Back to school and beyond the classroom

School is officially back in session—students are settling into new classes and diving into their studies. But with this transition to the new school year, many parents often begin to wonder, “what else can my student be taking advantage of at his or her school?”

As the principal of Capistrano Connections Academy, a tuition-free K-12 public online school, I often hear variations of this question. Though our students complete their education online, they nevertheless have many opportunities to enrich their learning experience with specialty courses and electives, clubs and activities, and field trips.

Capistrano Connections Academy’s innovative curriculum offers electives and specialty courses to interest every type of student. In addition to the several foreign languages, computer technology and web design courses offered, students can experience a world-class Juilliard music education through our school! The K-12 Juilliard eLearning arts program, developed in partnership with The Juilliard School, includes demonstrations by Juilliard students and faculty. Particularly valuable to our high school students are Connections Academy’s new Career Technical Education (CTE) courses, offering students a chance to explore careers and fields of study through engaging multimedia content, personalized study guides and interactive exercises. More than 20 CTE courses are available to students and span careers in business, criminal investigation, physiology and accounting.

In addition to the innovative curriculum, we also offer students a wide range of clubs and activities and field trips across the state. Whether students are interested in chess, robotics or poetry, we have an online school club for them. We also have a robust schedule of field trips throughout California, visiting places such as wildlife preserves, theaters and museums to deepen students’ understanding of core concepts.

Many other valuable opportunities are available, and it’s up to students to seek them out. One of the most underutilized student resources available are school counselors. I encourage all students to talk with a counselor about their interests and strengths. I’m positive that they will leave the conversation inspired with new ideas and feeling informed about what is available to them to help explore their interests and hobbies.

I highly recommend to my students—and to all students this fall—to learn more about the enrichment opportunities available to them.  Whether its clubs, specialized courses or even field trips, these experiences can help develop academic successes into career paths or uncover fun extracurricular activities outside the classroom.

I hope that each student takes the time to explore his or her interests this school year, in addition to excelling academically. I must say, I wish a lot of these resources were available when I was a student! Parents, if you could be a student today, what interests would you pursue?