To the Editor,
Our daughter, Olivia, has a visual impairment caused by Leber congenital amaurosis, a genetic disability impairing her eyesight and requiring her to use braille.
Sending her to brick-and-mortar schools for her elementary years was a natural path but as we progressed to middle school, we began to see the lack of independence as a problem and the categorization of children by their disability unsettling. Even worse was her schools’ unwillingness to treat her like the other children: they expected her to be in a special school for disabled children instead of studying with her neighborhood and church friends. We knew she needed to be in a school setting that would let her shine with her disability, not define her by it. We chose K12 Inc. online school.
At the North Carolina Virtual Academy, Olivia has gained her independence and grown as an individual. She gets the individualized attention she needs from her teachers when it’s appropriate. NCVA supplies us with special technologies to help her work efficiently. Her new schedule and ability to study from home is a great aspect of virtual education. Olivia participates in church activities, community events and her favorite sports. As a braillist, I’m able to help her, as needed, with her online lessons by allowing her to do the work independently online and then she can enter her answers online. Olivia’s personal responsibility and independence have grown by leaps and bounds with NCVA.
NCVA has turned our daughter’s disability from a challenge into something that simply makes her different. We are a proud virtual school family and excited about another great school year.
Traci Wilkerson
Wake Forest
To learn more about North Carolina Virtual Academy, visit https://ncva.k12.com/
