Myschool online full#

The staff has seen differences in middle schoolers and high schoolers, who have been been taking the classes for six years and work among a larger number of students. “It’s got challenges, but the kids are great.” “Honestly, this is like the best job ever,” Toporski said. “They’ve heard a lot of no’s,” Stamas said. The big goals for are to get students ready for a successful freshman year, and turn around any who are going down a wrong path with their education. “Answering that text is what that kid needs.” Stamas recalls once getting a call from a student on a weekend night. When students have questions outside of school hours, they can contact the teachers via text or email. “The teachers are really funny,” said student Zachary Horton.

Myschool online full#

She attributes that to not having to work along with a class full of distracting students, and getting one-on-one help from teachers who have time to ask how her day is going. “By far this is the best year in school that I’ve had in terms of my grades,” said student Melodi Jones. Having fewer students in class means less stress for them. ”We have the great fortune to do that with fewer students.” “Things can be fine-tuned every day,” Toporski said. Students who need more time in specific study areas can get it in this environment rather having to move ahead with the rest of a class. Instructor Marcy Toporski, who spent 31 years teaching in a regular classroom, has high praise for and sees a simple reason for why it works: “When you have 30 students in a room, you can’t meet the needs of all the students.” A certified English teacher, certified math teacher, a coach and a teaching consultant work with the students two days a week for four hours total.Ī laid-back moment between instructor Jeni Stamas and student Zachary Horton This year 19 eighth-graders and three seventh-graders are enrolled in the class housed at Kent Career Tech Center. Ten students were enrolled during a smaller test of the program the second semester of the 2016-17 school year. “The smile has returned to his face,” Stamas said. One mom told her the class marked the first time since kindergarten her child has wanted to go to school and hasn’t had a panic attack going there. Sitting at a desk six hours a day, five days a week isn’t an ideal learning environment for every student, especially those suffering from anxiety, said instructor Jeni Stamas. The program uses a blended classroom model, where students have classroom time with teachers twice a week and spend the remainder of their school time learning online at home. For some high school students, MySchool helps them take extra classes or make room in a crowded schedule for an activity they want to pursue. A pilot project running this year for middle schoolers, modeled after Kent ISD’s My for high school students, is seeing early success.īoth programs can help students who don’t always do well in typical classroom structures or have special circumstances that make the alternative structure a better way for them to learn.