Applications now open for Artemis Virtual Academy in Huntsville
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Applications are now open for a new type of virtual learning environment within Huntsville City Schools (HCS). HCS is launching Artemis Virtual Academy in August, a primarily online school with the benefits of in-person extracurriculars for students.
Huntsville City Schools says it will provide K-12 students flexibility with their learning while still having access to an assigned teacher to provide support via in-person or virtual visits.
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The virtual school will be led by Dr. Jennifer McKinney as Principal.
“I’m very excited to be here. Being able to launch this new school, it’s an honor to be a part of this and I’m excited to see all the great things that are going to come with our staff and our students,” McKinney told News 19.
“It is going to be a high-quality curriculum, there are going to be highly qualified teachers that are supporting the students in this program, ” McKinney said.
Each student will be assigned a teacher and issued a Huntsville City Schools device to complete their work. Students who receive free or reduced lunch will be provided a take-home internet device to assist with their schoolwork.
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Principal McKinney said the virtual academy will be perfect for all sorts of families and educational situations.
“There’s going to be a wide variety of families that are going to benefit from having this kind of opportunity for their kids. I know that students with different medical conditions could benefit,” she added.
“Students who don’t necessarily enjoy spending a traditional 8-hour day in a school setting, they’re going to be able to take their time at home work at their own pace,” she said.
The Principal also said it could be good for homeschooling families.
“We may see a transition of homeschooled students come back into the school system as a result of Artemis Academy,” said McKinney.
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Students who are enrolled in Artemis Virtual Academy will be able to participate in extracurricular activities like sports, band, choir, ROTC, and career tech programs at the school they are zoned to attend.
McKinney said this gives them the “best of both worlds.”
“It gives them the opportunity to participate in those social type of events and activities so they’re still having a little taste of the traditional school setting,” McKinney said.
She said the goal is to provide students with the same level of education as a traditional classroom setting. To make that happen, students will need a support person at home.
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“It does not have to be a parent, it does not have to be a guardian, but everyone’s going to have to have a designated learning coach. So, some adult that’s going to make sure students are logging in every single day that they are turning in their work like they need to, that they’re staying on track, they’re going to help us communicate from the home to our buildings and vice versa,” McKinney added.
McKinney said that part of the enrollment process post-application will be meeting with families to determine if they can provide that support person and assess their education situation.
The application is short, and shouldn’t take families longer than 30 minutes to complete per child.
Huntsville City Schools said Artemis Virtual Academy will have the same “support and requirements as other schools including testing, grading periods, report cards, and student code of conduct”. The virtual school is free.
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