Arlington ISD is expanding its academic offerings with the launch of two new virtual learning programs designed to give students more flexibility while maintaining access to high-quality instruction and college readiness opportunities. The district’s new initiative, called Arlington ISD Online Learning, or AOL, introduces two distinct pathways for students. One allows high school juniors and seniors to take select courses online while remaining enrolled at their traditional campuses. The second is a fully virtual early college high school pathway for incoming freshmen through Arlington College and Career High School. District leaders say the programs are designed to meet the needs of students whose life circumstances or learning preferences may not align with a traditional school schedule. “Changes in technology and what’s available now to students… that’s opened the door for different opportunities,” said Dr. Ben Bholan, principal of Arlington College and Career High School. “It doesn’t have to be the traditional way of learning that maybe you and I were taught in the past.” VIRTUAL EARLY COLLEGE PATH The new Virtual Early College High School pathway is aimed at motivated incoming ninth graders seeking a completely online learning experience while also working toward college credentials. Hosted through Arlington College and Career High School, the program offers fully synchronous instruction, meaning students attend live virtual classes taught by ACCHS teachers. Students will collaborate with teachers and classmates in real time and receive support from dedicated counselors and staff. Like the school’s traditional early college model, students can earn a high school diploma while also completing tuition-free college coursework through Tarrant County College. Some students may even earn an associate degree by the time they graduate high school. Bholan said the virtual option builds on a program that has already helped students earn college credentials alongside their high school education. “We want to reach students that may not necessarily be in our district, but could be in surrounding districts, and possibly even anywhere throughout the state to acquire both the high school diploma and the associate’s degree at the same time,” Bholan said. He said the program is intended to help students facing a variety of obstacles, including family responsibilities, medical needs or frequent moves. “Some of them have to take care of siblings,” Bholan said. “We were approached by one student whose brother has an illness, and they have to travel to different hospitals to get care.” The district expects to start with approximately 20 students during the program’s first year. Participation in the early college pathway comes at no cost to families. “All that’s free,” Bholan said. “Textbooks are free, we provide them with supplies, the district provides the laptop devices that they would use for the program.” SUPPORTING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Teachers involved in the virtual early college pathway say the program’s flexibility could make higher education opportunities accessible to students who otherwise might not be able to attend. “I think this is such an excellent opportunity for students outside of AISD and even some students in AISD that couldn’t attend our school for potential reasons,” said ACCHS teacher Wendy Espino. “Maybe they have some kind of reason they’re not able to go to traditional school- family obligations, work obligations- and it’s opening these opportunities up to them in a way that I didn’t know would be possible.” Students will access coursework through Canvas and communicate with teachers and classmates using Microsoft Teams. Officials say the virtual classrooms will include opportunities for collaboration through video conferencing and breakout rooms. Espino said the district plans to begin with a small group of students, allowing educators to personalize instruction. “This is going to be very intentional,” Espino said. “Especially starting out with a small number of students in our pilot year, we’ll be able to really personalize the education for these students. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution.” She noted that many of the students choosing the virtual pathway are doing so intentionally. “These are all students who want to complete the virtual education,” Espino said. “These students are driven and interested in this for some type of specific reason personal to them.” FLEXIBILITY FOR UPPERCLASSMEN The district’s second virtual option targets upperclassmen who want more scheduling flexibility while remaining active on their campuses. Under the Flexible Virtual Program, juniors and seniors can take up to two virtual courses each semester while continuing to attend traditional classes in person. Courses available online focus on upper-level graduation requirements such as English III, English IV, Government, Economics, and Precalculus. Click here to see the full list. Steve Simpson, Arlington ISD’s director of technology integration and innovation, said recent changes in state law helped create new opportunities for districts to offer virtual programming. “The state of Texas has relaxed its rules about independent school districts forming virtual school programs,” Simpson said. “Across the state, lots of districts for the coming school year have been engaged in planning and thinking about what kind of options they want to provide students so they have more flexible opportunities.” The district is partnering with Edmentum, an online education provider, to offer instruction through Texas-certified teachers in courses aligned with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards. Simpson said the program is geared toward students who may need additional flexibility because of work schedules, family responsibilities or personal learning preferences. “We know we have students that have learning preferences that don’t always fit or align with a traditional face-to-face schedule,” Simpson said. “We also know we have students who have needs or demands on their time, whether it’s work or it’s family responsibilities.” At the same time, students will remain connected to their school’s extracurricular opportunities. “These kids are still fully enrolled members of a traditional high school here in Arlington,” Simpson said. “They get a little bit of their virtual preference mixed in with the traditional experience.” District leaders say they plan to grow the programs carefully over time based on student interest and demand. “We are taking our time and how we want to define and expand this program,” Simpson said. “We want to take smaller steps to be successful, learn what we need to learn before we expand and broaden things.” Bholan believes the new virtual early college pathway represents the next step in making education more accessible to students. “We believe the virtual part is just the next step in that evolution of what we’ve been doing,” he said. “Providing flexible opportunities for students to be successful and trying to reach kids where they’re at.” Enrollment for Arlington ISD’s virtual learning programs for juniors and seniors is still open. Click here to sign up. District officials encourage interested families to contact Arlington ISD for additional information about eligibility, registration and potential openings before the new school year begins. ...read more read less