Type Public Principal Allison Galvin Student to teacher ratio 38:1 Number of students 4,000 | Opened 2005 Grades K-12 Phone +1 503-897-2272 Founded 2005 | |
 | ||
School district Santiam Canyon School District Address 833 NW Santiam Blvd, Mill City, OR 97360, USA Accreditation Northwest Accreditation Commission Profiles | ||
Oregon Connections Academy is a virtual charter school affiliated with the Santiam Canyon School District in Mill City, Oregon, United States. The school is operated by Oregon Connections Academy, a nonprofit corporation, through a contract with Connections Academy of Oregon, LLC, to provide its educational program and other services. The school is governed by an independent board of directors, and all board meetings are open to the public.
Contents
School profile
Oregon Connections Academy, which opened in 2005, is a full-time, tuition-free, K–12 online public school, has a mission: to provide a personalized approach to education. At ORCA, instruction is tailored to the needs, learning styles, and interests of every student so each can reach his or her own potential. ORCA brings a fully accredited public education directly to your family's door—anywhere in the state.
The mission of Oregon Connections Academy, a public virtual charter school, is to provide an inclusive, flexible, academic and individualized program by partnering students and families with highly qualified educators to build lifelong learners.
Academics
The school has been provisionally accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools since 2006.
The academic record of Connections Academy in other states was called "spotty" by The Oregonian in 2005, comparing the 1:50 teacher:student ratio to the 1:20 ratio of the Clackamas Web Academy.
Of the eight high school students in 2008, three dropped out and five are still in high school. (There were no graduates that year as the 12th grade was not added until 2009.)
Location
The academy office is located in an office in Mill City, Oregon. Since the school is online, the physical location is largely a matter of formality, and does not reflect the physical location of the school's servers, instructors, etc. The school lists the location as its administrative office.