Virtual School Holds Real Prom
Washington Virtual Academy Students Dance the Night Away
NORMANDY PARK, Wash. – On Friday, May 19, nearly 100 high school students from Washington Virtual Academy (WAVA) attended their prom at the Normandy Park Community Center. Sounds like a normal school milestone full of nerves, fancy dresses and rented tuxes, right? Well, there’s a little more to this story…
All the students attend school virtually.
Online schools like WAVA are often presumed to provide limited socialization opportunities for students. However, this prom proves quite the opposite. Students from all over Washington get to know each other through their online classrooms and student clubs, as well as at in-person social gatherings like field trips, community service events, school dances and graduation (which will be Sunday, June 11, at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center).
With a masquerade theme, students came to prom dressed in their best formal wear and masks and danced the night away with a disco ball and laser lights accompanying the DJ’s music. A photo booth also provided the students with souvenirs to remember the magical evening.
As a statewide school, WAVA students live all across Washington. A large number of students are from the Seattle area, but many students traveled for hours to attend prom, some coming from as far as Lynden.
Despite the wide range of hometowns, the students had a great time reuniting with their classmates – or in some cases meeting them for the first time – and celebrating the end of another successful school year.
“Prom gives our school a sense of community,” said Andy Holmes, a teacher at WAVA. “This was the seventh year in a row that we’ve had prom, and it’s always a success. There were very few students sitting on the sidelines – everyone was dancing and having a good time. It was a very inclusive event.”
Students choose to attend virtual school for a number of reasons – some are looking to escape bullying; some are ahead of or behind in their class and need different attention from their teachers; some have medical conditions or other commitments that cause them to need a flexible schedule; and some just thrive in a different setting.
Washington Virtual Academy is a tuition-free online public school open to full-time and part-time students in kindergarten through 12th grade statewide. WAVA offers a rigorous and engaging curriculum that includes traditional academic subjects, as well as a wide variety of career and technical electives. WAVA students receive instruction from state-certified teachers during live interactive online classes, as well as through recorded sessions.
Washington Virtual Academy is an Alternative Learning Experience school program of the Omak School District. . For more information about WAVA, visit wava.k12.com.