- CCS News
- Homepage
Digital Learning Day - Columbus City Schools' Online Academy Empowers Young Learners and Educators
February 23, 2023 -- Mai’arah Sullivan of Walnut Ridge High School was just a freshman when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, putting the world on pause.
To her surprise, Sullivan discovered that she retained more information, earned higher grades, and performed better online while at home. Sullivan is now a current sophomore at Columbus Online Academy.
Digital learning was her path to success. “I could graduate on time or even early if I continued to do online school,” said Sullivan. With the support of her parents, Sullivan enrolled as a full-time student at the Columbus Online Academy.
First introduced by the Alliance for Excellent Education in 2012, Digital Learning Day is recognized nationally on the last Thursday of February. Digital learning actively uses technology and instructional practice to enable learning anytime, anywhere.
“We have a lot of students who are with us because the brick-and-mortar didn’t fit their learning [style],” said Rob Losee, K-8 principal. “We are able to take every student as unique as they are and meet their needs.”
Maddy Jordan, a freshman, believes the school provides a unique setting to address the difficulties of balancing school and home life. “It’s an important [option] so that students can still learn and they don’t have to worry,” she said.
Still, online learning has its challenges. WiFi limitations, Zoom malfunctions, and charged Chromebooks are only some of the technical difficulties students and staff may encounter daily.
“There’s a limit to how much control you have as a teacher,” said Bednar-Warren. “They don’t have any control over their physical learning space.
Students get creative with their at-home environments by using pillows as desks or attending class from the only quiet room in the house - the bathroom.
“We’re teaching them that they’ve got to solve problems,” said Michelle Scott, a kindergarten teacher. “That’s setting them up to be successful in society.”
The school without walls aims to prepare students for the technologically advancing world that they exist in.
“Our students have to be prepared for the world they now exist in,” said Bednar-Warren. “It also adds opportunities and options for families who have not had lots of options.”
Students who attend Columbus Online Academy follow the same curriculum as those who attend classes in a traditional setting and have the same opportunities. Students who wish to participate in extra-curricular activities may do so from the school closest to their house.
“They have the same opportunities as any other student in Columbus,” said Principal Losee.
According to Losee, teachers can teach from satellite locations across the city, including public libraries, museums, and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. “The teachers do habitat lessons in the zoo. The students can see polar bears live at the zoo during their lesson,” he said. “We’re able to bring in so many unique perspectives.”
When they’re not teaching from these satellite locations, the teachers are in a traditional school building with their office-like set-up for digital learning. Teachers and their students log onto Zoom each morning, excited for the day.
“The students have a big sense of community. They want to come to class. They’ve built a community on Zoom,” said Kay Mccargish-Jacobs, a third-grade teacher. “We are a community.”