"There’s something that’s so soothing about being able to just get work done on your own time, like plugging in, listening to music and just having the time to be able to do that," said Kennedy, 10th grader, Northville High School.
Northville Public Schools supports online learning. We pride ourselves on forward movement on innovative uses of technology to support learning.
"Students have the option to take multiple virtual online learning classes and it really gives them the opportunities that we might not be able to provide just because of staffing and certifications. So things like American Sign Language or Marine Science, so it gives kids options and flexibility in choosing courses that they really want to take throughout the year that interests them," explains Stacy Vespremi, Online Learning Facilitator, Northville High School.
"When I was looking at the scheduling things that we could do for when coming into high school I noticed you could take virtual options and I was like going through them and I found a Intro to Fashion Design class. And fashion is something that really interests me, I think it’s cool. I like to participate in theatre and I know we do a lot of costume work in there. I’ve always thought that was something really cool that we do. So I was curious and interested in it. It turned out I could take that class and have it in a virtual room. So I ended up taking it and I actually really like my class," said Kennedy.
Right now, more than 400 students at our high school are taking online classes through two different platforms.
"Right now we have teachers usually within the state of Michigan. We have two platforms that we’re currently using called Michigan Virtual and Edgenuity and so those teachers are again certified in the state of Michigan and provide the courses whether the teacher lives in Bay City or Traverse City, so they’re online virtual courses, do the grading, do the assessment and instruction and then we here again facilitate and make sure that those courses are aligned to our curriculum and standards and transport the grades and do the scheduling and things like that throughout the year," explains Ms. Vespremi. "Moving forward we’d love to see more of our teachers take the reins on those types of classes so we could really provide support to our students both in school and outside of school in a blended environment."
Northville High School does have a designated classroom for students with online classes.
"Virtually learning, at times, if I want to do it and want to really get it done and want to get motivated I just come to class and do it. But at home, I actually really stay focused there as well. So I do it both at home and in class," said Shayan, 12th grader, Northville High School.
"It’s so nice that you can come in or not come in whenever you need to based on your own needs. It kind of teaches you about responsibility and time budgeting because there is a schedule within the course but at least in my course none of it is all due until the end of the semester. So you have to know how to budget your time and when to do courses and when to not do them, maybe work on other work," said Kennedy.
And this is just the beginning of a blooming learning experience. For more information about the virtual options offered at the high school visit the Online Learning webpage.