iQ Academy all online
Kent students in grades 7-12 will have an another alternative to brick-and-mortar classrooms come next school year.
They’ll be able to go to school in their bedroom, at the coffee shop or even beneath the Puget Sound. All they need is a computer.
iQ Academy Washington celebrated the launch of its statewide online school July 18 in Seattle, sending one of its administrators scuba diving “to class” with a laptop at the bottom of the Puget Sound. The kick-off stunt was intended to demonstrate the flexibility of an iQ education.
The nontraditional school offers tuition-free education, small-group instruction and one-on-one feedback from certified Washington teachers, all online using a school-issued laptop.
The academy is a division of KC Distance Learning, Inc., and operates as part of the Evergreen Public School District. The statewide program has stemmed from the success of Evergreen Internet Academy, an online school in operation since 1999, and similar to the online program now offered at Kent Phoenix Academy, called Kent Virtual High School.
In addition to the flexibility of studying wherever a student wants, Pamela Kislak, iQ vice-president of marketing, listed several advantages she thinks the “virtual classroom” has over the traditional classroom.
“It really allows students to excel at their own pace,” Kislak said. “This is good for students who want more time to work on specific subjects. They can work on things they struggle with at a slower pace.”
She said the school also allows students to pursue more time-consuming, extracurricular activities.
“For example, if a student strives to be a professional ballerina, they could do their practicing during the day and then do all their classwork at night,” she said.
The iQ curriculum also offers an advantage, she said. Though students sacrifice the ability to take hands-on electives like wood shop or auto mechanics, a wider variety of honors and Advanced Placement classes, foreign-language classes and other technology classes are available online.
“That’s one of the benefits of the program,” Kislak said. “The curriculum is very broad, and electives aren’t as limited.”
And she said students aren’t being taught by a machine. Teachers are accessible by phone or e-mail, and each class is taught by the same teacher throughout the year. A software program, called Elluminate, allows teachers to draw on a “whiteboard” on the computer screen during class sessions — sessions that are recorded so students can log in and observe them at their own pace.
Students stay on track with a learning plan they design in concert with their teachers at the beginning of the year, and parents aren’t left out of the loop.
“We also have a lot of support for parents, so parents can stay abreast of their student’s achievement,” Kislak said.
Once enrolled, students receive the required textbooks for their courses, a monthly Internet stipend and optional use of a laptop computer. The supplies are provided to students at no cost for as long as they are enrolled in the academy.
The school is now enrolling students for the 2008-2009 school year.
Kent students and their families will have a chance to learn more about the program and enroll at an open house event from 2-3:30 p.m. Aug. 3 at the Best Western Plaza by the Green, located at 24415 Russell Road.
For more information, visit www.iqacademywa.com or call 888-899-4792.
Contact Daniel Mooney at 253-437-6012 or dmooney@reporternewspapers.com.
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