Over the past two years, students in Wake County have had the option of attending the district’s “Virtual Academy,” which was presented as an alternative to the in-person cohorts last year or the fully in-person approach this year. This differed from the “online school” of late 2020 when, during the midst of a pandemic, schools were unexpectedly closed. This forced teachers and administrators to come up with daily solutions to the problems that arose when trying to teach students over the internet. This included dealing with students not having sufficient access to materials such as printers, computers, or reliable WiFi, as well as contending with students or teachers not having appropriate work environments at their homes.

  Parents and school officials agreed that this was not a sustainable model, and the district unveiled its “Virtual Academy” before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. Virtual Academy allowed students to continue working from home instead of returning to the classroom; many parents chose this option, wary of returning to in-person classes during the midst of a pandemic. Students in the Virtual Academy, while still being enrolled in their respective schools, attend classes exclusively with those part of the Virtual Academy and with programming intended to maximize their online experience.

  WCPSS recently announced that they would discontinue the Virtual Academy program after two years, citing legislation passed throughout North Carolina in August that prevents school districts from operating a virtual program past June 30, 2022. Therefore, the Virtual Academy will close at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

    “Some students did very well with remote learning and benefited from being able to learn in a separate setting and that should be an option available to them,” said Mr. Lawless on the end of virtual academy. For certain families, an online school structure may have benefitted rather than harmed their students.

  This does not signal the end of virtual schooling options for Wake County; however, the district says they are exploring options for a separate virtual school set to possibly be implemented in the 2023-24 school year. This does mean that there will be a gap year between virtual programs in Wake County Public Schools. Those currently enrolled in Virtual Academy will be forced to decide between alternative options, such as online charter schools or in-person classes.