Stanford University Online High School

Why did you choose OHS?

I’m currently a full-time student, and I joined OHS as a part-time student because I found it to be a perfect fit considering my prior educational background. Since the first week of kindergarten, I have been homeschooled and schooled online through educational courseware such as EPGY, CTY, and AoPS, and have loved these curriculums. So, when I heard about OHS—a high school that would satisfy my love for online schooling, and also showed a diverse community, which intrigued me greatly—I decided OHS was the right school for me.

What are classes like at OHS?

The classes at OHS are simply wonderful. They engage students with interesting questions, provide challenging yet fun workloads, and help students think in depth about topics. The online classroom is simple to use and lets us interact better than we could in a brick-and-mortar school, since we are able to send private messages to the teachers and also split up into breakout rooms to work well as groups. The teachers are, from what I’ve seen, all extraordinarily kind and helpful. Profesora Nadaner, a Spanish teacher, for instance, is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, always speaking in a friendly voice, encouraging her students when they get an answer wrong, and making us feel very happy when we get an answer right. She doles out a good amount of homework, but to counterbalance the load is the fact that the homework is never an overwhelming stressor.

What is student life like at OHS?

The student life at OHS, while perhaps a bit limited by the lack of in-person interactions, is no less vigorous and fun. In Skype, students can meet each other by working together in study groups for individual classes and chatting in casual groups. The student clubs are another great part of the community, bringing together all grades and ages of students linked by a common passion. During my first year at the OHS, I founded the Art Club, which was a great success, according to the members, and through it I met some friends who I would not have met otherwise. My absolute favorite parts of the community, however, must be the assemblies: each month or so, the student body comes together to celebrate a holiday (such as Halloween or Valentine’s Day), have fun at the Spirit Week Assembly or have a fair (such as the Club Fair and the Science Fair.) I look forward to these assemblies, and they’ve given me some great memories.

How has OHS helped you realize your goals?

OHS has greatly helped me develop academically. In the past, many of my courses were either self-paced or simply had much less homework. At OHS, however, there is definitely more vigor to the courses, and I am able to learn more in less time. The OHS classes teach me to see deeper, think harder, and challenge myself, and I feel that I am certainly growing as a student.

OHS has also helped me develop my special talents. Because of the spread-out schedule, I can work in homework at almost any time of the day, and I have time for dance as well as art and my other passions.

» Click here to view Ashley’s weekday schedule

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