“I like it but it can be difficult to sit in front of the computer screen for so long,” said Braiden Alford, 10, a fourth grader in the St. Louis Language Immersion School's French program, who attends virtual school on Friday, April 3, 2020, at his desk set up in the family living room in Overland. Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
Regarding “As Missouri sets another virus record, health department calls for St. Louis County schools to start the year online” ( July 31): I want to make sure all Missouri parents are aware that they have virtual programs to choose from through the Missouri Course Access Program. It was a lifesaver for our family last year.
Four years ago, my son had several traumatic experiences, including bullying, here in the Riverview Gardens School District, where we reside. In addition, the district had been unaccredited for more than 10 years. It’s for these reasons I chose to send my children to the Mehlville School District through the student transfer program. When that ended, my students, as well as others, had to return to our district.
I then took advantage of the Missouri Course Access Program that offers full-time online courses to any public school student in Missouri. The program allows parents to choose from 10 different programs that are established virtual providers. We chose Edmentum and Edgenuity since my daughter was familiar with them from when she attended Mehlville schools. My daughter graduated through Missouri Course Access Program with extra credits.
This program gives students an opportunity to receive a quality education outside of brick and mortar schools and provides teachers trained in virtual education.
