The Baldwin Online Academy ( BOA ), Baldwin County ’ s first 100 % virtual educational platform , has seen a large increase in enrollment numbers since its start in 2018 .
For two years , the BOA has been providing a free online at-home option for Baldwin County students , grades 3 through 12 , but prior to the start of the 2020-2021 school year , the Baldwin County School District announced that the BOA would add grades K-2 for the new academic school year .
Of the 4,981 enrolled students at the Baldwin County School District , 3,421 have started the new school year through virtual learning . Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the area , the school district gave parents the option to begin school in-person or remotely . The BOA assisted with the influx of virtual learners .
Parents who chose for their children to start the 2020-2021 school year remotely were able to do so thanks to some changes made to the BOA . The online learning academy expanded and added in the curriculum for K-2 , making it an online learning academy serving K-12 students . This task was accomplished through the use of Edgenuity , which is the leading provider of K-12 online curriculum . It serves as a standard-based online learning resource for school districts , which teaches kindergarten through 12th-grade in core , elective , credit recovery , technical , and career subjects through both remedial and accelerated work .
“ This is a 100 % free online at-home option for any student residing within Baldwin County . It is our goal to provide a quality option for families in our community who prefer at-home learning over the traditional school setting ,” said Superintendent Dr . Noris Price .
The BOA provides flexibility for families since all the content is online . Students have the flexibility to work beyond the minimum recommendation of one hour per class per day and even well beyond the confines of the traditional school setting . Students who need extra time or who are looking to work ahead have the flexibility to work on weekends , holidays , anytime 24 / 7 , as long their assignments are submitted by the due date . The online academy offers a variety of courses , including those that are available at each school , plus other additional course options . The
vast collection of courses provided by Baldwin Online Academy is also designed to give students and parents an easier transitioning experience to remote learning .
“ From day one , students are able to see all of the assignments they will be required to complete for the entirety of the course and the associated due dates . This helps ensure that there are no surprises when it comes to the overall workload and that families can schedule out their own work sessions ,” said Dawson Roberts , Technology Specialist .
According to Roberts , Edgenuity provides more opportunities for student support , video-based instruction led by certified teachers , options to align online courses with our district ’ s curriculum map , and many more tools that help the program run more smoothly on the back end . With the help of Edgenuity , the BOA will continue to provide all courses that students would regularly attend on a traditional campus , as well as a wide selection of elective courses .
To learn more about the Baldwin Online Academy , visit our website at https :// www . baldwincountyschoolsga . org / baldwin-online-academy .
www . baldwincountyschoolsga . org BALDWIN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT • Fall 2020 • 9