Students come to the Washington Virtual Academy, an online alternative K-12 public school, for different reasons. But when it comes to prom, they’re all there for one reason – to hang out with friends, dance and have fun.
“It gives kids a chance to really get to know each other and know each other’s personalities,” said Rebecca Lagergren, 18, a WVA senior from Elma. “You get to see what kind of person they are and just have some fun.”
For most of the school year students at WVA interact with each other through the Internet, attending live classes and using teacher-monitored chat rooms to interact.
According to WVA High School Academic Administrator Deanna Kilga, the student body is extremely diverse and comes from all over the state.
“It is a broad spectrum. There are kids who need a flexible schedule for sports or work, like professional athletes and budding actors and actresses,” Kilga said. “We have students who have not done well in a traditional school, so they’ve chosen to go alternative. We’ve got students whose districts do not offer AP and honors courses. We have students who just got tired of being bullied or just got tired of watching other students getting bullied.”
For Lagergren, who began attending WVA halfway through her sophomore year, it was just a chance to get out of her crowded high school.
“I was just kind of tired of the brick and mortar and everyday life with kids who were just obnoxious and rude,” she said. “I wanted to get out and work independently and get better grades.”
For Lagergren, the switch paid off.“My grades improved, I grew more self confident on what I did,” she said.
On Friday she’ll walk in the school’s graduation ceremony at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall, to receive her diploma.Even though most of Lagergren’s social interactions came online during the last two-and-half years, she said she doesn’t feel like she missed out socially.“I felt like I had another family online,” she said.
This year’s prom, conducted at Emerald Downs in Auburn, is the second the school has hosted. Unlike regular proms, this one was open to any student at WVA, regardless of grade.
“They came to me last year and asked if they could have a prom,” said Kilga, who used to teach in the Auburn School District. “I said ‘absolutely’. I love prom, I think it’s a great opportunity for kids. Especially for kids in an online school, who don’t have the same opportunities to interact with each other.
“It’s cool to watch,” she continued. “What you’ll notice is kids come and look for the name tags. They’ll look and do that ‘aha’,” she said. “Or they’ll try to recognize each other from their Facebook pictures. It’s fun to watch that moment of recognition. It’s just fun to see them come together.”
And although most of the kids at the WVA’s prom were meeting for the first time in person, you wouldn’t have known it once they got out on the dance floor and the music started pumping.
“The dancing part of the prom is so much fun,” Kilga said. “Last year, I didn’t see couples dancing, I saw groups of kids dancing and having a blast. If somebody was there by themselves because they didn’t know anybody, somebody would go grab them and drag them to the dance floor.”
Lagergren, who came to the prom accompanied by 18-year-old Matt Hinderlie, a friend from Elma, said the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time lasted just a moment.
“It was a little intimidating at first, but once I started actually talking to people I talked to online all the time, it was amazing,” she said. “I felt comfortable. Everybody welcomed me in like they’d known me for years.”
