Dayton high school student thrives in online schools

Technology has opened worlds of opportunity that many people might not otherwise have been able to experience. For high school student, Garriet Wells of Dayton, the same technology that gives most Americans easy access to research and learning has enabled him to excel in a public school setting, without ever leaving his home.

Two years ago, Garriet and his mother, Cheri, were faced with moving out of the Kettering City School district, where Garriet had been a student since elementary school, to the City of Dayton.

“We ended up moving in the middle of the summer,” Garriet said. “And by then a lot of the best schools in Dayton were already full.”

Though Dayton City Schools offer a school choice program, allowing students to choose to attend any school in the district for their education, the Wells family was not satisfied with what they were offered at the time.

“I wanted him to go to Belmont because it was the best school and it was on the bus line,” Cheri said. And since DPS doesn’t provide busses for high school students, easy access to transportation was key.

Cheri and Garriet were given the choice of attendance at Meadowdale High School or to look at other options, including public online schools.

Garriet and his mom decided to consider an online public school for grades 6-12 called the Insight School of Ohio, a part of the K12 network of nationwide online public schools. The K12 curriculum is offered through online schools in 33 states and is available to any student with access to an internet connection. The public school program is tuition free.

“We chose to go with K12 because we didn’t like the options given to us by Dayton Public,” Garriet said. “The first 10 years of my school career, I wasn’t the worst student in the world, but I wasn’t the best either. I was just one of those kids that didn’t want to do the work. When I finally got my stuff together, I was in my final year in Kettering.”

As a high school junior, Garriet started taking classes through Insight and K12.

“After about three months, I found I really liked it (online school),” Garriet said. “I really enjoyed that style of learning.”

Garriet began to thrive in the online classroom setting, particularly benefiting from the video technology that the program utilizes.

“We go into the ‘classrooms’ and they use a live stream,” Garriet said. “I asked my English teacher if I could start making videos and I started writing more.”

Garriet’s passion for videos and technology began when he was 8 years old and discovered YouTube.

“I already knew how to make videos, and I ended up teaching a mini session about it,” Garriet said. “I used my camera on my laptop and uploaded a video to YouTube and the class watched it.”

Garriet ended up winning accolades for his videos and quickly became involved in the K12 peer teaching program.

“It’s really cool to help students learn,” Garriet said. “I knew then that people liked what I was producing. That’s when I decided for sure that I wanted to make movies and write.”

Garriet has been accepted in the International College of Broadcasting (ICB) in Dayton and will begin attending after he graduates from high school this spring.

Watching her son excel in school has been extremely gratifying for Cheri, who takes an active role in his education.

“One of the things people think about online schools is that there is no interaction,” Cheri said. “I go to school with him, and I know it’s really interactive. Garriet has found his niche at this school because they cater to each student individually and are very attentive. I know he is a smart kid. Before he was pushed to the back of the line. Here he has flourished for the first time ever in his academic career.”

Garriet is holding down a 4.0 GPA and is happy to recommend K12 and the Insight School to anyone who asks.

“A year ago if you had told me I’d be going to the best school in the area for the broadcasting field, I’d say that was crazy,” Garriet said. “Peer teaching showed me that if you really apply yourself, no matter what walk of life or situation you are in, you can do whatever you want to do. You just need the right people to help you.”

For more information, log on to oh.insightschools.net.

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