Oregon's Leading Online Public School Earns Good Grades

As families enter the holiday season many will demonstrate appreciation and gratitude in various ways with relatives, friends and neighbors. Recently released results from the 2017 Oregon Connections Academy (ORCA) Student Satisfaction Survey shows students appreciate their school and their teachers. In addition to the new survey findings, a national K-12 school ranking service has also given Oregon Connections Academy top marks on their report card.

Results from the 2017 Student Satisfaction Survey shows 93% of students in grades K-12 are satisfied with Oregon Connections Academy and 85% give the school an “A” or a “B” grade. ORCA is the state's leading tuition-free virtual public charter school with nearly 4,000 students enrolled in grades K-12 across Oregon.

The Oregon Connections Academy high school program was also recently placed at the top of the list for Best Online High School in Oregon by Niche, an online publication that analyzes public data sets and reviews to produce comprehensive rankings for K-12 schools. In addition, ORCA came in first for college prep and for being the most diverse virtual public high school.

“It’s nice to have Niche’s top ranking because it provides us with a positive evaluation from an independent source and it adds to our accountability measures which helps us see areas for improvement,” said Allison Galvin, ORCA Executive Director.

Middle school and high school students also gave Oregon Connections Academy good reviews. According to the new ORCA Student Survey 87-percent feel they are making good progress and 85-percent are more satisfied with Oregon Connections Academy compared to their previous school.

“ORCA provides a safe learning environment where children and teenagers do not have to worry about getting bullied,” said 13-year old Christian White, an 8th grader from Salem. “Students of ORCA also have less distractions such as people trying to talk to them during class. In ORCA, students have the opportunity to schedule one-on-one meetings with their teachers. ORCA gives me all the resources and opportunities I will ever need and is the greatest school I have ever attended.”

Eighty-eight percent of ORCA high school students said they enjoy the ORCA program and agree they can work at their own pace with ORCA. Many students are also thankful for the flexible schedule. “My favorite thing about Oregon Connections Academy is the ability to personalize my schedule,” said 15-year old Jennifer Binning. “I don’t have to catch a bus, I have no set schedule, and no homework. It’s just school.

“Working with my teacher is fantastic! She has so many ideas and makes doing my work in math fun,” noted Audreyanna Foster, a 6th grade student from Hillsboro. Teachers are very popular with Oregon Connections Academy students.

In grades K-12, 96-percent or more of the ORCA students said they appreciate the helpfulness of their teacher and 100-percent of K-2 students said they like their teachers. Jennifer’s brother Max Binning, an 8th grader at ORCA, is grateful for his teachers. “Oregon Connections Academy cares that you succeed. My teachers make time for me and are happy to help.”

High school students felt the use of technology was important with 83-percent agreeing that technology is improving their learning experience

“I feel like technology has helped me to learn because I can personalize my learning to my style,” explained Dylan Gold, a senior from Lincoln City. “For example, if I don’t understand something in a math class I can watch a video or something else rather than just listen to a teacher. I can learn in my own way, I can learn at more of a college level!”

When asked about the results of the Student Survey, Executive Director Galvin said, “Of course, it’s helpful to crunch the numbers from test results and learn from education experts, but perhaps the most rewarding feedback we receive is from our students and parents. I love hearing their thoughts because making sure each student can succeed is what it’s all about!”

Connections Academy conducts a Student Satisfaction Survey each year to find out how students grade the virtual school program in several key areas. The 2016-2017 survey was administered by an independent market research company which created the questionnaire, collected the data, and tabulated the results.

The Niche rankings for were based on a variety of factors including state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, teacher quality, the school’s cultural diversity, student and parent reviews.

Enrollment for the 2017-18 school year is still open. For more information about Oregon Connections Academy visit ORCA’s website at www.OregonConnectionsAcademy.com or call 800-382-6010.

For additional details about this article please contact Laura Dillon, Outreach Manager at Oregon Connections Academy, (503) 779-3150 ldillon@orca.connectionsacademy.org