shoaglund's blog

Meet Dallas, a K12 student whose display of leadership and service to her community warranted a White House invitation! 

Student Dallas D. was selected as one of twenty youth from across the nation to go to the White House and meet President Obama as one of the winners of the White House Native American Youth Challenge! Dallas submitted an essay about her work with the development of the natural medicines garden at the Tulalip Hibulb museum and helped to teach tribal youth about traditional plants and foods. She also was inspired to start a Youth Gardeners Club to help inspire other kids to garden together with their families. 

I didn't want the day to pass without acknowledging the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. 

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is a day to commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, that brought the U.S. into World War II.  Many American service men and women lost their lives or were injured on December 7, 1941. 

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I have to admit something. When I first started working at K12, my thoughts around the who, what and how of schooling at home – either offline or online – were defined mainly by the media: television shows, newspaper articles, and long-held-stereo-types.  It’s fair to say that I had some serious preconceived notions and lots of questions about this whole “online education” thing. You may have had the same questions -- about socialization, community opportunities and about the quality of education.

Here I am, five years later, to tell you- I have been schooled--schooled in how online education can offer help and hope to kids and their families. I have seen parents, who, when given the opportunity to actively participate in the education of their children, can make all the difference.  I have seen online education work for so many kids and families out there.

Over the past few weeks, I have come across some very inaccurate reporting by some major news organizations about online education. Although the inaccuracies in their reports should be called out,  they highlight an even bigger issue to me, as a parent. The focus needs to be put back on what's in the best interest of our children - not some hunt for a bad guy.

Last year, during my seven year old son’s first grade conference, his teacher shared some concerns with me. She said “Because of class sizes and budget cuts, public school students are required to fit within a box. Any child that falls outside of that box has a harder time succeeding.” 

There are millions of things to be thankful for, and this week I am asking all of our K12 families to take time to consider exactly what you and your family are thankful for. 

I have said it before -- parents are the definition of busy! Many of us don't take time to stop, breathe and appreciate all that we have. This time of year, many of us are busy getting ready for the big Thanksgiving holiday - family to coordinate, houses to clean, a feast to create. Whatever it is -- it just adds on to the already super-sized list of 'to dos".  

For online education families, holidays call for a whole other dimension of organization. How do you get all the holiday prep done AND continue the studies? 

You may recognize this California Virtual Academy high school student from the X Factor, a national singing competition to win a $5 million recording contract with Syco/Sony Music. Rachel is currently in the Top 10 and a crowd favorite. During one of her recent show performances, judge Simon Cowell compared her to one of this generation's most popular artists - Beyonce! Not too shabby for someone who is only 13 years old. I can't even imagine what's in store for her in the year's to come!