University View Academy (UVA) was proud to participate in National School Choice Week (NSCW). NSCW is an annual national event that informs, inspires, and empowers parents to discover the K-12 education options available for their children. Every January, tens of thousands of schools, organizations, and individuals plan unique events and activities to shine a positive spotlight on education options in their communities and highlight the importance of opportunity in K-12 education.
UVA used this year’s celebration to announce the launch of the UVA Micro Academy on Wednesday, January 29, with a virtual showcase. The Micro Academy is an innovative concept created as a direct response to requests from UVA students, parents, and educators to increase engagement and social interaction. It offers a small group of students the opportunity to learn together outside of the virtual learning space while maintaining access to high-quality online learning provided by Louisiana-certified teachers.
Current UVA parent Enas Ramzi started the pilot location as an in-person space for students in her community to come together to support each other academically. The pilot location serves as a hybrid learning environment where students complete their schoolwork with the help of peers and onsite learning coach facilitators.
“When the students share knowledge, it’s a phenomenal process,” Ramzi said. “You can see leadership skills being built. They have this communication and connection where they can see through each other, and they can explain it a lot better than we can. It’s beautiful to see.”
Ahead of the virtual showcase, UVA leadership and teachers visited the pilot location in Jefferson Parish to engage with the students and learning coaches. The location was previously an independent tutoring center, so the building contains several small, brightly-decorated classrooms where the participants work together by grade level. Student faces lit up as they were greeted by teachers that they had never met before in person. Teachers quickly gravitated to their grade levels and immediately began helping with lessons and engaging in discussion with their students.
“It was good to get direct feedback from students to know what they like and what they suggest we do to improve our engagement,” said UVA eighth grade teacher Lindel Kinchen. “I know a lot of us miss talking to our students, interacting, looking at their faces, getting to know them. It was a great day.”
The pilot location currently seats 45 students, with 35 more planning to enroll at UVA this fall. UVA plans to expand the micro academy initiative to different locations across the state to cater to various needs and interests. To learn more about the UVA Micro Academy, visit www.universityview.academy/micro or email micro@uview.academy.
