WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – With most students lined up at the bus stop, parents waiting at school stops and teachers in the classrooms, students attending Wichita Public Schools Imagine Academy will be experiencing a different school day than usual.
Virtual school is catching on in Wichita. Maleah Chadd, one of about 600 students attending virtual school this fall, first opened her laptop and started attending virtual school a year and a half ago.
Wichita Public Schools Imagine Academy offers students flexibility in their learning, and Chad, a high school senior this year, credits his academic success to his virtual school experience.
“I was actually in a car accident and couldn't go to a regular school,” Chad says.
Before virtual classes began, this high school student was in a car accident that kept him from attending class. The pain from the accident meant he couldn't sit through the entire lesson. Chad, a student at Education Imagine Academy, works around his own schedule.
“I wake up and get at least one class done for the day,” Chad explains of his daily schedule, “Then I take a break and clean up, do whatever I need to do, run errands, and then I come back and get my homework done and take a break if I need to.”
The virtual school experience is not like joining a Zoom meeting at 8 a.m.
“A lot of people think of virtual school as it was during the pandemic and people were taking classes remotely,” said Amanda Young, principal of Education Imagine Academy.
But there is more flexibility, which is a good thing for Chad: “I’m actually getting great grades, doing way more homework, and doing better on my homework than I did when I was in school.”
Maleia's mother, Courtney, has noticed a big improvement in her daughter's academic performance since the switch to online classes.
“Malaya has changed a lot,” says Courtney Chadd. “She's always been a good student, but health issues have become a big part of her life and she's started going to school less and less, and then the accident set her back. Since she started here, she's the same old Malaya.”
After graduating, Maleia hopes to study psychology at university and help people with mental health issues.
In virtual school, students are not limited to computers alone. They have the opportunity to meet other students through face-to-face science classes and sports.
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