Ms. Blodgett joined the faculty at Willamette Connections Academy in January of 2024. The school has already made a strong impression on her. “I love having the opportunity to collaborate with a passionate team,” she says. Everyone is “striving to support students with their individual needs.”

“Everyone” includes not just the faculty, but the entire school community. Ms. Blodgett explains that staff, caretakers, and students are all working together “to find what works best.” She is impressed by “the collaboration between staff and families… to see what works for students on an Individualized Education Program (IEP), 504 Plan, and our English Language Learners.”

Like many teachers, Ms. Blodgett had experience in brick-and-mortar learning environments. In her opinion, the advantages of Willamette Connections Academy are especially significant for the students she works with. Online learning teaches “responsibility, self-reliance, and adaptability,” she says, in a way that’s just not part of traditional schooling.

She also points to the school’s flexibility — for students and families to develop a schedule and an approach that works for each of them specifically. “Students from across the state are able to learn together from the comfort of their own homes,” she explains. Each student can create their own “distraction-free environment… to support [their] individual learning needs.”