Teacher shares value of virtual learning

By Audrey Posten

In a few short weeks, school classrooms will quiet as students and teachers head off to summer break. The quiet won’t come just in brick and mortar buildings, but also in the online learning spaces at Iowa Virtual Academy (IAVA), a full-time online public school for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

A program of Clayton Ridge Community School District, IAVA launched in 2012. It grew from a few staff members and around 60 K-6 students its first year to double the number of students across K-12 the following year, according to teacher Karen Zuercher.

Zuercher, who’s based in Guttenberg, started teaching at IAVA in 2014. She’d recently gotten her teaching degree after more than a decade as a teacher associate at Clayton Ridge. Her first year included teaching mostly math, but also some language arts, at upper elementary and middle school levels. The next year, she even taught some high school math. Now, her focus is middle school math.

“I’ve done a big range of teaching math, from third to ninth grades,” she said.

IAVA describes itself as being “dedicated to inspiring and empowering students through an education experience tailored to each child’s needs.” It’s tuition free and students from around the state can open enroll throughout the year.

“You used to have to fill out an application by the end of March to attend the next year, but that’s no longer the case. It’s rolling enrollment. You can enroll any time,” Zuercher explained.

Class is held virtually through a platform Zuercher likened to Zoom. Students attend math, science, history and language arts classes daily at specific times. All are led by state-licensed teachers and align to Iowa standards.

“They also have online lessons where they do problem solving and quizzes and take unit tests. Teachers present every day and piggyback off those lessons in the online courses,” said Zuercher.

The IAVA school calendar follows the Clayton Ridge calendar. 

“When they switch to four days next year, we will also go to a four-day week,” Zuercher noted.

The IAVA curriculum incorporates interactive games, videos and hands-on activities. 

“I asked students how it impacts them being in my math classes, and they like to hear humor in lessons and how I break things down. I show there’s more than one way to solve a math problem,” said Zuercher. “Kids like using different types of games. We make connections with cooking to do fractions or use construction. We use what we know and it brings things to life.”

Along with core subjects, students enjoy music, art and physical education. They can take world languages, honors courses and concurrent enrollment offerings for both high school and college credit.

Zuercher said IAVA nurtures social and emotional growth in students and offers virtual and in-person socialization opportunities. IAVA students can also participate in esports.

“There’s a platform where kids can socialize with games, music and art and share with their peers. The kids like to attend that,” she stated. “There are also field trips they can attend and meet their teachers and classmates. Parents take them. It’s good for the kids and a great way for parents to connect with other parents and see how they deal with things.” 

IAVA’s growth is exciting to Zuercher. Enrollment took a significant jump during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We went from just under 1,000 students to just over 1,500 students. Right now, we have 1,700, but it’s expected to grow into the 2,000s,” Zuercher said. “It’s just continued growing.”

Virtual learning can be valuable for many types of students, according to Zuercher.

“For those who excel, they can move through the lessons. If they struggle, they can go at a slower pace. You can stop and go back and replay,” she said.

It’s also flexible. For example, one current student plans to continue their education while playing baseball in Cuba.

“You can do athletics and be in other places. You can even go on vacation and do things,” Zuercher said. “If a student has medical issues, they can take the computer to the hospital. It’s versatile.”

The learning environment is good for Zuercher too. She said it’s fun learning something new every day and working within different platforms and curriculums. 

Students are willing and ready to learn, she added, and want to help one another.

“If one student is on a higher level, they are so willing to help each other out and help explain it to others. They jump on that microphone. So it’s not only me teaching,” Zuercher said.

The most rewarding part of teaching is what Zuercher called “ah-ha moments” for students who might not do as well at—or enjoy—math. 

“Students say ‘thank you’ for teaching them. It’s very rewarding for me to keep going,” she shared.