When Cheryl first began exploring school options for her dyslexic son Caleb, she didn’t expect it to spark a years-long journey in education advocacy. Nor did she expect that one day, Caleb would simultaneously be a thriving college student and an active school choice advocate in his home state of Indiana.

Traditional school began failing her son, so Cheryl made the choice to trust her motherly instincts. The traditional model worked for many of the children in their local school district, but was simply unable to meet Caleb and his special needs. What followed was a powerful example of how parent voice, school choice, and virtual learning can change a life.

Finding the Right Fit At A Hybrid School

As a second grader, Caleb’s daily routine included a full day of school, a growing stack of homework, and hours upon hours of additional interventions for reading and math due to his dyslexia diagnosis. This demanding and inflexible schedule left him mentally and physically exhausted. “I remember thinking there just had to be a better way,” Cheryl recalls.

A better way came in the form of a hybrid school model. Cheryl discovered a program that called for two days in-person instruction and three days at-home instruction. It allowed Caleb to receive intervention support during his at-home school days instead of cramming it in after hours.

 Caleb immediately knew it was the right fit. “This is perfect,” Caleb recalls thinking. “Three days at home meant I could get the extra support I needed without feeling so tired.”

Accessibility Beyond Their Dreams

Cheryl and her son quickly fell in love with the online education provided during their at-home instruction days. By third grade, they had decided to transition to full-time online school, and it became clear that this was a game changer… not just for convenience, but for accessibility.

“The online platform delivered instruction in a way that made learning easier,” Caleb explained. For students with dyslexia, keeping up with handwritten notes is tough. “But the virtual classroom embedded teacher notes right into the system.”

Caleb added that the tools built into the virtual platform gave him a real advantage: screen readers, text-highlighting bars, and speech-to-text features made learning more accessible in a discreet way. “None of my peers knew or made fun of the fact that I was slow at typing,” he recalls, “because I was just dictating to my computer.”

“I read well now because I’ve had the interventions, but not every student has those supports in brick-and-mortar schools,” Caleb laments. “I had full access to the tools I needed that let me not only learn, but succeed.” 

The teachers were also exceptional. “I never saw a bad teacher. Not one,” recalls Cheryl. “In fact, in many cases, we believe we had access to better teachers than some brick-and-mortar schools could offer because our virtual school was not restricted by candidates in a certain zip code.”

From Virtual School to College Success

Today, Caleb is a junior studying mechanical engineering, and he credits his online education for giving him an edge as some of his courses are online. 

His university also offers a variety of courses, including both in-person and online options. While other students are seemingly ‘nervous’ to register for the online courses, Caleb is able to jump at the opportunity with confidence. Whether it’s scheduling meetings, completing group projects on Zoom, or using cloud-based learning tools, Caleb’s tech-savviness can be attributed to his years of virtual education. “We use the same platform in college, and it’s basically the same as what I used before,” he said.

Why They Decided to Speak Up

While many parents will make the decision to transition to a new school and move on, Cheryl was the opposite. Once she saw how successful Caleb was in his online program, she felt compelled to speak up for the other families.

“It’s not fair to leave kids stuck in a school just because of their ZIP code,” Cheryl remarks. “Parents deserve access to make the right decisions for their children.”

Today, Cheryl continues to work with families across Indiana who are navigating IEPs, accessibility, and nontraditional learning paths. “We have to normalize special tools and supports,” she says. “Access shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a right.”

Cheryl and Caleb are continuing to fight for equal funding for virtual students in their states, as well as advocating for policies for students with learning differences like dyslexia.

“I see a tidal wave of misunderstanding,” Caleb said. “But also a wave of families fighting back.”

If you're a parent wondering if school choice is right for your child, Cheryl advises that you must “have the courage to try something different for your children. Even if you give it just one year. See how it goes and then learn from your experience.”

With the right tools and support, virtual learning can be life-changing, especially for students with dyslexia or other learning differences. “There is a reason so many parents are choosing virtual school for their children,” Cheryl says. With real-time feedback loops, universal design, and modern tools, virtual education continues to evolve. 

“These schools are cutting edge,” Caleb says. “They ask for feedback and make improvements. That’s the future of learning.”