Full-time students are assigned to a home school and can participate in sports and clubs, and visit the in-person lab if they want. Others thrive at home with fewer distractions and some prefer learning at their own pace. Students like the program for various reasons: They attend because of scheduling conflicts with work or other classes the academy offers classes they can’t take at their school. “At the heart of our purpose and why students come to us is the idea of student choice and voice,” said Stephen Chamberlin, program administrator for virtual instruction. The program has 524 full-time students and about another 900 part-time. Though the division saw enrollment dip from 2021-22 to 2022-23, numbers have held steady this year and officials say they are seeing success. The program has 164 students enrolled.Ĭhesapeake isn’t changing its academy. The division began the FLEx Program for K-6 students to align with the curriculum and is continuing with it because it has seen higher achievement among some students. Kellie Goral, Hampton City Schools’ spokesperson, said the division will continue offering free individual courses through Virtual Virginia and Edgenuity to students with specific course needs for graduation. Next year, secondary students who want to remain fully virtual will have to pay, though they will get a discounted rate. But those funds will end in September and full-time enrollment is low. Hampton also offered a virtual option for grades 7-12 through a partnership with Virtual Virginia, paid for with pandemic relief funds. She’s also disappointed that parental input wasn’t sought before the change. She plans to attend a webinar scheduled by the division to get some answers. She also doesn’t know if her son is ready to return to a traditional school setting either. Matthews doesn’t know whether Virtual Virginia - which serves students across the state -will be personalized enough to give the support her son needs.

“They enabled him to navigate this new chapter of his life more smoothly,” she said. Last week, however, Newport News announced it would close its academy it has 481 students.

It also opened FLEx, a fully virtual option for K-6 students. Hampton City Schools had a part-time plan with Virtual Virginia before the pandemic and launched a full-time program when students returned from the division’s shutdown. Newport News started its Virtual Learning Academy after schools reopened and students could go to school once a week. In Chesapeake, where a virtual academy had been planned and set to open in 2024, the program opened ahead of schedule. Most students and teachers happily returned to in-person learning, while some preferred online. But the learning landscape changed in the aftermath. The concept was not new, though: Several area schools had outside vendors offering courses. When the pandemic hit four years ago, schools across the country were thrown into virtual learning. Some Hampton Roads school divisions will scale back virtual programs next school year because of declining enrollment, limited funding and options they believe are better for students.

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