Can you imagine getting an associate degree before you even graduates her online high school? Fifteen year old student, Lauren M. has received her associates degree in Science weeks before she will graduate Ohio Virtual Academy and before she even has her driver's license. 

Lauren will be attending Miami University in the fall, entering as a junior on a full-ride scholarship.  Her future plans include attending medical school to become a neurologist,  a field she was inspired to pursue after experiencing her grandfather's experience with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Lauren Misel.  Photo by the Newark Advocate.

Online Education is still a very nebulous concept to many people out there, even though there are literally hundreds of thousands of students currently attending school online in one form or another across the country and around the world.   And for those of us ‘in the know’ about online education, we have witnessed how it much it can help a once struggling student, thrive and succeed.  

How do we, collectively as a community, help spread the word about online education so that it no longer seems like an “out there” concept and becomes a viable option for parents looking to address their child’s unique educational needs?

Agora Cyber Charter School (Agora) music teacher Andrew Rinaldi has been named the 2013 national winner of the American Pioneer of Teaching competition. The award is given annually by PublicSchoolOptions.org, a national alliance of parents, students and teachers that supports and defends parents' rights to access the best public school options for their children.

The American Pioneer of Teaching competition recognizes top performing K-12 teachers who work in nontraditional public schools, such as virtual, charter and magnet schools. Thousands of students, parents and teachers from across the country cast online votes through Facebook to determine the winner of the award, which is held each year in honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week.

Meet K¹² parent and learning coach Jill, who chose online schooling for her daughter because it gave her the flexibility her family needed to accomodate her serious illness. 

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week!

Many of us have special memories of that one teacher, or if you were lucky, a group of teachers that really left their mark on our childhood. They inspired us, put their faith in us, made us feel special and with their support, made us feel that there was nothing we couldn't do. Think about the influence and impact teachers have on the development of our children. Great teachers recognize that it's a partnership with parents that works best and together they teach them, help develop their knowledge, and lend support and inspiration so they grow up having all the opportunities available to lead a successful life, whatever that looks like to them.