During the pandemic, education in America and all over the world changed. Schoolhouses went from being filled with students to parents setting up small areas for kids to log on and participate in learning from home.

While many have chosen to send their kids back to school, many found that digital education was a better fit for their child. Cumberland Academy is the only virtual school in Cumberland County. They are hosting an open house for parents interested in learning more about virtual education and how it can benefit their children on Jan. 11th at 5:30 p.m. virtually using the link https://bit.ly/3FxniVD or by visiting their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cumberlandacademy6.12.

Cumberland Academy is a part of the Cumberland County School District and adheres to state law and testing requirements.

They offer grades K-12, with a split program from grades K-5 and 6-12. A common misconception about virtual schools is the interaction between teachers and students and inter-student interaction. Students log on daily and are taught by a live teacher in a “classroom.”

Teachers must meet state education and license requirements to be employed by the school. Cameras are required to be on at all times during live instructional time and “break-out” rooms facilitate student group work and allow students the socialization that normally comes from being in a face-to-face environment. Cumberland Academy Vice Principal Estella Johnson is proud of her school and all they have accomplished. She looks forward to greeting more students this upcoming school year.

“Right now is enrollment season for the choice programs of Cumberland County Schools so we are having a parent night…it is virtual. We share information about our sister school Cumberland Academy K-5…applications are open now until February 1st,” said Johnson.

Virtual school is not for every student.

Johnson said, “it all depends on your child and what your child needs. We have students with a plethora of needs. Students that may be with us because of medical needs, we have students because of mental health needs, such as anxiety; for a lot of the kids, post-pandemic, they just aren’t in a place where they want to be in a building. Maybe your child is a little intrinsic, a little different, it’s a way they are safe from bullying and things like that. Maybe you are a home school parent and you’re just getting to that point where common core math is not your friend or you don’t remember this part or this is not your strong suit,” she said.

“You literally have someone else who can do the work for you but it’s not like the pandemic. That’s the biggest thing we want to stress… We aren’t just throwing work at your child and they don’t have a teacher. They have a live teacher every single day. Those teachers have Google Voice numbers and they are very receptive for you to call, text, and email, we also have a day where we have just office hours.

You can pop in if you need help. We believe in doing parent-teacher conferences during progress reports because, at the report card, it’s too late.”

Digital teaching and learning is Cumberland Academy’s brand. It is the core of everything they do, from picking the best teachers to establishing programs that will prepare their students for the next generation of jobs in the digital world.

Cumberland Academy also creates a social environment for its students.

“We want to make sure students still feel like students. So in our in our instructional practices we make sure we have a lot of group or small group assignments, even things we call Pick Pair Share. We are quick to put them in a breakout room with another student and discuss their thoughts and then come back and share...we have clubs. Even though we are virtual, weekly our students have clubs…They have everything from culinary arts, crafting, National Honors Society, SGA, all the clubs, all the things. They meet once a week…We have Meet Up Mondays, so the second Monday of every month we meet in person.” Johnson said.

For more information on Cumberland Academy, visit the website https://www.ccs.k12.nc.us/ca6-12.