LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Many kids are getting ready to walk through the halls of their schools again, but that won't be the case for some students.
Several schools across central Arkansas are still offering virtual learning options post-pandemic. However, virtual learning isn't unique to just unprecedented times.
The start of the school day is the same for Kmoira Jackson, a rising 7th grader with Little Rock School District's new virtual educational option for students, Little Rock Virtual Academy.
"When you wake up in the morning, you eat breakfast and then you just go on your Zoom. Start class and learn how to do things," Jackson said.
Learning how to do things differently has become the norm for Kmoira. She's been a virtual student since the start of the pandemic.
"The reason why we're continuing the virtual schooling with her is because [of] health issues," Kmoira's mother, Shasta Jackson explained.
Shasta has four children, but Kmoira is her only child in virtual school. She said it's been the perfect fit since Kmoira has severe asthma and other health conditions.
"We will always be hospitalized when the weather changed, so this is better for her," Shasta said.
Whether it's for health, safety concerns, or just convenience, virtual learning continues to be a top option for families— one available even before the world shut down.
Garrett Smiley is CEO and Co-Founder of Sora Schools, a national private middle and high school all done online.
"We've been doing this even before covid. Before the pandemic, we started in 2019," Smiley said. "Our philosophy from the very beginning was, like I said, let's take the best practices, the best experiences from in-person learning and, and do the best version that we can online."
Sora Schools has students in 47 states with staff all over the country and world, opening students up to what Smiley described as a world of opportunities.
"It's the freedom, it's the flexibility, it's the it's the getting to interact with people you never would have otherwise, because they don't live within a five-mile radius of you, right?" she said.
Smiley added that one common misconception about virtual learning is that children will experience learning loss.
“I hear people conflate the learning loss with remote school often and I think there is merit to that because it was a crisis management moment for public schools, right? They didn't see this coming. They didn't really have a plan. They just kind of had to deal with it. Right," Smiley esplained. "So yes, there was loss and learning but I think the most important thing to tell people is that like we said a second ago, remote school and remote work remote is just an adjective to describe the school.”
But, what about the social aspect for students?
"We have all the clubs you would expect virtual. At one point we had more clubs and students because they just really wanted to organize every possible gathering for themselves," Smiley said.
Now some schools are taking that idea a step further. For the first time, LRSD will allow virtual students to participate in campus activities like choir, band, and athletics.
Kmoira already has her eyes on the volleyball team.
As the world evolves, Smiley said there's one thing that hasn't changed— no matter the place or time, learning can happen anywhere.
"After COVID, there are so many options including Sora, that just weren't there five years ago. So if they're not happy with whatever's around them, I would really encourage them to just open the scope of what they think is possible," Smiley said.