By TESINA JACKSON
Reporter

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Maryetta Schools in Stilwell is wrapping up its first semester of virtual school, which gives students in grades third through eighth the chance to participate in online classes from a home-school setting. 

“We’ve had a lot of good, positive comments from the students that are participating and the parents so I feel like it’s been a good experience so far,” Maryetta Principal Rhonda Brown.  

From their home computers, students interact daily with teachers to complete state-accredited courses. All online courses and curriculum are based on core curriculum standards. 

“Everything that they take is coordinated with the state standards,” Brown said. 

Nancy Neff, who oversees the virtual school, stays in contact with the parents and students. 

“She can monitor how many times the child is logging in, how long they’re staying on because that’s a way of checking roll and keeping up with the students’ progress,” Brown said.

The virtual school was designed for families who consider home schooling and other options to a traditional classroom and have children who want more flexibility regarding time and pace of learning.

For Maryetta parent Dayna Hume, flexibility was exactly what she and her daughter Hayden, a sixth grader, were looking for. Dayna said she looked into the virtual school program after she overheard other parents discussing it this past spring. 

“It was a nice way to have the freedom and flexibility,” Dayna said.

Due to Hayden’s busy scheduled, which includes two to four nights of ballet and 4-H, Dayna found the regular school schedule difficult to manage.

“It was a nightmare,” Dayna said. “We were until midnight doing homework and then back up at 6:30 to catch the bus at 7:05. It was just neverending and I thought ‘there’s got to be something easier than this.’” 

The only drawback that Dayna and Hayden found with the virtual school was that when it shows videos, the videos are displayed very small, Dayna said. 

The virtual school provides its own curriculum and it allows the students to do their lessons and homework at their own pace and during any time of the day. 

 “Students seem to love it because they can move at their own rate,” Brown said. “As the master things, they move on instead of waiting for other children to catch up. They can move on to the next content.”

The virtual schooling was also designed for families who have children who would like individualized attention and education or have children with unusual schedules.

“It also helps some students and parents realize that maybe that the virtual is not for them because it does take some self-discipline, motivation to stay up with everything, keep on task,” Brown said. “So we’ve had a couple of those situations arise where they realize that their child actually needs sit time and actual physical instruction instead of virtual.” 

Although the students can’t participate in athletics, they can still participate in other after school programs such as 4-H, music and fine arts programs. 

“One good thing is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, since I dance on the other days, I can go to school to go to 4-H for sewing,” Hayden said. “We’re thinking about maybe having one day where I go to sewing and one day I go to music because I really like going to music. After I get done going to those I go to the Boys and Girls Club and see all of my friends. I’m not disconnected from my friends. I there with them a lot.” 

There are currently eight students who are participating in the virtual school – two seventh graders, two sixth graders, three fifth graders and one third-grader.

Hayden, 11, currently has all A’s in most subjects and a B in math and has no plans to return to school anytime soon.

“I love it,” she said. “It’s awesome.”

tesina-jackson@cherokee.org
918-453-5000, ext. 6139