit recovery, technical, and career subjects. All teachers will be employed by Edgenuity initially with the goal of hiring additional district employees in future school years. 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 meeting course benchmarks, only coming to campus - the current Prattville Kindergarten School - for standardized testing as required by the Alabama State Department of Education. While virtual school processes are forthcoming, attendance will be based on platform logins. As the school grows, so will extracurricular and athletic opportunities. For now, any virtual student-athletes that live in Autauga County can play at the school in which they are zoned to attend. For those student-athletes who live outside of the school district, they may continue to play JV sports at the closest district school. “Academics is priority one for us,” mentioned Woodfin. “Long term I do see it being its own school, graduating its own students, and having its own socialization and extracurricular activity opportunities.”
CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE A WAITLIST APPLICATION
For more information, contact Gloria Jerkins, Virtual School Principal.