Students at Hub Virtual School attend class and follow the provincial curriculum like any brick and mortar school in Alberta.
But these young learners, who reside across the province, get their lessons exclusively online.
“It’s like a full school day, just from the comfort of your home,” explained principal Nathan Gale.
Students in elementary school up to junior high log into their classrooms daily.
According to Gale, what follows is a traditional school schedule complete with lessons and breaks.
“It’s a fully programmed, teacher-directed day,” Gale said.
The school is based out of Medicine Hat, starting as a local option for families because of pandemic measures.
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“At the end of the first year, we had a bunch of parents and families come to us and identify that this mode of learning was really working for them,” Gale said.
The school now serves students across the province, including Stephanie Williams’ son.
“We thought we’d give it a go,” Williams said. “We didn’t know what to expect and then it was so much better that we could’ve expected.”
Health concerns related to COVID-19 had the family make the switch online, prompting them to continue virtual classes when learning improved.
“His attendance went up and they got rid of the fluff, so to speak, for him. He’s my little introvert so all those extra socializations during the day weren’t really his thing,” Williams said.
“He can kind of get down to the academics and so he’s done really well. His marks have gone up.”
“It’s been really interesting… to see the school grow and to see that we’re reaching some families that maybe otherwise would’ve felt marginalized and are accessing education and feeling really successful,” Gale said.
Now, the school plans on expanding and adding high school classes.
“We’re really looking forward to making sure that we can continue to operate to meet the needs of our population across Alberta,” Gale said.
Its first Grade 12 class is expected to graduate in 2025.