At an online charter school, one high-achiever hit his stride
A 15-year-old STEM star, youth soccer referee and budding guitarist flourishes without following the brick-and-mortar schooling model
By WP BrandStudio
Zuriel Johnson has always loved to learn. Back when the Atlanta-based tenth grader was in kindergarten, he used to ask teachers for homework at the private school he attended — even though kindergarteners don’t usually do homework.
“I always wanted more of a challenge, something that would help grow my mind,” he said.
Eager to keep Zuriel engaged, his mother, Nyema, tried homeschooling him for a year. She and her husband, Mwamba, liked the acceleration and enrichment of homeschooling for their gifted son, but they were concerned he’d miss out on the structure and social interaction of brick-and-mortar schools.
Eventually, the Johnsons found a solution that gave them the best of both worlds: Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA), a virtual public charter school powered by the technology-based education company K12 Inc. that serves approximately 9,000 students throughout Georgia. The Johnsons realized that GCA would allow Zuriel the flexibility, rigor and pace he was seeking while providing the routine his parents wanted for him. He enrolled in GCA in second grade and has been thriving there ever since.
“GCA has met my needs way better than other schools could,” Zuriel said. He’s been able to take more challenging courses, explore his interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), and learn computer skills and time management. And Nyema – who also enrolled her four younger children at the school – agrees that GCA has been essential to Zuriel’s success.
“It gives us that personalized education we felt he, and all our children, needed,” she said.
What is a virtual public school?
Virtual schools like GCA are different from brick-and-mortar public schools; students attend class, complete schoolwork and participate in extracurricular activities without traveling to a school building. It’s not homeschooling, either, which involves parents acting as the sole instructor, gathering curriculum and materials, planning lessons and grading tests entirely on their own. Instead, virtual public schools offer a middle ground: Parents and teachers work in partnership to deliver the online curriculum and materials provided by the school.
At GCA, students are also taught by licensed teachers and have access to administrators and guidance counselors. They take assessment tests and adhere to school attendance policies. Online classes are offered in real time and are also recorded and available on demand, which allows students to access them if they miss a class or need to review.
For gifted students like Zuriel, online schooling may allow them to progress at a pace that makes most sense for them; they can enroll in the classes they want to take in addition to the classes required to earn a high school diploma. And many online schools offer students electives and advanced courses that their local brick-and-mortar schools may not be able to provide.
“Online learning allows students who are accelerated to move faster through courses than they might be able to in a brick-and-mortar school,” said Margaret Jorgenson, Ph.D., K12’s chief academic officer. Students can spend more or less time on lessons depending on their need, while being held accountable by school staff to move from one grade level to the next.
And by taking these accelerated courses at home, students don’t encounter potentially negative social pressure or challenges, noted Brandi Maynard, senior manager of professional development and training at K12. Additionally, eligible students have the opportunity to take honors or Advanced Placement® courses, and can build confidence by taking courses in the online learning environment at home. These students “can really personalize their educational program without the stigma” of being different from other students, Maynard said.
Zuriel agrees. “You don’t have to be distracted by the peer pressure to do what everyone else is doing,” he said. “You’re thinking about your own interests, figuring out what you want to do academically.”
The structure of a brick-and-mortar school, from the comfort of his home
Zuriel and his siblings — Zoey (14), Zion (11), Zaccheus (10) and Zuri (7) — start their day together at GCA. Nyema said the structure of a daily routine, of waking up and getting ready together, is crucial.
“It’s not just, ‘Oh, you can start whenever you feel like it,’” she said.
Once his school day is set to begin, Zuriel logs onto his K12-provided computer to take courses in world literature, world history, physics, pre-calculus, computer science and Spanish via a live-instructional platform, which includes interactive lessons and a chat box for interacting with teachers and other students during scheduled class sessions. He can also use materials and books sent to him by K12 to accompany the curriculum being delivered by his teachers online. And he can reach his teachers by phone or email, if he needs to.
In between classes, Zuriel works on assignments or projects, making the most of his spare time and finishing all his schoolwork by the time he wraps up at 3 pm. That means the afternoons are his; he has time to practice soccer with his local team and referee games for six- and seven-year-olds; hang out with his friends and neighbors; attend Bible study, and volunteer in his church’s sound department. Recently, he also started learning how to play the guitar he received last Christmas; some afternoons, he’ll sit in his bedroom and pluck away at the chords, immersing himself in yet another new challenge.
Making the most of every moment
One major advantage of having time to explore his interests is that Zuriel has been able to learn more about STEM inside and outside of school.
“STEM is my thing,” he said. He’s been into building and problem-solving ever since he was little; he used to love taking empty boxes from around the house and rearranging them into various structures. It wasn’t until he was able to explore STEM work at GCA that he realized he could turn that interest into a career.
He showed so much promise in his STEM courses that a counselor at GCA recommended him for a highly selective, three-year college-prep program for underrepresented high school students at Morehouse College called SMASH (Summer Math and Science Honors) Academy, which he enrolled in last year. The program includes a five-week summer residency that allows Zuriel to take more classes in STEM-related subjects, including computer science and engineering design challenges. Combined with his exposure to the online learning environment, SMASH Academy will put him in a good place to enter today’s job market, which is increasingly digital and science-driven.
Zuriel faces an exceptionally bright future — he has a stellar GPA, a supportive family and has already formed strong connections at Morehouse College, one of his dream schools. He’s also a passionate and driven person who, with the help of GCA, is reaching his full potential.
“[GCA’s] courses and curriculum are challenging, but I’ve always wanted a challenge,” he said, ever since he was that kindergartener demanding more work. “And they give that to me every day.”
