Perfect Timing

Story by Fally Afani Photography by Jason Dailey

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.

Eudora 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. 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."

Education has always been a priority in Ward’s home, with his mother insisting that all her children graduate from high school. When Ward started struggling, Regalado went so far as to change jobs to stay on top of her son’s schoolwork. She says that by being able to work on his own schedule in the virtual program, Ward was finally able to work to his potential and thrive in his courses. “He’ll be able to do three things in the middle of the night because that’s when he works best,” Regalado says. “This program has been amazing for him.”

Regalado says her focus on getting her son to graduation was a high priority because it’s something she regrets not doing. “One thing that I’ve always pushed is that you absolutely have to graduate, get that paper in your hand, because I quit when I was 16, and it was the worst decision of my life. I didn’t have anyone pushing me or saying, ‘You need to stay in."

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For the Eudora school district, the commitment to encouraging and working with students to “stay in” and push themselves to their full potential is backed with a full-time staff position. Jessica Johnson, in her fourth year as the high school’s academic success instructor, has become the school district’s director of alternative and virtual education. Johnson says that every student is different, and the pandemic focused the district’s need for greater instructional flexibility.

Jessica Johnson works with her students through online video, text, email and in-person meetings. In the spirit of virtual education, all photos for this story were taken by photographer Jason Dailey in coordination with the subjects using a remote, virtual-capture photography program.

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The Eudora Schools Virtual Learning Program provides students with many of the tools they need to succeed. Coursework and instructional support are provided at no cost. There is a yearly $60 technology fee that includes use of a school laptop.

In its first year, the Eudora Schools Virtual Learning Program enrolled 23 students, including: • 14 high school students • 5 middle school students • 3 adult students • 1 high school student attending in-person classes half time, and virtual classes half-time Her priority was making sure families had a resource for this type of learning. “I worked a lot with students who did not necessarily find success in high school, maybe with academic school or social skills or time management,” she says. “We knew we had some students who actually ended up preferring virtual and remote lessons to in-person, but we still wanted that opportunity to have them connected if we needed them to.”

That connection involves on-site staff for students who need to come in every once in a while, as well as expanded communications (Johnson is available for students via email and text until 9:00 p.m. every night). But Johnson didn’t want students to feel left out of other high school experiences and coming-of-age moments. While Kansas State High School Activities Association rules prevent virtual students from participating in inter-school athletic and forensics competitions, Eudora schools work to integrate virtual students into all other events and activities. “We wanted to build that continuum of letting students feel like they were still part of the district—like dances, activities, things of that nature,” says Johnson. “Students are still able to participate and do those things.”

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As the virtual learning program advances into its second year, Johnson is analyzing virtual learning and working on its place in the district. “The education system itself has essentially been the same for the last 150-plus years, and if anything, the pandemic has taught us is that it doesn’t work for everybody,” she says. “We have to be able to expand our thought process of how we reach our students. Just because a student doesn’t do well in a brickand-mortar school doesn’t mean they should be kept from being successful and doing what they want to do with their lives.”

Adult learning

One person who understands the new opportunities of remote education is Ward’s mother. Regalado regretted not finishing her degree, but her son’s progress through the virtual school inspired her to do the same. Now, they’re both students of the program, and although Regalado has tried to finish her degree before, she says the virtual school program has given her renewed hope. “I remember taking him in with me to work on their computer as an infant, and I was trying to rock this crying baby and do the work. I’ve tried to do this program three or four times over the years, but at those times they didn’t have laptops for you to take home … [and] I always ended up stopping,” she laments. “With this program, I can take my computer with me to both of my jobs, or when I’m on a lunch break I can chisel away at it slowly, which is wonderful because I’ve been working anywhere between 70 and 80 hours a week. I’m making slow progress, but Joe-Joe is always there saying, ‘Mom, if you need anything….’ It’s been a wonderful experience this time.”

Eudora Schools Virtual Learning Program accepts students entering 6–12 grade, as well as adult learners seeking to earn a high school diploma. Registration is generally limited to students whose families live within the boundaries of Eudora’s school district, Kansas Unified School District No. 491, but there are some exceptions for adult learners, such as former EHS students who did not graduate. Registration for the virtual program’s 2022–2023 school year closes on September 15. To place an application or for more information, go online at www.eudoraschools. org/Page/2054 or call Jessica Johnson, director of virtual and alternative learning, at 785.542.4980, extension 1671.

For the past year, Madison LuchsingerCuevas has taken her high school classes through Eudora’s virtual education program. A junior, she says that the online program has allowed her to finish her work “at my pace” and to set a study schedule that allows her to work part-time during the day as a barista at The Roost in Lawrence, as well as to take individual vocal lessons, dance classes and Pilates courses.

“I take my required classes, and then my electives become the classes and activities outside of school that I want to do.”

As she plans her senior year, Luchsinger-Cuevas works with program director Jessica Johnson to identify and select challenging classes that will fulfill her graduation requirements and provide college credit.

• Set a schedule. “You have to set a schedule and goals. You have to say: ‘At this time, I am going to get this particular thing done.’”

personal space. “Don’t study in your room. Go to a coffee shop or somewhere that isn’t your room. I have a desk in my basement, or I go to the living room. Going somewhere helps put you in the mindset to do your work."

virtually. “Think of things to give you social interactions. It is not possible to just be at home the whole time. Think of something that will benefit you, that you wanted to do or try, that will give you some experience for the future.”