Learning Together from Home, Muslim-Americans are part of a growing population choosing online education over more traditional forms.
Seven year old Faatimah and twelve year old Sakina Musa are back in school. But instead of getting on a bus every morning and traveling to a school building, they simply turn on their computers from home and “log-on” to school. Both girls are enrolled in an online school that allows them to receive a complete education from their home, under the guidance of their mother and with support from “virtual” teachers. It’s a new trend in education that is becoming increasingly popular with families across the country.
Both girls use the education program developed by K12, the largest provider of online school programs for students in kindergarten through high school in the U.S. The K12 program combines innovative web-based lessons delivered through the Internet with offline education materials, such as books, science equipment and even music and art supplies. K12 delivers their program directly to the doorstep of every enrolled student at the beginning of each school year.
Faatimah and Sakina’s mother, Cheryl, works alongside her daughters as they complete their lessons and school work. She also receives support and assistance from K12 teachers who communicate with her and the girls via telephone, email, and even web-based conferencing, or “e-classrooms.” According to Cheryl, learning from home using K12 online learning program is the right solution for her family. “We love to learn together as a family,” said Cheryl. “It pulls us together and brings us close. Our family motto is ‘readers are leaders.’”
While the K12 education program is offered to families in many ways – including purchasing individual courses or through the private K12 International Academy – the Musa’s are enrolled in one of many tuition-free K12 virtual public schools, which are available in 23 states plus the District of Columbia.
“A friend referred me to K12 and I found that I could enroll my daughters in one of their virtual schools for free, because it is a public school program,” said Cheryl. According to Cheryl, what drew her to K12 was quality and rigor of the program.
“I was looking for a program that was more interactive, more challenging for my daughters, especially with reading,” said Cheryl.
The Musa’s work hard to balance three important areas of their lives – family, religion, and education. As a devout Muslim-American family, they cherish their Friday’s together attending religious services. Cheryl says one of the great advantages of learning at home using the K12 program is that it gives her family more flexibility than they would have at a regular school.
“We can take off on Friday’s. We have more freedom for our family lifestyle. It’s more flexible, yet we’re not sacrificing our education.”
Even though her daughters learn from home, Cheryl emphasized that they are not isolated.
“Our kids are involved in so many outside and community activities. With K12, they actually have more time for activities. They’re very active and well-rounded.”
Faatimah and Sakina are part of a growing number of students that are choosing online education over traditional schools. According to the International Association of K-12 Online Learning, well over one million students are enrolled in online learning here in the U.S and it is growing at 30% every year.
Cheryl believes more and more Muslim-American families are turning to learning online because of how providers like K12 can deliver a high quality education right to their home. “Education is a main focus for Muslim-Americans, like us,” said Cheryl. “I have many friends who are choosing to learn from home. It’s been the perfect fit for us.”
-Paul Young
For more information on K12′s Public Relations campaign or other ethnic outreach, contact Paul Young (paul@allied-media.com) with Allied Media Corp.
