The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Local family is part of growing e-school trend

More than 29,000 Ohio students learn online at home

Municipal Court for Feb. 7
11:28 p.m.
Births for Feb. 7
11:27 p.m.
Police headlines for Feb. 7
11:25 p.m.
Local Focus: Champaign County for Feb. 7
11:23 p.m.
Local Focus: Clark County for Feb. 7
11:20 p.m.
> More headlines

By Margo Rutledge Kissell  and Megan Gildow, Staff Writer 9:10 PM Saturday, August 28, 2010

BETHEL TWP. — Every morning, Shelby Tidwell wakes at 6:30 to get ready for school, followed by her younger siblings Madi and Alan. By 7 a.m. everyone is dressed, fed and ready for school.

But for the Tidwell family, school isn’t a bus ride away — it’s in their kitchen.

“We don’t typically do school in our pajamas,” said mom Shelly Tidwell. “I told them this year we’d maybe have one jamma day a week.”

More than 29,000 K-12 students, including the Tidwells, attend school online in Ohio, about five times more than did seven years ago.

They log onto their computers from home without ever stepping into a classroom.

Some are in kindergarten.

Through Ohio Virtual Academy, the Tidwell children take core classes like science and English, as well as honors courses, arts, foreign language and electives like journalism and anthropology.

Gym can be anything from spending time on the family’s treadmill to a bike ride or roller skating.

But for their kids, the chance to work at their own pace, the minimal distractions in the family home and intense support from school staff make it the only choice.

“I think anyone should give it a try if they’re even thinking about it,” said Shelly, who is the statewide parent booster leader for OHVA.

Nationally, Ohio ranks third in enrolled e-school students, behind Pennsylvania and Arizona, according to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0373 or mgildow@coxohio.com.

Share this article