Hey, did ya see the front page?

My best friend and her daughter were on the front page of the Star Beacon today!!


"Every day, Jordan Brown marched up the steps of a brick-and-mortar school and into a classroom.
But something was wrong, mom Michelle Brown said.

“Jordan had all these problems at school, problems we couldn’t pin down or work out,” she said. “All the teachers thought she had attention deficit disorder, but that didn’t seem right to me. Later we found out Jordan simply had a lazy eye.”

Michelle Brown, who was taking college courses to become a teacher, made a big decision for her daughter. In second grade, Jordan, now 12, left the public school system and became a student with the Ohio Connections Academy, an online school with 50 students in Ashtabula County.

Michelle Brown warns people that OCA is a new way of learning, not at all like home schooling.
“Don’t associate e-learning with home schooling,” she said. “For example, Jordan has a ‘learning coach,’ her grandpa, who supervises her classes each day. He is not the teacher, he is just there to keep her on task. If she has a question about something, she has a teacher to ask.”

In fact, Michelle Brown became a middle school social studies teacher with OCA, which has only furthered her belief in the e-learning model.

“From a teacher’s perspective, I can spend individual one-on-one time with each student, which is so great,” she said. “We have the freedom to give students that one on one time and each student gets what he or she needs.”

Jordan Brown said she doesn’t miss the pressure of public schools or the social interaction.
“I go to way more social events and field trips than students at public schools,” she said. “But I get to go to class in my slippers and jammies. No one judges me. My classes are about the content and learning, not about what I am wearing and who I am dating. Everyone is equal.”

Jordan says she sees OCA students from across the state at field trips and scheduled activities.
OCA spokesperson Mark Rickel said students who need flexibility with their schedules often choose e-learning.

“A student in dance or theater may need flexibility in their schedule,” he said. “Some students have health needs and need flexibility because they might miss a lot of school. This is an opportunity to take their classes from home.”

For more information on OCA and e-learning, call 800-382-6010 or visit www.connectionsacademy.com."

For those of you wondering, yes, that is the school that two of my kids attend as well. Great school.

Just had to brag. Check out the full article here.