<\/p>\n
Michele Carver, 17, a Durango high school student who frequently travels for dance competitions, has found a perfect school to accommodate her trips: Southwest Colorado eSchool, where classes are online but she can visit a local student center for tutoring or to find camaraderie.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my third year, and it\u2019s been a good experience,\u201d said Carver. \u201cI can get my stuff done quickly and teachers are quick to respond when you have questions. The work\u2019s right in there (her computer), and you can do it anytime you need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The attraction for Carver, who will graduate in May, and her parents, Larry and Alisa Carver, is one many families at Southwest Colorado eSchool find appealing said Mike Freeburn, Southwest Colorado eSchool principal: \u201cThey can organize school around life rather organizing life around school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Southwest Colorado eSchool, which serves grades six through twelve, got its start eight years ago when the superintendents for regional school districts from Pagosa Sprints to Dove Creek decided to join forces to provide a local online school option.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t want to simply have online options out of Denver without any personal connections,\u201d Freeburn said.<\/p>\n
Freeburn said students generally must spend 35 hours a week on school work to keep up, but online schooling frees them to study beyond the normal 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. school day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not locked into a schedule like a brick-and-mortar school,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have work to do during the week, and it\u2019s really about getting their work done, but what day they do it and what part of the day doesn\u2019t matter as much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freeburn said students find their own patterns \u2013 some concentrate on one subject a day, others spend time on each subject during the day much like the pace in a normal school.<\/p>\n
Freeing students from the clock is ideal for athletes who can use the middle part of the day to train while concentrating on their studies in the mornings and the evenings.<\/p>\n
Carver said initially she struggled with the motivation to hit the books.<\/p>\n
\u201cProcrastination can be a problem, but eventually you realize you have to get the work done. Once I figured out how to get organized I got a lot more work done each day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Laura Pinkney said she found Southwest Colorado eSchool after her son, Levi, 13, struggled to focus in traditional classrooms.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has teachers he can check-in with and a hub he can visit once a week,\u201d she said. \u201cHe can study away from home. The teachers keep him accountable, and they talk online with emails, and I get a copy of the emails, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Levi, a seventh-grader, said he enjoys the freedom to control his schedule.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can pick a path that you want to follow and concentrate on certain things during the week,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
From students pursuing their passions to those excelling or struggling in traditional classrooms, online schools are finding an expanding niche in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n
Colorado Connections Academy<\/a>, which works in partnership with Durango School District 9-R, has seen its student count grow from 531 students in fall 2017-18 to 641 students in fall 2018-19.<\/p>\n Southwest Colorado eSchool, the online provider for San Juan Board of Cooperative Education<\/a>, expects to see its second semester enrollment jump from 50 students in fall 2018-19 to 60 to 65 students in the spring semester. In fall 2015 the school had 26 students.<\/p>\n