Grand Rapids Reporter

As schools across the nation open for the fall semester, with some already having to close due to COVID-19 outbreaks, many districts are turning to online education as an alternative, and one Michigan academy may already be best poised to serve its students virtually.

Enter Heather Ballien, the superintendent of Great Lakes Learning Academy (GLLA), a cyber (virtual) school serving over 1,100 students in grades 6-12 all over the state of Michigan. GLLA is a public charter school that has been operating for eight years. It is funded in the same manner as other public schools, receiving the minimum allotment per pupil. 

Ballien, who has worked in the field of education for over 20 years as a public school administrator, teacher and consultant, among other roles, recently spoke on WJR's "The Frank Beckmann Show" to discuss how her school is ready to serve its students this fall. She also spoke about the general reopening for all schools. 

"Instead of looking at it as direct instruction every day standing in front of 30 students," Ballien said of her network of teachers, "what they do is they facilitate the learning process for our students, and they work with students in smaller groups. So students really get the personalization to focus on the learning that works best for them." 

Great Lakes teachers teach students in groups of three to five or eight to ten at a time, with groups of teachers occasionally instructing larger groups of students, but the schools emphasizes small group instruction.

"Our focus is really on the student, and so we prioritize that," Ballien told Beckmann.

While the popularity of a virtual program like the one offered by GLLA is gaining slow momentum, Ballien recognizes that it's not for every student and that there is a broad range of students who require different types of learning. If there is an opportunity for in-person instruction, she recommends that some students should take it because they may require that kind of instruction.

"I think it is possible to have some version of a face-to-face opportunity or experience for students, but it's going to have to look different. We can't have 30, 35 students all crammed in a classroom without making sure that we take safety precautions and the CDC guidelines into account," Ballien told Beckmann.

She further points out that brick-and-mortar schools just don't have the space or capacity to hold regular classes and social-distance at the same time, and she suggests staggering or alternating groups to maximize the space the schools have available.

Even for GLLA, though, the new normal is difficult for their cyber students, and Ballien says they are missing face-to-face opportunities. They haven't been able to attend field trips or other get-together events, which is something they look forward to returning to when the time is right. 

Still, Ballien is looking forward to the new school year and says she loves what she does. "I actually started the academy seven years ago, and it's been the greatest adventure of my life," Ballien said on the radio program.