Student Stories
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What happens to a dream deferred? If you ask Bridget Watkins, she will probably say they can still come true if you are willing to go for it. Thirteen years after she was denied a high school diploma by the Ohio Catholic school she attended as a teenager, Bridget completed her graduation requirements and received her diploma from William V. Fisher Catholic High School in Lancaster, Ohio, this past fall.
Hats off to Aaronisha Washington, a former J.S. Clark Leadership Academy student, who recently completed police academy training and is now a member of the Opelousas, Louisiana, police force. Even though Aaronisha came to J.S. Clark behind and wondering if a GED was her only path forward, school founder Tiffanie Lewis believed this young lady could make it and enrolled her in online courses with Village Virtual.
Brooks Jackson started his freshman year at Chattanooga Christian right on track for an amazing high school experience. Always an honors student, Brooks probably never envisioned that attending classes, completing homework and projects, and making good grades would ever be anything other than routine. However, reaching to catch a baseball completely changed that perspective when Brooks landed hard on the left side of his head and sustained a traumatic brain injury.
Anna Hudson set a record for Village Virtual students this summer: she completed her Personal Finance course in less than two weeks with an almost perfect average in the course! Anna said the self-paced nature of online learning was what she liked most about her experience. “Once I started doing it, I didn’t want to stop until I had finished a chapter. I liked that you could do what was best for you. My days are busy, so I loved being able to work in the course at night.”
Chanel is a freshman student at JS Clark Leadership Academy. She is currently enrolled in five Village Virtual courses, which she completes from home. Chanel has a passion for science, and told us she is happiest studying the subject “whether it be biology or chemistry, or any branch of science.”
Journey Prince “displays the desire to achieve greatness,” says Career Exploration teacher Kevin Varner of this 8th grader in his class at Tyner Middle Academy. “Journey is highly motivated to complete assignments,” he continues and notes that the student has completed her Career Exploration course for high school credit one month ahead of her course end date!
Santana-Lin is a sophomore at Mt. Hermon School in Franklinton, Louisiana, who loves learning a foreign language. Completing her Spanish I course in record time, this Village Virtual Stellar Student will complete Spanish II this spring and free up her schedule for other electives next year.
When Lavane Anderson enrolled in our Education for Careers course this fall, he was on a mission to meet his peers in twelfth grade by Spring 2019. This was no small feat, and Lavane knew he would have to tackle this goal head-on. And after putting in a tremendous amount of hard work, he's now ready to graduate high school in May 2019.
When Malone Maddox made the decision to begin homeschooling her daughter, Lainey, she realized that as a full-time working mom, she needed options. Malone turned to Village Virtual to find the courses that Lainey would need to successfully complete her education.
Ashely Sabo (above with daughter Taylor) said she was so pleased with Taylor's focus on her course and ownership of the experience. "This experience gave some structure to her day. She put herself on a schedule, contacted her teacher when she needed to, and even took the initiative to retake assignments for a better grade."
"My daughter is LOVING Village Virtual. Truly, the best homeschooling experience she has had!" (Julie Edwards, mother of Emily Asciola)
“Village Virtual helped me get into my dream college,” says Emily Asciolla, a homeschool graduate who recently completed her senior year of study with Village Virtual.
“My name is Tracy Louque and I am a senior in the class of 2014. I made the decision to attend Village Virtual because I suffered with classroom anxiety. During the semester that I attended Village Virtual, the teachers were very supportive. They made my learning environment as most comfortable for me as possible and they really showed compassion.”
"I wanted to just send you a quick note to tell you how much my niece LOVED your English 11 course. . . She told me more than once that she learned more in the class than any other English class she has ever taken…She loved the format, the presentations, and surprisingly, she was extremely motivated to retake quizzes and assignments until she had mastered them.”
Jeanie Rodgers (above with grandson Cadin) said that she believed Cadin's success in the course built his confidence as a learner and she loved the affirmation of learning that was so much more immediate in the online environment.
" I have LOVED online learning though Village Virtual. My freshman and sophomore year in public school was terrible. I was taking all honors classes but learning nothing. . . . I spent the majority of my time in public school bored out of my mind. By the time I reached the end of my sophomore year, I knew something had to give.”
A happy JSCLA graduate Aaronisha Washington earned her NRF Customer Service & Sales Credential as part of her Entrepreneurship course but all others at JS Clark prepared for their successful exam through their Marketing course.
“We were all nervous to start something new and at first didn’t exactly understand all of the expectations,” says Christa Bradford, parent to Sequatchie County High School junior, Carter Bradford. “Learning to communicate with teachers in a virtual environment was something new to figure out and we worried it wouldn’t be as effective as in-person communication. But we found that constructive critiques and positive reassuring feedback from teachers really helped with our son’s reading was a great aid to his success.”