During 2010-11, St Vrain Online Global Academy was created by a St. Vrain Valley School District committee. The purpose of creating this option was to offer an alternate curriculum to provide more flexibility and to help accommodate for students who did not find success at a traditional high school setting.
The school officially opened during the 2011-12 school year with the help of part time principal Joann Dawe and full time counselor Scott Bergamo. According to Stacey, St Vrain Virtual High School, full time principal, The first several years of the school being open did not go exactly as planned, resulting in the graduation rate being at 17%.
In 2021-2022, the school was officially rebranded as St Vrain Virtual High School.
Since the program originated, the school has drastically changed the way it’s run. Originally, students weren’t expected to go in everyday and didn’t have much of a structure.
One of the many changes made to the way the school is run is incorporating structure into students’ schedules. While the curriculum at SVVHS is all online, students are still expected to go in everyday to complete four assignments a day, or a total of 20 a week. This change has resulted in the graduation rate rising to 86%.
Structure is very important to the success of students. Similar to the structure offered in a traditional high school or other virtual programs, such as LaunchED where you have to join online meeting in order to make progress.
Current SVVHS principal Stacey Struessel said, “That walking through the door piece is essential, not only does it create connections, but it creates accountability and structure. LaunchED, our other remote option is fully remote, but you have to login everyday which creates structure.”
Students take two classes at a time, giving students the ability to put their focus and priorities into the classes they are currently enrolled in.
There is a large range of classes offered at SVVHS: some of these classes are honors, concurrent enrollment, credit recovery, and AP classes.
Students also have the opportunity to take classes and cocurricular activities at their neighborhood school, given that it isn’t offered at SVVHS.
While this type of school isn’t for everyone, some students find that SVVHS is a perfect fit for them for a variety of reasons, including health, athletics, careers, and even traveling.
Struessel said, “I like watching people come into something new after coming from something that’s been so hard, and watching people settle in.”
The last chance to join SVVHS for the 23-24 school year is January 16th at 5:30. The process includes going to the information meeting held on January 16th, filling out an application, and going through the interview process. The only requirement is that the student needs to be at or above grade level reading skills.
