Student Success Stories: Teen Mom Beats the Odds

Online learning, sometimes referred to as homeschool, has led to student success for thousands of familiesThis series, Student Success Stories, features highlights from What’s your Story?, a site that’s home to real stories from real students about how their lives have changed because of individualized, online education through K12 programs.

Because of online school, Katie was able to spend every day of her first thirteen months as a teen mom at home with her daughter.

Katie was a freshman in high school when she found out she was pregnant. Between the morning sickness and inability to continue walking to school, she started an Independent Study program through her local high school, and was able to manage her grades. Once her daughter, Evany, came into the world, her routine didn’t work out as well. As with most teen moms, school came second.

After two months of not attending school, Katie received a truancy call, and feared the worst: She would not graduate.

The officer listened to her story, and told her about the available options. Katie was delighted to hear that online education even existed. She enrolled in the Insight School of California – North Bay, and was shipped a laptop and printer to get started. Although flexible with her schedule, the work was strenuous. Through it all, Katie saw her grades go up, and finished her sophomore year with straight As.

Unfortunately, the Insight School of California – North Bay closed that year, but Katie’s information was seamlessly transferred to another K12 option, California Virtual Academies. CAVA was just as flexible, and it made for “a very easy and stress-free” transition. She stayed organized and on-task while still having time to spend with her toddler.

“I have managed to keep my grades up,” Katie says, “and even made it on the Dean’s Honor List in the Fall of 2013 for outstanding scholastic achievement. I’m very thankful for online school. If I hadn’t found it, I wouldn’t know where I would be academically.”

Although less than half of teen moms ever graduate from high school, Katie is not only “looking forward to finishing [her] last year of High School with California Virtual Academies, and graduating in June of 2015,” but knows she “will be one of the few teen mothers that finishes High School on time.”

Read more about Katie’s online learning experience and share your own family’s student triumphs in the What’s Your Success Story contest for a chance to win up to $1000 for a summer camp scholarship. All entries must be received no later than 5 P.M. EST on Wednesday, June 18, 2014.

Also, take the self assessment quiz to see if online learning is right for your family.

Related Articles

Join our community

Sign up to participate in America’s premier community focused on helping students
reach their full potential.