Case Study: Ontario Local Schools launches a tuition-free district online academy and expands access with Edmentum

A State-of-the-Art Virtual School Offering in Ontario

Ontario Local Schools, a 2,100-student district in Ontario, OH, launched an in-house virtual program to address growing competition from Ohio’s expanding online charter schools and to retain students who were opting for online options (more than 125 local students, ~5% of the district). Superintendent Lisa Carmichael set out to create an affordable, district-run alternative that would match the quality and supports of other online providers.

Working with Edmentum (Courseware and EdOptions Academy), the district opened Ontario Online Academy in fall 2017 as a tuition-free program for grades 6–12, issuing Chromebooks, assigning mentor teachers, and ensuring students could still access district extracurriculars and earn an Ontario diploma. The program exceeded expectations—enrolling 25 full-time students versus a 15-student goal—and is expanding into middle school and a summer program that will bring total served to about 80 students in its first year.

Ontario Local Schools

Lisa Carmichael

Superintendent