At age 17, Blake Novacek is already on a promising career track. The stepson of former Dallas Cowboys player Jay Novacek is already working with ESPN Radio, a gig that his mother points out requires a lot of time and travel.
"To be able to do that, you have to be ready to go at any given minute to go to the charity events we went to — practices, training camps," said mom Amy Novacek.
To chase his dream without racking up a bevy of unexcused absences from school, Blake signed up for Grapevine-Colleyville ISD's relatively new virtual public school called iUniversity Prep, which is available at no charge to students across the state, and is accredited by the Texas Education Agency.
LINK: iUniversity Prep
Blake described how it works: "Seven to eight times a week — depending on how many classes you are involved in — you go to a live lesson, and that is a face-to-face meeting with the teacher. The class is anywhere from five to 20 students, and it is just like a live class," he said.
The remote learning program is just two years old, but has already drawn hundreds of students. G-CISD's Director of Virtual Education Kaye Rogers said the virtual student body includes "elite athletes, kiddos who are actors and actresses, and writers."
Not having to attend class in person might sound ideal, but Blake says you can fall behind fast if you don't do it right.
"You definitely have to be self-disciplined to do virtual school," he said.
And students have to be willing to forgo many of the traditional interactions with classmates if they elect to get their schooling through a screen. "It has its pros and cons, but he does socialize, and he has those opportunities as well," Amy Novacek said.
All involved say iUniversity Prep is certainly not ideal for everyone, but this new way of learning lets a growing number of multitasking young people to start their careers while finishing their studies.
