COLUMBUS – Great River Connections Academy, a statewide, tuition-free, online public school, will begin its fifth year of operation when the 2022-2023 academic year starts on Monday, Aug. 22. As many parents continue to consider different academic options for their children, Great River Connections Academy is offering opportunities for families to get more information about learning in a virtual classroom.
Families are invited to attend two upcoming online information sessions on Thursday, Aug. 18, at 6 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 30, at noon. Families who are interested in learning if a full-time online school is the right fit for their child are encouraged to sign up. They will have the opportunity to speak to staff members, learn how the online classroom works and how teachers engage and support the students.
“Great River Connections Academy serves a wide variety of students, and I’m grateful parents and caretakers in Ohio have the opportunity to choose the learning environment that works best for their child,” said Jason Swinehart, Great River Connections Academy school leader. “We are excited and proud to continue to serve our students and their families and invite anyone who might be considering virtual learning to contact us and see how our school might meet their individual needs.”
Virtual school is a great fit for a variety of students, and each student is unique. Those who attend Great River Connections Academy come from different backgrounds and choose full-time online school for various reasons. Some students prefer to take ownership of their education and benefit from the flexibility that virtual school offers, while others are looking for a consistent, safe learning environment.
Della Smith of North Ridgeville enrolled her daughters, Sophia and Emily, in Great River Connections Academy so they could have a more individualized academic experience with better access to their teachers along with more schedule flexibility.
“While Sophia and Emily did well in their local public school, Great River Connections Academy has given our daughters the ability to manage their schedules and focus more time on subjects when they need to,” Della said. “As their learning coach, I am able to be more involved in their education, we see them learning, and we talk about school a lot more. They are thriving and their stress level is so much lower than before. This was definitely the best decision for our family.”
Great River Connections Academy recently received high marks and is considered a high-quality academic option, according to its 2021-2022 Parent Satisfaction Survey, an annual third-party survey that provides families with the opportunity to review their experience with the full-time online public school.
Ninety-four percent of the parents agree they would recommend Great River Connections Academy to parents whose children are not enrolled in the program. Ninety-six percent of the parents also agree their children are satisfied with the program and 94 percent agree that the curriculum is high quality.
In addition, 94 percent of parents say that Great River Connections Academy’s technology tools improve their child’s learning experience and 93 percent of parents agree that the teachers improve the learning experience. Ninety-two percent of parents are satisfied with the variety of learning activities, and 91 percent agree their children are making good progress.
Enrollment for Great River Connections Academy for the 2022-2023 school year is open. A complete schedule of events as well as more information about Great River Connections Academy is available at https://www.greatriverconnectionsacademy.com or by calling 800-382-6010.
Survey methodology
Connections Academy conducts the annual Parent Satisfaction Survey to find out how parents, guardians and Learning Coaches grade the program in several key areas. The 2022 survey was conducted from January 19 to February 26 by Shapiro + Raj, an independent market research company that created the questionnaire, collected the data and tabulated the results. Parents and caretakers of all students enrolled at the time of the survey were invited to complete the survey online. A WebMail invitation was sent to each parent and caretaker, and one response per household was submitted.
