Online School's Flexible Environment Provides Relief for Northridge Teen

If you’re a high school student suffering from reoccurring extreme migraine headaches, a quiet, dark space is not easy to come by in a school building. For Allison, a Northridge teen, migraine headaches became so severe that her traditional school setting was no longer an environment that would work for her. She found a better educational fit and solace from her migraines at an online school, California Virtual Academy@ Los Angeles (CAVA). The flexible, customized education at CAVA means Allison can receive a high-quality education and manage her severe migraines.

The symptoms of the migraines– blurred vision, tension headaches, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound – can be debilitating. Often the only relief is finding a quiet, dark room.

Allison’s migraine headaches began to become much more frequent and severe when she was a 10th grade student – so painful that she often couldn’t talk. Her headaches would result in extended absences from school. Allison, always a strong student, began to explore other schooling options where she could be in a more controllable environment should a migraine headache occur.

California Virtual Academy@ Los Angeles (CAVA) proved to be the environment Allison needed.
California Virtual Academies are a network of online public charter schools for students in grades K-12. The CAVA programs combine active parent involvement with highly qualified, state-certified teachers. CAVA offers students a choice to receive a more customized and flexible education, tuition-free. Allison’s teachers set the schedule and curriculum that meets her learning needs, and she receives all the materials she needs in the mail—books, materials, and more.

Full-time online school at CAVA provides Allison the opportunity to continue to thrive with her academic studies, while also being able to control her migraine headaches. The flexibility of the school day means that if Allison can more manageably work her school work around her migraine headaches —even dive deeper into subject areas of interest, like English and writing.

CAVA’s personalized approach and flexible learning environment has enabled Allison to thrive in school. Allison is already planning her post high school plans, interested in pursuing a college degree in nursing or forensic anthropology.

Katrina Abston is the Senior Head of School for California Virtual Academies, tuition-free online public charter schools available statewide offering full-time instruction for grades K-12. http://cava.k12.com/