PENDLETON — Online learning in northeast Oregon is receiving a high-octane boost from the InterMountain Education Service District.

IMESD is launching a Virtual Learning Academy to give students in its service area, which covers Union, Baker, Umatilla and Morrow counties, the option of taking online classes while remaining an integral part of their public schools.

A total of 35 IMESD teachers, all of whom have extensive training in providing virtual education, will provide the online instruction.

All students taking courses via the Virtual Learning Academy will have an advisor in their school district to help them schedule classes, get the proper technology equipment, meet graduation requirements and work with families.

Having local advisors will be critical to the success of the Virtual Learning Academy, said Madeline Koenig, IMESD’s virtual learning and student success coordinator.

“This will be important because the students will be receiving guidance from someone who understands their school district and its culture,” Koenig said.

Virtual Learning Academy students will retain their connection with their home school districts and be able to participate in extracurricular activities, including sports, music and clubs. They also will have access to learning labs at their schools for academic support and enrichment.

Because students remain enrolled in their home school district, the transition would be seamless if they decide to return to on-site classes.

“It will allow students to have more flexibility,” Koenig said.

Online students will continue to be counted among their school district’s students, which means school districts will receive funding from the state for them.

All 18 school districts the IMESD serves will be part of the Virtual Learning Academy.

A number of these school districts already offer their own virtual learning programs, including the La Grande School District, which launched the La Grande Learning Academy about three years ago. Such programs will become a part of the IMESD Virtual Learning Academy and gain tools to help them to continue to succeed, Koenig said.

The online program at each participating school district will have its own name. For example, the La Grande Learning Academy will retain its name, and the Cove School District’s online program will be the Cove Virtual Learning Academy.

The Cove School District previously provided internet-based platforms for students for credit recovery and some college courses.

Cove School District Superintendent Earl Pettit said the IMESD’s program will benefit all students.

“Developing new options for our learners with support from the IMESD has really been positive for our district,” Pettit said in an IMESD press release.

The IMESD virtual academy model also will give districts the opportunity to allow students to combine online and on-site classes.

In some instances IMESD’s online academy will expand school district curriculums. For example, the Helix School District has had a difficult time retaining Spanish teachers in recent years and presently does not have one, Koenig said.

This school year, Helix will be able to offer instruction in the languages because the IMESD Virtual Learning Academy has a Spanish teacher, and online Spanish instruction will be available to all of the district’s on-site and online students.

“The pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty and unease relating to education; however, we have an opportunity to pull from these trials the pieces that work,” said Erin Lair, IMESD’s director of teaching and learning, in the news release. “We must be ready to embrace a landscape in education that is forever changed, one that focuses on the importance of connection to community and multiple modalities to meet the needs of our students.”

Information on enrolling in IMESD’s Virtual Learning Academy is available at local school district offices.

“The pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty and unease relating to education; however, we have an opportunity to pull from these trials the pieces that work,” said Erin Lair, IMESD’s director of teaching and learning, in the new release. “We must be ready to embrace a landscape in education that is forever changed, one that focuses on the importance of connection to community and multiple modalities to meet the needs of our students.”