2017 January PASO Magazine

EDUCATION & YOUTH
DISTRICT OFFERS COLLEGE-PREP COURSES FOR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ONLINE
INTRODUCING THE PASO ROBLES ONLINE ACADEMY
EDUCATION ON THE CUTTING EDGE
By Meagan Friberg
With a motto of Education on the
Cutting Edge, the Paso Robles Online
(PRO) Academy is gearing up for the
spring semester and accepting new applications.
The PRO Academy, offered
through the Paso Robles Joint Unified
School District, is a free, online, public
high school program for students seeking
a personalized alternative to the traditional
school environment.
“We’ve been looking at ways
that we can enhance enrollment and
program opportunities at our high
school,” said PRJUSD Superintendent
Chris Williams. “This is a district-supported
program and the courses are
college-preparatory – they are all approved
for enrollment in a 4-year university
directly after high school. This
is a fantastic opportunity for some of
our families.”
Overseeing the PRO
Academy is District Teacher
on Special Assignment Alisha
Lewis, who is currently
in her 15th year of teaching.
Over the past four years,
Lewis developed and grew
a similar program at Visalia
Unified and is excited to
bring her experience to the
Central Coast.
“Alisha’s passion and purpose is
incredible,” said Williams. “She’s
seen so many tremendous results with
what she was able to do in the past in
Visalia that we wanted to bring those
same opportunities to students and
families in Paso Robles and San Luis
Obispo County.”
Williams praised the members of
the PRJUSD Board for their support of
the new venture, saying, “Our board
of trustees continues to demonstrate
commitment to student success by
supporting educational programs that
are revolutionary.”
Instrumental in the development
and launch of the Online Academy,
according to Lewis, are: Principal
of Independence and Liberty High
School Nate Maas, Director of Curriculum
Dana Budd, and Director of Secondary
Education Jen Gaviola. In addition,
she said members of the PRO
Alisha Lewis
Academy district committee have
been extremely helpful – Joan Lachowsky,
Ronalee Andersen, Denise
Conte, Kristin Barter, Fred Kloepper,
Babette Decou, Mark Bradford, Mike
Delbar and Paula Warnes.
“We did a soft roll-out with a few
students this fall, but our true roll-out
is happening in January,” said Lewis.
“The most important piece that I
brought with me here to Paso Robles
is the idea of that human connection;
there are other online programs that
claim to be personalized but the students
don’t really know their teachers
or interact with them face-to-face.”
COLLEGE PREP COURSES
The PRO Academy follows the
same graduation requirements as the
other high schools in PRJUSD with
the difference being the flexibility in
scheduling. Lewis and Williams are
certain that there are many families
county-wide that can benefit from the
flexibility – along with the rigor and the
challenges – of the PRO Academy.
“As we talked with families in the
community, many are looking for a
more non-traditional setting but with
the idea of having this under the umbrella
of the district,” said Lewis. “The
district has a good foundation in the
community and a good reputation;
families know their
kids are going to be safe.
This gives them the opportunity
to stay with Paso Robles
Unified but still have a unique
online opportunity – it’s really
exciting.”
Williams said the PRO
Academy is a chance to be
one of the only online high
schools and academies that provides
‘a-g’ courses in SLO County. The
teachers in each subject area are high-
ly-qualified by the State of California
to teach the curriculum, and the curriculum
meets the California education
standards as well as the California
State University/University of California
admission requirements.
Lewis wants to be clear – the PRO
Academy is not a shortcut! Some may
have the misconception that students
log in once a week or sleep in everyday
– but this couldn’t be further from the
truth, according to Lewis. There are
daily expectations and students are
taking rigorous, college prep, UC-approved
courses.
“They are thinking critically, writing
papers, and researching online,” said
Lewis. “One of the skills that I am excited
about bringing to the students is
the idea of using the Internet for academic
reasons as opposed to just for
social activities. They will be able to
look at the Internet in a different way;
they’ll be problem-solvers and find
resources that they need to solve academic
problems – those skills transfer
directly to college and the workplace.”
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES
IN ONLINE SETTING
Students enrolled in the PRO Academy
will be issued a Chromebook
and, in addition to the online courses,
may choose to take visual and
performing arts and career technical
education courses at Paso Robles
High School. Students may also dual
enroll in enrichment courses at Cuesta
College and, because of the flexibility
in scheduling, log into their classes either
day or night.
“Every type of class that a high
school student would find in a traditional
setting is available – anything
that is offered in our district for secondary
students we have an online
option,” said Lewis. “Science is offered
online and the students will
come in for hands-on labs during the
semester. Anything a student needs
to be prepared for a university will be
offered online.”
Enrolled students meet with a designated
online teacher once weekly for
one to two hours to take tests, have
access to tutoring, and work together
to develop the weekly assignment
sheet. Throughout the rest of the
week, students work independently to
complete the assignments. With online
courses, students have the flexibility to
complete assignments anywhere and
anytime as they work towards their diploma
– ideal for those that may work
during the day, travel with their families,
have auditions for performing or
visual art careers, compete in rodeos,
or care for an ill family member.
ONGOING ENROLLMENT
“We are really excited to be able
to offer this option to families in our
area,” said Lewis. “Although sign-ups
started in December and are continuing
into January, we will constantly
have our registration window open.
We’ll be collecting applicants on a daily
basis, so if a student wants to sign
up later we have processes in place for
that. We’re here, we’re established,
we’re ready, and we can make it happen
for each family.”
Students and their families that
would like to enroll in or learn more
about the Paso Robles Online Academy
are encouraged to visit www.
pasoschools.org/proacademy to find
complete information regarding the
program and registration or contact
Alisha Lewis directly at 769-1620 ext.
51502 or ajlewis@pasoschools.org.
The PRO Academy is located inside
Independence High School at 812
Niblick Road.
24 PASO Magazine, January 2017