Athens City Schools Takes Lead in Providing Virtual School Option to Alabama Students

New Full-Time Online and Blended School Open for Enrollment to K-12 Students Across the State

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Aug 21, 2015, 07:00 ET

HERNDON, Va., Aug. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/-- In response to a bill recently passed by the Alabama State Legislature requiring virtual options for high school students by the 2016-2017 school year, Athens City Schools is moving quickly to provide a new virtual education option for students across the state. Opening in time for the 2015-2016 school year, the Athens Renaissance School (ARS) is a full-time online and blended public school for students in grades K–12 who can benefit from a highly flexible, personalized learning model.

For the new school, Athens City Schools partnered with Fuel Education™ (FuelEd™) for its broad catalog of award-winning, standards-based online courses that will be taught by both Athens City Schools teachers and FuelEd's certified teachers, who are accredited and extensively trained to deliver instruction in an online environment. In addition, FuelEd's technology platform and tools empower administrators, teachers, students, and their families to view data in real-time and track each student's progress, enabling teachers to customize lessons and differentiate instruction.

ARS will also have a blended option where students can visit the school's dedicated facility to work face-to-face with teachers. All students will be required to take the same standardized assessments as students enrolled in the City's traditional brick and mortar schools. In addition, ARS students will have opportunities to participate in student government, honor societies, and various clubs. Students who wish to participate in sports and other extra-curricular activities can do so at their local schools—no matter where they live in the state of Alabama.

"The Alabama State Legislature, Superintendent, and Board of Education recognize that there are thousands of students who can benefit from a personalized learning environment that is outside of the traditional school model," said W.L. 'Trey' Holladay III, Superintendent of Athens City Schools. "Our goal for Athens Renaissance School is to leverage the power of online and blended learning to provide more of these students, and their parents, the opportunity to find the very best model in which they can excel academically."

Holladay says ARS is best suited for students who are independent thinkers, may not fit into the traditional school model, and have parents who are highly involved in their education. It is also for students with specific family or medical needs, as they can complete lessons or coursework in any location with Internet access and during times of the day that work with their changing schedules.

Having previously implemented FuelEd's blended remediation solution for high school students, Holladay said, "Fuel Education was the perfect match for helping Athens City Schools launch our new full-time online school because of its broad catalog of online courses, its established, robust technology platform, and its extensive experience helping schools and districts in the Southeast implement successful online and blended learning programs."

Gregg Levin, Fuel Education's General Manager, said, "We are very excited to partner with Athens City Schools to help them blaze the trail for online and blended learning in Alabama. With the right combination of online curriculum, technology, instruction, as well as a host of other support tools and resources, Fuel Education looks forward to helping Athens Renaissance School meet the needs of more students while improving outcomes."

Parents and students who live in Alabama and are interested in the new school can visit the ARS website for more information. The school will begin taking enrollment applications in the next few days.

Fuel Education's full-time school solution also includes benchmark and formative assessments; an anti-plagiarism tool; a web-based counseling system; and a variety of student and parent resources. To learn more, watch this video or read this case study about FuelEd's partnership with Miami-Dade Public Schools.

About Fuel Education
Fuel Education™ partners with school districts to fuel personalized learning and transform the education experience inside and outside the classroom. The company provides innovative solutions for pre-K through 12th grade that empower districts to implement successful online and blended learning programs. Its open, easy-to-use Personalized Learning Platform, PEAK™, enables teachers to customize courses using their own content, FuelEd courses and titles, third-party content, and open educational resources. Fuel Education offers the industry's largest catalog of digital curriculum, certified instruction, professional development, and educational services. FuelEd has helped 2,000 school districts to improve student outcomes and better serve diverse student populations. To learn more, visit getfueled.com and Twitter.

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SOURCE Fuel Education