Every day, Jordan Brown marched up the steps of a brick-and-mortar school and into a classroom.
But something was wrong, mom Michelle Brown said.
“Jordan had all these problems at school, problems we couldn’t pin down or work out,” she said. “All the teachers thought she had attention deficit disorder, but that didn’t seem right to me. Later we found out Jordan simply had a lazy eye.”
Michelle Brown, who was taking college courses to become a teacher, made a big decision for her daughter. In second grade, Jordan, now 12, left the public school system and became a student with the Ohio Connections Academy, an online school with 50 students in Ashtabula County.
Michelle Brown warns people that OCA is a new way of learning, not at all like home schooling.
“Don’t associate e-learning with home schooling,” she said. “For example, Jordan has a ‘learning coach,’ her grandpa, who supervises her classes each day. He is not the teacher, he is just there to keep her on task. If she has a question about something, she has a teacher to ask.”
In fact, Michelle Brown became a middle school social studies teacher with OCA, which has only furthered her belief in the e-learning model.
“From a teacher’s perspective, I can spend individual one-on-one time with each student, which is so great,” she said. “We have the freedom to give students that one on one time and each student gets what he or she needs.”
Jordan Brown said she doesn’t miss the pressure of public schools or the social interaction.
“I go to way more social events and field trips than students at public schools,” she said. “But I get to go to class in my slippers and jammies. No one judges me. My classes are about the content and learning, not about what I am wearing and who I am dating. Everyone is equal.”
Jordan says she sees OCA students from across the state at field trips and scheduled activities.
OCA spokesperson Mark Rickel said students who need flexibility with their schedules often choose e-learning.
“A student in dance or theater may need flexibility in their schedule,” he said. “Some students have health needs and need flexibility because they might miss a lot of school. This is an opportunity to take their classes from home.”
For more information on OCA and e-learning, call 800-382-6010 or visit www.connectionsacademy.com.
Local News
Related Photos
-
MARGIE NETZEL / Star Beacon JORDAN BROWN, 12, is a student with the Ohio Connections Academy. Her mother, Michelle Brown, (right) is a teacher with the online school.
Discussion
Online academy worked for 12-year-old, mother
- Local News
-
-
Conneaut man accused of using duct tape to secure girlfriend
A Conneaut man face charges after he reportedly used duct tape to lash his combative girlfriend to a pole in the basement of their Sandusky Street home, police said.
-
FirstEnergy seeks reason for massive Ashtabula County power outage
Humid weather may have played a role in a malfunction that shut down electrical service to a large chunk of Ashtabula County late Tuesday morning, officials said.
-
Ashtabula County I-90 speed limit jumps to 70 mph July 1
As promised, the speed limit on Interstate 90 that bisects Ashtabula County will jump in little more than a month, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced Tuesday.
-
Ashtabula City Council says no to multi-unit apartments
After a passionate hour of debate at a public hearing Monday night, City Council unanimously voted against approving zoning changes at 1936 Carpenter Road.
-
Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame adds one of first African-American U.S. Marines from Ashtabula
One of the first African-American U.S. Marines, 70 years after his service in World War II, has been selected for the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame.
-
Chardon school shooting victims’ families sue charity
Relatives of three teenagers killed in a northeast Ohio school shooting filed a lawsuit Tuesday against a charity that maintains a trust fund set up first to benefit the victims’ families and also to support the well-being of students and others in the affected community.
-
GOTL gets ‘likeable’ on Facebook
Village police officers are taking a new approach to an old problem — finding wanted criminals.
-
New facility in Ashtabula Plaza offers digital X-rays, ultrasounds
People needed an X-ray need not look far, thanks to University Hospitals’ new, state-of-the-art imaging facility at UH Ashtabula Health Center, 2131 Lake Ave., in the Ashtabula Plaza.
-
Stretch of Rt. 193 open, another to close
A section of Route 193 in Sheffield and Kingsville townships closed for repairs has reopened, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District Four office in Akron.
-
Ashtabula Brass Band presents free concert tonight
The Ashtabula Brass Band will present a free spring concert at 7 tonight in the auditorium at Kent State University Ashtabula.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Conneaut man accused of using duct tape to secure girlfriend
