The South Carolina Connections Academy is an online public virtual charter school serving elementary, middle and high school students.

Susannah Christ, a Lexington County resident, is in her senior year and attends the South Carolina Connections Academy.

Susannah attended public school but decided to explore other opportunities for her education. The switch to online school transpired when she began to stress about the traditional school workload.

In-person classes became a challenging learning atmosphere, enhancing stress and affecting her mental health in the conventional classroom, she said.

Both Susannah, and her mother, Kim, came to the decision that they would take a break from public school for a year and possibly go back. However, after seeing what the Connections Academy offered, they decided they would continue online school.

With the move to an online school, Susannah said it’s easier for her to manage her schedule the way she needs it.

She is currently in a dual-enrolled program and attends the Midlands Technical College for classes two days a week. However, this doesn’t impact her ability to get her classes at Connections Academy done, since her schedule allows her to have plenty of time to complete the work that is required for classes.

With a flexible schedule the Connections Academy provides, Susannah has time to volunteer at pet rescues and brings the animals home to take care of them throughout the day.

Susannah furthermore appreciates the number of course offerings Connections Academy has. One class she has selected to take next semester is computer programming.

Teachers at the Connection Academy respond quickly to questions and are constantly in contact with their students. Courses offer Zoom meetings where students can communicate face-to-face when required, and in-person testing takes place.

Parent involvement is also a part of the Academy. Parents are “learning coaches” and can look at their children’s portal and get in contact with instructors.

Education doesn’t look the same for everybody and each student needs different elements to succeed. Kim Christ offers advice to other parents saying find what works where your child can flourish and excel in school.

After this school year, Susannah is planning to continue her education at Midlands Tech and plans to transfer to a four-year university.