Mia stands in her bedroom with a book she has picked out from her bookshelves.

Mia: 1st Grade

REASON FOR ONLINE SCHOOL: FLEXIBILITY AND MORE FAMILY TIME

About Mia

Mia is a first grade student at Oregon Charter Academy. Her family travels often for her mother’s job, so when Mia started school they decided to enroll her in online school instead of traditional brick-and-mortar school. They love the flexibility of ORCA’s program; Mia can travel with the rest of the family without being penalized for missing school, and it’s easy for Mia’s parents to log on with her and help keep her on track with her school work. Mia loves all the adventures she has while traveling, and loves that her online community can travel with her!

Mia smiles at the camera.

A Typical Day

Live Classes are only a part of a student’s day at Oregon Charter Academy. In our program, students complete much of their work asynchronously, on their own schedule. They can reach out to their teachers for one-on-one support whenever they need it. Continue reading to see what Mia’s daily schedule typically looks like!

DAY OF THE WEEK: TUESDAY

7:30 AM

Mia wakes up most days around 7:30. She eats breakfast and gets ready for the day.

8:30 AM

At 8:30, Mia’s mom goes to work. Mia sits down with her learning coach for the day (today that is her dad). Together, they make a to-do list for the day. They review her course pages to help with planning and once organized, Mia, along with the support of her learning coach, gets started on some of her tasks.

9:30 AM

After completing lessons in a couple courses, it's time for a break. Mia likes to draw and color, or go outside if the sun is out.

10:00 AM

It’s time for live class! Mia loves that her schedule is simple and allows for a predictable routine. She has live class each day, except on Friday when she only has asynchronous work. In 1st grade, live classes are 30 minutes long. Mia’s teacher sometimes keeps the live class open after they wrap up so her students have time to talk. 

10:30 AM

After her first live class, Mia takes a short break for a snack and completes one of  her daily chores. She then gathers materials needed for her next live class. 

11:00 AM

Mia is back in live class! Today, the class is using Base 10 blocks for math, one of the many fun materials sent home in her physical materials kit at the beginning of the year.

11:30 AM

Now that live classes have wrapped up, Mia talks to her learning coach about what was discussed in her live classes as they prepare lunch together. Mia’s learning coach uses this time to reinforce some of the math concepts discussed during live class that day. 

12:00 PM

After eating, Mia heads outside to play and earn some of her weekly PE minutes, which she then records in her log to be turned in at the end of the week.

12:30 PM

Mia continues with her school work from the morning that is outlined on her personal to-do list that was created using her course homepages. Her learning coach is readily available to assist Mia in getting started with her daily tasks. Often Mia can complete the assignments on her own, but on occasion, her learning coach needs to step in and provide some support. Mia takes breaks, as needed.

2:00 PM 

It’s time for a NASA livestream! Mia has been learning about outer space in her Core class, and she loves it. So when her parents read in her Principal’s Corner course that there was a NASA club, she was excited to join. Today’s livestream is from the Space Center Houston, and there’s a real astronaut speaking!

3:00 PM

Mia is finished with her day. She cleans up her workspace and gets organized for the following day. Mia checks in with her learning coach to see if all lessons and assignments on her to-do list are complete. She and her learning coach check the gradebook in Canvas for any missing assignments. 

5:00 PM

After some down time, Mia’s mom arrives home from work. Free time!

Mia turns the pages of a book she is reading.

Mia’s Schedule

Mia is enrolled in 3 courses at Oregon Charter Academy, which is standard for her age and grade. Some of these courses meet live multiple times per week; others meet only once per week. When Mia is not attending Live Class, there is other assigned work for her to complete asynchronously.

In addition to her standard courses, Mia is also enrolled in the NASA club. The NASA club is an optional club that Mia joined because she’s been enjoying learning about space. Take a look at Mia’s live class schedule below.

Mia and her mom sit on the bed, reading a book together. They are smiling.

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