Snapshots of Success: How Sofia Labeko Took Charge of Her Life and Schooling
Welcome to this special series on the thinktanK12 blog, where you can meet students, parents, and educators who are discovering the power of learning with K12.
I’m always surprised at the maturity of K12 high school students. They seem to have this picture of the life they want to lead and see K12 as a way to help them get there.
And although Sofia Labeko is one of many mature and talented K12 students, she’s also pretty unique: Sofia was among the first graduating class of K12’s San Francisco Flex Academy in California, which opened in 2010.
Now, she’s in her second semester at the University of Rhode Island, where she was recruited for her accomplished rowing skills—something she wouldn’t have been able to refine without the flexibility of the academy. In fact, because of the SF Flex’s flexible scheduling, Sofia was able to make it to crew practice six nights a week after school.
San Francisco Flex Academy is a public school with a hybrid learning approach that combines a dedicated facility with online learning. Students like Sofia attend school in downtown San Francisco five days a week and log on to K12’s online learning system to take an individualized schedule of classes from online instructors. They also have access to on-site teachers for small group sessions and if they need additional help.
When Sofia first found out about SF Flex, she and her mom attended an in-person information session. “My mom liked how many courses the academy offered,” Sofia says. “I liked that too.” Her favorite course was AP Psychology. “I learned a lot from it. My teacher was really nice and took great care with all of her students. One time, I forgot to turn in a paper, and she called me numerous times to see if I needed additional help,” she notes. “I loved all of the teachers there.”
Sofia initially sought out another schooling option because of the rigidness of traditional brick and mortar public schools. “There’s structure at Flex, but it’s not like teachers are yelling at you ‘Oh, don’t be late for class!’” she says. “It put me in more in charge of my school.”
“It taught me responsibility,” she adds. “I didn’t have someone telling me when everything was due all the time. It really taught me to do everything on time and ask questions.” Plus, Sofia struggled in math, and at SF Flex, she was able to work through other subjects more quickly and spend more time on courses like pre-calculus and trigonometry.
Her best memory of her time at SF Flex, though, was when she served as chief editor of the school newspaper. “That was really cool,” she says. “It was stressful, but the whole team would get together and think of articles to put out.” Her time on the school paper contributed to her college major: communication, with a minor in public relations.
Those who don’t understand the public “Flex School” model wonder whether students are getting enough socialization, because they tend to study more on their own. “People would always ask if I felt isolated,” Sofia says. “But it’s not really like that. I knew everyone at school. And you weren’t sure who was in what grade, so there were no cliques or things like that.”
Ultimately, the “flex” part of the Academy struck a chord with Sofia. As she says, “the whole experience was really personal and flexible.” With those key ingredients, Sofia was able to become passionate about learning.
But perhaps the best aspect of Sofia’s success story is that it’s just one of many. This is why we created the Snapshots of Success series. It’s a way for everyone to see just what students can accomplish in the right environment.
We see great things happening for you, Sofia. Good luck!
Related Links
thinktanK12 blog: Student Success Stories
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