WHEN FAMILIES TAKE EDUCATION ON THE GO, SCHOOL LESSONS SPRING TO LIFE
BIONCA SMITH; GETTY IMAGES
BY SARAH SEKUL A
or 11-year-old Carter Davis, there’s no such thing as a typical school day. His lessons might involve learning about geysers at Yellowstone National Park, exploring tidal pools in California or researching fossils at Joshua Tree National Park. It all depends on where he and his mom, Bionca Smith, decide to park their van. They are known as roadschoolers, which is exactly what it sounds like: It’s the combination of travel plus virtual learning, and it’s a way for parents and children to take a different approach to school. For this mother-son duo, it started in 2017 when Carter was on the verge of failing second grade, and Smith was feeling overwhelmed by debt and tired of keeping up with the Joneses. They decided a drastic change was in order. First, Smith enrolled Carter in Connections Academy, a tuition-free online public K-12 school. That meant Carter now had a virtual classroom at his
fingertips and would meet online with his teacher and classmates once a week or once every two weeks. Smith also quit her San Francisco-based corporate sales job. Another huge step. “When I talked to Carter about attending school online and eventually traveling full time and exploring hidden gems around the world, he said yes,” Smith says. “After this, we ended our lease, and within 30 days we donated and sold as much stuff as we could.” She then bought two oneway tickets to Thailand, and they then jet-setted to France and Africa. About nine months, Smith bought a 1989 Ford Econoline camper van so they could set their sights on the U.S. and live the #vanlife. So far, so good. Carter has transformed his grades, and they are quite happy. Smith works as a motivational speaker and life coach and has since added social media influencer and content creator to her list of credentials. >
Bionca Smith and son Carter Davis’ camper van at Joshua Tree National Park in California
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