SCHOOL
cityofeudoraks.gov
Story by Fally Afani Photography by Jason Dailey
Perfect Timing Eudora Schools virtual learning program allows students to thrive on their own schedules while keeping them connected to the educational community
ABOVE: Jessica Johnson directs the Eudora Schools Virtual Program. ABOVE RIGHT: Joseph Ward and Alicia Regalado are both on track to graduate with online courses.
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udora High School senior Joseph Ward says that a few years ago, he didn’t hold much hope for graduating. He says he had trouble focusing, spent more time in the principal’s office than he wanted to, and had already failed his freshman year. So Joseph, along with his mother, Alicia Regalado, made some big changes in their daily lives for the sake of his education. Now, he’s completely caught up and set to graduate on schedule this spring—and he gives much of the credit to the school district’s new virtual learning program. Finishing its first full year, Eudora Schools Virtual Program offers remote classes that run parallel in scope and standards to the in-person program. Available to Eudora school district students in grades 6–12, as well as to adults seeking to complete a high school degree, the program is based in virtual learning experience gained during the pandemic, as well as the district staff’s expertise in working with alternative education.
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A schedule to thrive Ward, who went fully virtual for his senior year, says the program came at a time when he was struggling. Diagnosed with ADHD and suffering side effects such as sleep loss as he and his health care team tried to find suitable medication, Ward found it difficult to focus and to maintain a strict school schedule. When he signed up for the Eudora Schools Virtual Program, he found a routine that finally worked for him. “When I’m focused on one thing, it’s easier to stay focused on it instead of going from math for an hour to a science to geometry,” he says. “My sleeping schedule is all over the place sometimes, and I work better at night most of the times. When I was in school, I had to work with that, and there were times that I’d be up and couldn’t sleep and I’d be late for school. It really helps just being able to pull out my computer and do it any hour of the day."
Discover Eudora | Spring/Summer ’22
