High Schoolers and Families Invited to Live Twitter Chat: Q&A with School Guidance Counselor about College, Career and Life after Graduation

Have a question about the financial aid process or applying for college? How to find scholarships or prepare for the SAT or ACT tests? Students and families will have an opportunity to ask an expert guidance counselor these questions and more during a live Twitter chat about post-graduate plans and college preparation on Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 8 to 9 p.m. EST. The event—Virtual High School and Beyond— will be hosted by Connections Academy, a leading provider of high-quality, highly accountable virtual schooling for students in grades K through 12, and is the school’s first-ever Twitter chat.

Parents and students, from both traditional and online high schools, are invited to connect with Katy Brennan, manager of counseling services with Connections Academy, for a live question and answer session about preparing for life after high school. Brennan will provide answers to questions asked by attendees on the topic and will offer supplemental resources to help further the discussion after the event.

What: Live Twitter Chat — Virtual High School and Beyond
How: To see the discussion, follow @ConnectionsAcad on Twitter. To Tweet questions during the chat, use hashtag: #AskConnections.
When: Wednesday, Dec. 5, 8 to 9 p.m. EST
Who: The general public is invited to join the Twitter conversation as Connections Academy Manager of Counseling Services Katy Brennan answers questions.

Connections Academy schools offer a challenging, standards-based alternative to the traditional brick-and-mortar school with a full-time virtual school program that combines certified teachers and a comprehensive curriculum with technology tools and community experiences to create an individualized approach to education.

The high school program is complete with a wide variety of courses including honors and AP, which provide a solid foundation for whatever path graduates choose—attending college or starting a career. Connections Academy graduates have been accepted to more than 300 different colleges and universities including Williams College, Vassar College, Notre Dame University, Duke University, The College of William and Mary, Boston University, New York University, and more.

Supporting Connections Academy’s commitment to college and career readiness, the Twitter Chat joins a host of other high school counseling initiatives offered by the online school including: “Career Chat” webinars, field trips to colleges and college fairs, ACT/SAT prep, among others. Furthering the support offered to high school students, Connections Academy recently launched a new website (www.ConnectionsAcademy.com/Teens) designed specifically for teens (ages 13-18) to learn what to look for and expect in an online high school, as well as show how Connections students are prepared for graduation and beyond.

The site features:
•Virtual college tours, online workshops and other college and career preparation resources
•Student videos highlighting why students choose virtual schooling, how they are succeeding, their hobbies and future plans
•Real-time Instagram photographs from students demonstrating their lives as virtual school students
•“Ask a Grad” program for students to connect with Connections Academy graduates

Online learning is a growing trend—275,000 students attended full-time online schools in the 2011–12 school year and more and more states are considering online courses for high school graduation requirements, according to the annual “Keeping Pace with K-12 Online & Blended Learning” report.