All on her own: Online school fosters independence for sparkling young ballerina

Isabella Walsh is no ordinary 18 year old. When she was 15 years old, she lived in an apartment in San Francisco, 7 hours away from her family in Rolling Hills. She rode the bus to and from school every day. She cooked her own meals, did her own laundry.

But it wasn’t any old school Isabella was attending, and her roommates weren’t the kind of unkempt, disorganized types we all associate with our first roommate experience. Isabella was attending the San Francisco Ballet School. She and her fellow classmates and roommates were ballerinas – training 6 hours a day and living a life of discipline, hard work, and focus. In between practice and rehearsals, Isabella was a student with the California Virtual Academy (CAVA) @ San Mateo program, a tuition-free public charter school for students K-12. Isabella attended CAVA for three years, starting as a sophomore.

The program played up Isabella’s strengths of independence and self-motivation. Though she did have the support of her learning coaches (her parents and apartment “den mother”), finding the time complete her course work and take tests was largely up to her.

“By their junior year, many of Isabella’s peers were going for their GEDs,” says Isabella’s dad, Carl Wilson. “She pushed through CAVA all the way. She would rehearse for hours then come home, watch the lectures, and do her homework.”

Isabella regularly made the Dean’s List during her time at CAVA.

Today, Isabella is 18. She graduated from CAVA in June and was offered a spot within the San Francisco Ballet Company as an apprentice. She attends rehearsals and practices with members of the ballet company, and is well on her way of achieving her dream of becoming a principal ballerina. Her ultimate performance would be to star as Juliet in Romeo & Juliet.

Would you like to speak to Isabella? I think your readers would be interested in hearing a story about such a hard-working, accomplished young woman.

About California Virtual Academy @ San Mateo

California Virtual Academy @ San Mateo is a full-time, tuition-free, online public charter schools for students in grades K-12 who live in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties. The engaging, award-winning K12 curriculum offers student-centered, individualized and flexible learning with experienced, California-credentialed teachers. http://cava.k12.com/