Tumwater Virtual Academy to offer dual enrollment for school year 2021-22

As the school year draws to a close, the Tumwater Virtual Academy (TVA) invites students to enroll in its flexible online school program for the 2021-22 school year

In a presentation to the Tumwater School Board last Thursday, Kyle Grunenfelder, principal of the Tumwater Virtual Academy, said that they offer two enrollment options for students.

• Full-Enrollment:  The program covers elementary and high school students who wish to take all of their classes online.
• Dual Enrollment:  Secondary students, in grades 6-12, can choose a hybrid program.Students can choose to attend their local school for a part of the day and do online classes with TVA for the rest of the school hours.  

Any student under the Tumwater School District is eligible to enroll. The principal also noted that TVA canaccommodate up to ten percent of its students from outside of the school district.

The program, which began in August 2020,  provides online education for students in K-12. Currently, the TVA staff has six teachers for elementary, eight teachers in the secondary, one special education teacher, one counselor, two office professionals, and two administrators to serve up to 304 students. The Principal also said that the TVA taps into some of the Tumwater School District teachers to provide a local connection between educators.

During the presentation, Grunenfelder also shared that there are specific differences between TVA and remote learning. The Principal said that with remote learning, teachers usually assist their students. On the other hand, he noted that under the TVA program, parents play a much more active role in their child’s education.

Most importantly, Grunenfelder believed that the program provides students with an opportunity to learn at their own pace while at the same time offering a sense of independence.

Andrew Landowski, the school’s Assistant Principal, shared that under the TVA program, close to half of the high school students have a GPA average of 3.0. “With the right kind of support, it's super amazing to see [students] succeed,” the Principal said.

More information is available at the TVA website.