GWACADEMY UTILIZES K12 INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY CURRICULUM
K12 International Academy  students reap the benefits of flex-scheduling and are regularly accepted into the top colleges and universities throughout the U.S.  K12 is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI), a division of AdvancED.  Additionally, K12 International Academy is recognized as a diploma granting institution by the Virginia Council for Private Education as authorized by the Virginia State Board of Education.  K12 is a proud member of both the National Junior Honor Society and the National Honor Society and offers a full complement of regular, honors, and AP course options. K12 International Academy is also an NCAA certified graduating institution. 

TEAM SUPPORT
GWAcademy students have acces to a team of committed, subject-specific K12 International Academy teachers, counselors and academic coaches to ensure they reach their true potential.  Parents  receive extensive support as well. All teachers are thoroughly trained in online instruction methods. The majority have advanced degrees coupled with years of teaching experience. They all share a passion for making a difference and helping students learn in the ways that work best for them.

Teachers meet with their students in an online virtual classroom. There they lecture; show videos, demonstrations, and presentations; ask questions; and hold discussions. They can even put students into small groups for collaborative sessions in their own private online "breakout" rooms.

INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH
The GWAcademy Academic Coordinator, working in conjunction with K12 International Academy teachers and counselors, will develop an Individualized Learning Plan for each student, a multi-year personalized learning strategy.  Together we monitor that plan to make sure your student reaches all of his or her goals.

FLEXIBILITY AND ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Our Academic Coordinator works with each student individually to achieve a dynamic balance of his or her studies, training, performance, and competition time both at home and on the road.  Being fully integrated in the GWAcademy community ensures students can focus on their training, competitions, and performances while away, without worrying about their academic​ progress.

Sara Olsen
GW Academy Academic Coordinator

Sara is a lifelong educator whose earliest “job” was in the makeshift basement classroom of her childhood home, where her “students” were her friends and five younger siblings. Her heroes still include many of her teachers from elementary, middle, and high school, and she considers teaching to be her life’s work. Sara earned secondary education teaching certificates for English and Humanities from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She taught high school English and Humanities classes as well as an English course at a local community college in Utah before moving to Fairfax County, Virginia, where she continued her high school teaching career. She has been an active classroom volunteer in her children’s schools, and has experienced teaching and public education from a parent’s perspective while raising her three sons. This experience on both sides of the teacher’s desk has honed Sara’s educational philosophy to encompass greater accommodations of different learning styles—she believes all students should be given the individualized tools to find academic success. Sara was a competitive ice skater and then dancer as an adolescent, so she has a unique appreciation for the flexible academic schedule offered at the Greater Washington Academy. She has always loved working with teens and is excited to help her students pursue an academic path that will accommodate their exceptional talents.

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