No classroom? Not a problem

Students find online school to be ticket to success

Peter Marcus, DDN Staff Writer

Thursday, July 16, 2009

At 18 years old, Tanya Proutt is already ahead of her class.

She owns five acres of property in Fort Garland, which she plans on developing. Working as a waitress in a local Fort Garland diner, Proutt has been developing dreams of not only her property, but also becoming a veterinarian and opening her own clinic.

Unfortunately, she said the public schools system in Fort Garland was a miserable experience for her. Teachers were leaving substitutes without lesson plans, fellow students were distracting — it was not the type of education she needed to move ahead to college.

“But I told myself dropping out was not an option,” said Proutt. “In order to get to where I want to go, I have to finish my education.”

That’s when she and her family started looking around for options. They came across Insight School of Colorado, an online public high school where she could earn more than just a GED — she could earn an actual high school diploma through the online network.

Immediately, Proutt found the educational experience to be much more positive than the one she was receiving in Fort Garland.

“The teachers were always there. If I had a problem I could contact that teacher. I also had an iMentor who called two days a week and who tried to help me as much as possible,” she said. “They always made sure I was on top of it.”

The best part is the entire education was provided tuition-free thanks to a partnership between the eastern Colorado Julesburg School District and Insight, Inc. Proutt was even provided with a laptop.

Insight now has its sights set on the one in four Colorado students who are dropping out of high school. The online public high schools network has launched DropoutAnswers.com, a service provided to teens who have dropped out, or are thinking about doing so. The Web site provides resources for getting those kids back into school.

“Most students who drop out of high school actually have passing grades,” explains Denise Perrault, executive director of Insight School of Colorado. “Unfortunately, a number of challenges cause students to drop out — from family illnesses and economic issues to different learning styles. We’re hoping DropoutAnswers.com will be a way to reach those kids and let them know their options.”

This May, nine students graduated from Insight School of Colorado. One of them was Jessica Burkhart, a Denver resident who was home-schooled before landing on the online school.

“I loved it,” she said yesterday. “The teachers were great, the principal, the mentor I had was awesome. They helped me through everything, it was an amazing experience.”

“If I were to just get my GED, I probably wouldn’t get a good job,” continued Burkhart. “Now that I’ve got my diploma, I’ll probably get a better job.”

As for Proutt, she is already enrolled in college at Adams State College in Alamosa. She has plans to eventually transfer to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs where she hopes to take pre-veterinary and business courses in order to open her own clinic one day.

“I went from where I wasn’t getting a good education to getting what I want — going to college,” she said.

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