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A relatively young initiative within Austin Public Schools is seeing notable success along with plenty of indication that growth will continue.

The Austin Online Academy, which was established in the 2022-23 school year has seen rapid growth into its third year, having nearly surpassed its final enrollment of last year of 159 students.

With plenty of time to bring in more students, enrollment this year is currently at 156.

“In the next week or two we’re going to be over our end of year last year and last year was our biggest year,” said AOA Principal Jessica Cabeen.

Used by students both in the district (comprehensive) and outside of the district (supplemental), AOA is an alternative educational format that meets the needs of students where they are at.

Reasons for utilizing the AOA can vary including outside of school circumstances or simply it’s education that works for the students.

Whatever the reason for students using AOA, there’s no doubt its increasing in popularity.

In 2021-22, students in Austin High School passed courses at 34.3%. Last school year, that number rose dramatically to 77.5% in part because of AOA.

That number is further mirrored in an increase in opportunities for Advanced Placement Courses for sophomores, who take AP Human Geography. In 2021-22 the passing rate was just under 29% while last year that rate jumped to 80%.

A big reason for that jump comes down to the teachers that carry on instruction at the AOA, Cabeen said.

“It’s teachers and research will show that too,” Cabeen said. “It’s that teacher connection and I would say it’s not just the teacher’s ability to teach, but their ability to make connections with kids. You have the most engaging teachers I’ve ever worked with that have a way to connect with kids, even virtually.”

Another substantial part of that success is from the kids themselves, many of whom find the kind of education offered by AOA fits their mode of thinking.

“The ability to be flexible in finding optimal learning times,” Cabeen explained. “Not all learn best in a 45-minute period. “The students like the flexibility of blocking their day. They just appreciate being able to go at their own pace. Some of our students are early morning, some of our students like to learn later at night.”

While a majority of AOA students are from the Austin Public Schools District, the program has established partnerships throughout the state coming from the supplemental student end.

Over all, AOA has established partnerships with 29 districts this year, an increase over the eight districts in that first year of 2022-23. Of that, supplemental programing partnerships has been increased.

Those include: Marshall, Pacelli Catholic Schools, Woodbury High School, New Ulm, Stewartville and Rochester Public Schools (Mayo High School).

According to Corey Haugen, Director of Information Services for Austin Public Schools, of the 156 unique students (combination of comprehensive and supplemental students), 71% are from Austin, but another 29% come from outside of the district.

This reflects a trend of growth from outside of the district. In 2022-23 a vast majority of students — 92% — were in-district students compared to just 8% coming from outside of the district.

Haugen said the data reflects a unified approach from a couple different areas that are helping to guide that.

“(AOA is) using a strategic curriculum to drive their instruction,” Haugen said. “It’s not a flavor of the week kind of thing. It’s the good quality instruction they’re using to drive their kids.”

“Plus, they’ve learned their systems and what’s functioning and what’s working well with kids,” he continued. “That’s a unique learning environment in their own right. Teachers are getting what they need. Grade impacts are coming along with that.”

There are other aspects to AOA that are beneficial as well, including its asynchronous approach to education, meaning that content is available to students 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What’s bringing attention to AOA in the first place is a word-of-mouth format, something Cabeen said has been invaluable in getting families and students to sign on.

However, that doesn’t guarantee that the student will find a place in AOA or that it’s even the right fit to begin with. Cabeen said that on average she talks to around 4-5 families a week, but that only 1-2 families actually make the decision to give the AOA a try.

Still, that doesn’t always mean the student will make it through the AOA program.

“For as much success as we’ve had, we’ve had to have conversations with families with students who aren’t engaging, aren’t taking attendance, aren’t participating,” Cabeen said. “At semester time we’ve had them return to their resident district or high school because ultimately we want them to graduate.”

For all the success the increases have indicated, there are challenges the district is keeping an eye on. Chief among them is staffing, as AOA picked up its newest teacher, Jeff Anderson, just this year.

The increase in enrolled students is pushing the staffing question to the forefront.

“We’re going to continue monitoring our class sizes and enrollment numbers just to see if we need to increase staffing,” Cabeen said. “Making sure we have good support and infrastructure.”

Unlike some online programs in the state, however, Cabeen said there are no plans to put a cap on enrollment as she explains that the district has been flexible in making sure the AOA has the resources it needs to continue growing.

The flexibility has been key.

“The growth of Austin Online Academy in just three years has been impressive,” said Superintendent Dr. Joey Page. “It’s provided students with flexible, personalized learning options, and it’s exciting to see how it continues to expand and meet the needs of our community.”

For many, Cabeen included, the rapid rise in the AOA has been a spark in educational options. Cabeen herself admitted she wasn’t fully prepared to take on the role of helping guide the fledgling program. Yet, she’s excited for what’s to come.

“When I started here, I was not feeling at all competent to navigate an online environment,” she said. “That being said, to be on the front lines of something so innovative that’s really going to radically change a student’s learning experience and possibly their own life trajectory … to see that mindset shift and be a part of that success is pretty life-giving.”