Michelle Heart Wishes She Had the Career Development This Online School Offers

By the time my senior year of high school started, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

After interning for a local radio cluster the summer before senior year started, it was hard to go back to a traditional public high school and focus in classes I knew that I’d never apply to a broadcast career. While my television production classes were great for teaching me copywriting and news pegs, I certainly can’t say the same about calculus or Latin.

That’s why Idaho Technical Career Academy (ITCA) and its career pathways that focus on things you'll use in the real world every day is so cool. If you're not familiar with it, ITCA is a virtual public school that blends live sessions and recorded content while still offering students tons of support and opportunities for specialized study.

Since this is a public high school, it is tuition-free, and all teachers are certified in Idaho and have years of experience, many specifically in online learning. The school provides learning materials, and qualified students receive a loaner computer, printer, and internet stipend.

Aside from dual enrollment, AP and honors classes, and support for students with IEPs and 504 plans, Idaho Technical Career Academy offers college and career prep with these pathways:

• Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources (animal science, plant science)
• Business Management
• Digital Communication
• Health & Human Services (medical assistant, pharmacy technician)

I LOVE that they create opportunities for you to job shadow someone who’s doing what you want to do. While I was very lucky that my high school offered the radio internship to the kids in the television production class, that’s not common (or at least it wasn’t at the time) for every student at every high school. Yes, that's a younger me you see in the photos from my old cluster in Youngstown, Ohio.

I also love how much flexibility they offer. Students who need to work around a job schedule or family and agriculture responsibilities are free to do that while pursuing their specific educational goals. 

We hear so much about bullying these days, and this school can offer an alternative to students whose home school district just isn't a good fit — and they can still participate in extracurriculars such as career clubs and the Student Advisory Council.

Ready to learn more? Visit ITCA.K12.com to learn more, sample lessons, and read feedback from parents and students. They accept enrollment for the 2024-25 school year through Nov. 1, so there's still time to make a change in your child's education!