REVIEW OF Ontario Virtual School BY student, Ellie Zronik

(5) Student Experience

I loved Ontario Virtual School. As someone with a busy schedule, I found it very easy to catch up on lessons and stay on track thanks to the email reminders about what I had completed or missed. My favourite part was the lesson planner; it helped me integrate my online schoolwork with my in-person classes. I was a little worried about how long the exam process would take near the end, but once I submitted my proctor information, my teacher emailed me immediately. That responsiveness was one of the things that made my experience so great. My teacher always replied quickly and marked my tests promptly! As someone who needed to squeeze in a course because I didn’t have space in my regular timetable, it was an excellent experience. I 100% recommend it!

(5) School Leadership

My main school leader was my teacher. I respected her because she always came across as kind in the video lessons and consistently gave me helpful feedback on my tests. She responded quickly and always provided solutions whenever I hit a speed bump! She walked me through the exam process and made it very straightforward. Both my proctor and I really appreciated her. She spoke clearly during lessons, which made it easy to learn. Overall, she was a great teacher, and I had no issues at all.

(5) Teaching

The teaching and the teachers in this course asked for just enough. They always adjusted to our schedules, which I really appreciated as someone who is busy during the school year. The only thing they firmly required was academic integrity, meaning, don’t use AI, which was a completely understandable rule. I loved my teacher and never felt pressured or misunderstood. I always felt that she was listening to me and helping me grow as a student. She never placed unrealistic expectations on me, which made the course much more enjoyable and far less stressful. When I got a good grade, my teacher would celebrate me, which I really appreciated. It meant a lot that she took the time to say, “Good job.” Overall, the teaching was great.

(5) Academics

The academics were perfect. I found the course more challenging than I expected, especially since I assumed it would be simpler because it was online, but once I got into it, I realized I was learning the same material I would have in a traditional classroom. I appreciated the video lessons, which meant I didn’t have to read everything, and we even got to do an online dissection, which was really fun. I think what I learned in this course will be very useful later in life, especially since I took biology. The course helped me understand the basics of science and how to apply them to the real world, like exploring which careers align with certain subjects and what the salary expectations might be.

(4.5) School Life

I would definitely show students the lesson planner, as it was an incredibly helpful tool for someone who likes to stay organized. You could block off specific dates and plan when you wanted to complete lessons each week. It even helped you schedule your final exam and see when you would finish the course, which I found especially useful since I had a target end date in mind. I was able to move lessons around as needed, and if I missed one, the planner would automatically rearrange it for me, something I really appreciated. I loved how it worked with your schedule. This is the first feature I’d show any new student.

(5) Admissions

The admissions process was very simple! The website was easy to navigate, and everything felt organized from the moment I logged on. It only took a few steps and just a couple of minutes to complete. I needed something quick and straightforward because of my busy school schedule, and this was perfect. The only part that took a bit of time was uploading my transcript, but once I got it from my guidance counsellor, the school responded very quickly. I was able to start learning right away. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an online school.