Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
Autauga County Schools is gearing up to house their own virtual school in what ACS is calling Autauga Virtual Academy, which will be open for the 2024-2025 school year.
This online school will be able to facilitate an online school program for K-12 students within the Autauga County School District. The district has offered an online format for secondary students for several years but is now launching a virtual public school that services all grade levels and from anywhere in the state. It is tuition free, as it is a public school.
“While we believe there is tremendous value in the traditional, on-campus learning model, we also recognize the online shift in education that seems to work better for particular student populations. Families are seeking flexible and personalized educational models, and we are proud to support these families by providing innovative approaches to help students discover their passions while mastering the curriculum and skills necessary for success beyond high school,” Superintendent of Autauga County Schools Lyman Woodfin said.
The Autauga Virtual Academy is currently funded by ESSER funds as the system must pay all start-up costs, including personnel costs for the first year, as state and federal educational funding is paid in arrears.
Once the school reaches an enrollment of 250 students, ACS will receive state funding for all school positions the following fiscal year.
“A lot of what we can and cannot do currently hinges on that magic enrollment number of 250. We are really hoping to take just over 100 and grow that into 250 students. At that point, the state recognizes that as a school and we can receive funding and have different opportunities to do fun things,” Autauga County Schools communications coordinator Rebecca Thomas said.
The platform Autauga Virtual Academy will use is called Edgenuity, which is an online learning resource that teaches kindergarten through 12th grade in core, elective, credit recovery, technical and career subjects.
All teachers will be employed by Edgenuity initially with the goal of hiring additional district employees in future school years as the academy grows. The district is also hiring a special education teacher to service virtual school students.
The newly named principal of the Autauga Virtual School is not new to ACS. Gloria Jerkins, a 20-year educational veteran of the district, will be one of only two employees of the new school until it’s fully established.
“I knew in third grade I wanted to either be a teacher or an archaeologist, but teaching just came naturally. I love seeing students realize their potential when they think they can’t and when teachers help them realize that they can, I just love that. I just still love it (teaching) and I don’t feel like I come to work every day, I just do what I love,” Jerkins said.
The virtual school will maintain the same curriculum standards outlined by the Alabama State Department of Education as the district’s brick-and-mortar campuses. Students will be a part of a self-paced program where attendance is monitored by platform logins.
The only time students will be required to come to campus will be for standardized testing as required by the Alabama State Department of Education. The campus that will house this will be the current Prattville Kindergarten School building, once they move to the new building.
School athletics will follow the Tim Tebow Rule, allowing virtual school students to play sports in the school district or zone in which they live.
“I would like for each quarter, once we have a building for us as a school to get together. Even if we have a social gathering or a meeting, maybe even a field trip. It’s important to get together and to do something as a group, by grade levels or as a school. Students do want to feel like they are a part of something, and that’s something that I would like to do going forward,” Jerkins said.
School is no longer a place to be physically but a goal to achieve, whether it’s from the comfort of home, the dance studio, a sports field, or while traveling across the globe due to a parent’s job. School is now anywhere you need it to be.
“It’s really exciting to me because it is unknown. It’s the start of something and I know my last job will be in education. We’re all learning this together, and I’m excited,” Jerkins said.
Enrollment applications are now open for families interested in virtual schooling. Students who’ve already applied for virtual status for the 2024-2025 school year are not required to apply again, but the district is making it available again for anyone who may not have applied previously, especially rising students in grades K-5.
An interest meeting will be held via Zoom July 19th at 11 a.m., more information can be found on the Autauga County Schools Facebook page or on their website, acboe.net/autaugavirtualacademy
