Logging into high school

East Ridge High School junior Lauren Yonkoski listens attentively to her French 3 teacher, however Lauren isn’t sitting in a classroom. She’s sitting at the computer listening to her teacher online.

Yonkoski is currently enrolled in French at Insight School of Minnesota, a virtual high school.

Yonkoski said Insight has given her the flexibility to fit French into her schedule when it wasn’t feasible at East Ridge.

“It was either online or nothing,” she said.

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Online high school has helped Hastings student improve

As an eighth-grader at Hastings Middle School, Mikayla Zeien was not looking forward to high school. She had been picked on by her classmates enough to disrupt her education, and the prospect of continuing into high school with the same kids was not an appealing one.

So she started doing some research on online high schools. A friend of her sister’s recommended one called Insight School of Minnesota.

“It seemed like a perfect fit,” Mikayla said.

She’s not the only one who thinks so. Attendance at online high schools is growing in Minnesota. According to “Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning,” Minnesota enrollment in online high schools increased by 47 percent in the 2009-2010 school year, with a total of 86,495 students signing into virtual classrooms.

Mikayla wanted to start her online high school right at the beginning of the year, but hadn’t started her research early enough, she explained. So she spent the first few days of her freshman year at Hastings High School and then switched over to Insight around the middle of September.

A look back at 2010

Maintaining a rank as No. 1 junior boys tennis player in the state — and a rank of 30 nationally — would make for a grueling schedule for any high school student. That’s doubly true if you’re Wyatt McCoy of Shoreview, 17, who also maintains straight As and tries to have the social life of a normal teenager. McCoy juggles all that by attending an online high school, the Brooklyn Center-based Insight School of Minnesota.

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Homeroom: Elite athlete’s online coursework nets him time for tennis

Wyatt McCoy won a state tennis title in eighth grade, and as he moved into high school, he realized he needed to raise his game by competing in national tournaments.

But having to miss school for a week or two at a time “gets to be kind of a hassle,” he said.

So McCoy, a Shoreview resident, left Mounds View High School after freshman year to enroll at Insight School of Minnesota, an online high school affiliated with the Brooklyn Center school district.

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A Typical Day at Insight Schools

Insight School of Minnesota

Insight School of Minnesota

What Insight School Students Say

Insight School of Minnesota

Insight School of Minnesota

Insight Schools

Insight School of Minnesota

Insight School of Minnesota

Insight School of Minnesota

Insight School of Minnesota



Insight School of Minnesota

Online Courses Offer Options, Support for Homeschooling Families

As more and more families seek alternatives to traditional school, we’re seeing an increase in students blending homeschool and online education. Every family and situation is different, but regardless of the circumstance, a tough decision has to be made when homeschooled students enter their high school years. In the past, the choices have typically been a) continue homeschooling through high school or b) start at/return to a traditional brick & mortar school.

Now, thanks to public online schools, like Insight Schools, families have a choice that offers different options for student-centered learning that didn’t exist just a few years ago – eliminating the either/or choice of the past. Insight Schools and other online education providers are allowing students to enroll full-time as well as part-time. A full-time option allows students to take a full course-load in the environment they’re accustomed to and still have their parent by their side, while part-time enrollment gives them the option of taking a class or two while still receiving instruction from their parents for their remaining courses.

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Mother excels in online high school

While her graduation represents a rite of passage for many who are Goodrich’s age, it also represents the new American trend of online education. Goodrich, 18, is one of an increasing number of high school pupils who attend and finish high school by taking online classes.

Goodrich graduated from The Insight School, soon to enter its third year of operation.

Nineteen percent of high school students in the U.S. attended online classes in the 2007-2008 school year, Insight spokesman George Fiddler said.

“A certified online Minnesota high school like Insight is just one of many choices for high school children in our state. It works a lot like open enrollment would,” said Christine Du Four, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Education.

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