What Online School Looks Like: A Student Day in the Life Q&A With Mayah

By: Mayah S., 10th grade student and SAC intern

SAC Blog Series: Each year, the K12 Marketing Department hires a cohort of high school interns known as the Student Advisory Council or SAC. This year, the talented group of students is creating social media content across platforms to help build brand awareness and engage our audiences around the online learning experience.

Let’s get to know these amazing SAC students. We asked them what makes online school so great, and here’s what Mayah had to say.

My K12 Why

Why did you switch to online school?

I previously attended a brick-and-mortar early college high school, and it worked for a while. I have a strong faith, and it got to a point where something was telling me it was time for my sister and me to switch to an online program. Once we did, we felt a weight and stress lift off our shoulders that we didn’t even know was there. With online school, I’m also able to complete my goal of graduating early. I was not going to be able to do that at my brick-and-mortar school. 

What has your experience been compared to your other school?

Well, if you couldn’t already tell, my experience has been more freeing. I can focus on my own goals and take advantage of the opportunities my school has to offer.

At my other school, we didn’t have time to incorporate the opportunities available into our schedule because of the heavy workload. They weren’t happy about that, but we’d already have a lot on our plate. Online school is not that way at all.

Did anything surprise you about online school?

What surprised me was how much K12 conformed to my lifestyle and my schedule. The flexibility K12 gives me is amazing, and I have the time to complete my assignments at a reasonable pace. I can take my time on assignments while also incorporating my career practices. 

My Online School Day

Can you describe a typical day and week for your virtual school experience?

I wake up, get ready, log in to my K12 School (OLS), where all my classes and assignments are, and start school. After a couple of hours doing classes and assignments, I start to focus on my marketing career goals, watch videos, and practice my skills. I am also in the Flex program, so I have even more flexibility to focus on my assignments and my career.

Since I am at home most of the time, I’m not too tired to do activities in the evenings after my school work. For example, I go to Youth Wednesdays at church, which grows my relationships with my peers and my faith.

Can you talk more about your teachers?

My teachers are amazing; it’s like online school teachers are literally built differently. They’re so engaging, and it’s crazy because they’re more engaging than my old teachers at my brick-and-mortar school, and they’re not the ones behind a screen. My teachers and counselors are understanding, easy to communicate with, and make working on our assignments a breeze. My classmates often say that they enjoy online learning because of our teachers and how easy they make it for us.

How do you stay connected with friends?

It is harder to connect with people online since our classes are on a screen and we’re not physically there. But they do schedule breakout sessions. They’re optional, but I like to log in at least once a week to connect with my classmates and talk to them. Now, we aren’t allowed to exchange phone numbers in the chat, but if we ask our teachers, then we can exchange socials and connect with each other that way.

Another amazing way I connect is through my church youth groups. I met someone who went to an online school there, and since we are both online school students, we got to hang out a lot more.

My Future

Do you feel that online school is helping you prepare for the future?

Absolutely! K12-powered online school helps me practice marketing and gives me an understanding of the social media world. My school offers internships for us to learn from leaders and mentors. They allow us to express our creative freedom and help us prepare for our future. Online school gives us so many opportunities and the flexibility to take advantage of them within our schedules.

Thank you, Mayah! To learn more about the K12 Student Advisory Council, visit their webpage, or see how your high school student can thrive in online school with K12-powered programs.

Mayah is a 2025 student at a K12-powered school in TX, and their statement reflects their experience at their school.