Texas Connections Academy is a tuition-free online public school in partnership with Houston ISD, serving over 8,000 students in grades 3 through 12. (Contributed Photo)

In an era where screens serve as windows to knowledge, virtual schooling has revolutionized the way education reaches students worldwide. Many virtual classrooms, such as the Texas Connection Academy at Houston (TCAH), are becoming a path to student success by bridging distances and bringing classrooms into the homes of students everywhere.

“Our students have the opportunity to work with dedicated, state-certified teachers while working virtually,” said TCAH executive director Darla Gardner. “Our flexible environment and rigorous curriculum provides the perfect opportunity for our students to receive a quality education that fits their schedule.”

As an extension of Connections Academy, TCAH is a tuition-free online public school in partnership with Houston ISD, serving over 8,000 students in grades 3 through 12. According to their website, students engage in 30 hours of learning and growth activities each week. This includes 30% of their time exploring lessons on a computer, with the remaining 70% dedicated to independent offline work on school days.

“You not only learn your math, science, history — things out of that nature — you also learn a lot from the teachers and people you interact with,” said recent graduate Ryan McMullen. “You can learn a lot of life lessons as well. The teachers here want you to succeed and they help a lot with that.”

Several students from Smith County, including McMullen, were among the 960 recent graduates of TCAH. These included Garrett Burr, Kassie Crews, Grayson Lollar, Catherine Miles, and Taylor Prince.

“The curriculum is extremely difficult but … it makes you want to put the time in without realizing it,” McMullen said. “It definitely helped shape me for what I needed as a student.”

According to Gardner, virtual school is ‘very different’ and can be challenging.

“Even though you are working from home, it is not homeschool,” she said. “We are a public school with the same state requirements as other public schools in the state, including state testing.”

TCAH saw an increase in enrollment because of COVID; however, there has been an overall decline.

“Sometimes families make a decision to enroll with us for a limited time based on their situation,” Gardner said. “We are thrilled that we can provide a quality education when needed to support students in the state of Texas.”

In addition to academics, TCAH places a strong emphasis on building teams with families and fostering meaningful relationships with every member, even in a virtual environment.

“We work together to increase their student’s success,” Gardner said. “Our goal is for each student to receive a personalized, quality education in a virtual setting. Families choose us for a variety of reasons. Whatever the reason, we want them to have a positive, successful experience.”

For students like Miles, the option to switch to online school after COVID worked better for her family.

“You still have a principal … and teachers and they were available to help,” she said. “You could pretty much work at your own pace and spend more time with certain classes than others. To me, it was easier to learn online because there were less distractions and I could focus more — and better — on some of the harder classes.”

McMullen, a student from Lindale, attended TCAH for three years during the COVID-19 pandemic. He intends to pursue a biology major at UT Tyler, aiming to emulate his parents’ success in the medical field by gaining acceptance into UT Tyler’s School of Medicine.

“They just opened it up for 25 students and I think they’re planning on expanding that,” McMullen said. “So, hopefully, once I meet all the prerequisites and get accepted, we can go from there.”

Miles is also planning to attend UT Tyler as an education major with aspirations of becoming a 5th grade history teacher. She feels the experience at TCAH helped her get the most out of her education.

“TCAH was amazing,” Miles said. “It is filled with amazing people who are willing to help you and guide you on your academic journey.”

Gardner has just completed her first year as executive director at Texas Connections Academy; however, she has been involved with Connections Academy schools for 13 years.

“I really enjoy being at TCAH and having the opportunity to work with our families and our staff to encourage and support student success,” she said. “Our students thrive in a virtual environment for many reasons (as) actors, athletes … (in) medical, etc.”

At TCAH, students acquire the skills and confidence to chart their own educational paths, preparing to succeed in the real world through resourcefulness and resilience.

“Just from my personal experience, I would tell someone to try and see if they like it,” McMullen said. “The teachers are incredible, the material they provide is incredible … I really don’t think you can go wrong. I don’t think they’re going to be disappointed.”

If you are interested in learning more about TCAH, please visit their website learn.connectionsacademy.com/texas/ and sign up for a Virtual Information Session.