Overwhelmed to EMPOWERED High school graduate thankful for peace of mind he found at online school

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY HENRIETTE SODERLIND

School is a place to gain an education and learn social skills. For some students, however, a traditional public school setting can be difficult. It can be hard to avoid the drama, distractions and long hours in classrooms, paired with piles of homework to finish at night.

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For many students, a traditional school structure works just fine. But others do best in an alternative setting. Joseph Kotiranta, 18, of Cloquet is among those students.

He said he found distractions in public school and a lack of special education programs to address his high-functioning autism. He found getting an education was more difficult than it should have been.

“I wasn’t really understood there,” he said.

Joseph was a student in a traditional school setting until eighth grade, when his mother, Kris, decided to explore other options. What they found was a school where learning still happens but without the long days and forced environment.

“I wake up at 9, and I’m done by noon” Joseph said, grinning. He said the schedule is one of the many perks his family discovered through the Insight School of Minnesota, an online and tuition-free public school.

For students like Joseph, online school provides not only a more personalized schedule, but a social structure that worked for him.

“If I was still in brick-and-mortar school right now,” Joseph said, “I would probably not have made it to graduation, let alone to my senior year.”

But with the new school structure, Joseph was able to make it through his senior year with more than just passing grades. He was asked to write and deliver a graduation speech to his class at a ceremony at Brooklyn Center High School. In his speech, Joseph talked about how his school experience helped him, and how his classmates have grown with him.

“Because of online school, I went from being overwhelmed to empowered in the span of a week,” Joseph said in his speech, also mentioning how he was no longer misunderstood by faculty and students. Joseph was able to reach out to his classmates through discussion boards on his own terms, finding people who had similar views as him and learning through others.

“I think there are a lot of stories like mine, a lot of people who can thank online school for their success,” he said.

Insight School also provided the Kotiranta family with a computer, books and headset, which they returned at the end of the year, making sure anyone who wants to enroll has the resources to succeed.

“Online school has taught us that we are all individuals, and as individuals, we all have different ways of learning, thinking and communicating with one another. And it is because of this that we are strong,” Joseph said in his speech.

His class schedule was designed to fit his preferences and interests, while still having time left over to grow in his hobbies. Whether it be singing at the county fairs, writing a novel or coding on his computer, going to school online gave him the time and extra confidence to excel.

“I no longer dreaded going to school every day,” Kotiranta said. The teachers have the students participate in live class lectures and discussion boards and provide positive messages of encouragement to every student on the announcement posts.

This past year, Joseph also attended classes at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, gaining college credit while still in high school. He plans to continue his education there after graduation. He took a public speaking course at Fond du Lac where he gained the skills and learned the techniques of speaking in front of an audience. Thanks to his condensed schedule, he plans on finishing his associate’s degree by his first year out of high school. Joseph is interested in becoming an English major and hopes to someday become a proofreader and editor. Currently, Joseph is writing a novel, and he credits his school schedule with allowing him the time to pursue that. He also had time to participate in singing competitions, learn some computer coding and practice his violin.

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Online classes provided the Kotiranta family with a new way to learn and grow that they were thankful for. Having autism, going from being misunderstood by peers and faculty to having a large support system of online faculty made all the difference to Joseph’s learning experience.

“Online school helped me to succeed,” he said. — MDT

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