Cover Story, August 2007

Story by:  Diane Wingerter, Editor
Photography by:  Shannon Taylor

As we all know from our own circle of friends, about half of today’s families have a single parent at the helm; while numerous families have children that are experiencing a shared-parenting arrangement. These shifts and trends from the ‘traditional family unit’ have not been reflected in the ‘traditional school system’ according to Dr. Coletta Musick, Founder & President of eSchool Consultants. “The breakdown of the family unit has occurred over the last 10-15 years and the traditional schools have not changed to meet the need of the students. What we have built through on-line schools is a learning environment that is designed to meet the needs of the students.”

Dr. Musick speaks from a wealth of first-hand experience in the traditional school system. She has extensive background in education, commencing as a teacher then moving into education administration. She has served as principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent in Ohio’s school system. What she decided and bestowed upon herself in 2002 was to start an on-line school program to educate students statewide and fulfill a desperate need to improve the drop-out rate of students statewide. Dr. Musick achieved this first milestone and was the superintendent of the nation’s first statewide K-12 online school system.

What began as virtual schools evolved into eSchool Consultants, LLC, which specializes in charter school creation and management, school curriculum and reporting administration. Dr. Musick set her vision into motion by embracing a philosophy to let teachers teach and students focus on learning…by minimizing or eliminating the distractions that inhibit the ability of students to learn. Within the framework of eSchool Consultants the venues include Virtual Community School of Ohio (VCS Ohio), Progress Academy, eProgress, Focus Learning Academies and Coleeta Daycare. Dr. Musick listens to the needs and desires of students and she continues to develop environments that offer solutions to what the students need. She is truly a pioneer in the field of education!

VCS Ohio and Focus are real public schools that are funded through tax dollars provided by the Ohio Department of Education. They are tuition-free and the teachers are held accountable to teach the prescribed curriculum. All of her subsidiaries provide a valuable education to the student.

If a student is performing to the best of their academic ability and is emotionally and socially ‘happy’ in the traditional school environment, then Dr. Musick does not advocate for that student to make a change in their school environment. Although, she is deeply concerned with ‘at-risk’ students who are truant, who are failing their classes, who are medically fragile, who are not feeling socially accepted, or those who have already dropped out of school. This collective group of students are the ones that Dr. Musick’s programs are targeting…by providing them the opportunity to turn this situation around and give them hope for their future.

VCS, Progress Academy and eProgress all accept students that are in K-12. Focus Learning Academy is comprised of three site-based high schools and caters to students ages 16-22. “We accept the students irregardless of who they are or what their background is. This is huge for the kids! We spend time with the students…time that no one else has taken. By showing them respect, we get respect in return. At this point, they have made a conscious decision to want to be in school and as a result we have very few discipline problems,” shares Dr. Musick with passion. “We are allowed to love the children, until they can love themselves. If we meet a child that wants to be a student, we will do ‘whatever it takes’ to get the student on-line.”

This emphatic ‘whatever it takes’ attitude is the driving force behind this amazing, self-motivated, entrepreneur/educator who has never been given a task that she thought she couldn’t do! As a Ph.D., wife of 32 years, mother of two, and grandmother of three; she exemplifies success, education, and talent along with the image of one of those lucky ones that was ‘born into it.’ This couldn’t be any further from the truth. She grew up in poverty in Mingo County, West Virginia. She was not from an educated family, as neither of her parents went further than the eighth grade and no one from her family ever graduated from college. Understanding this part of her past shines a true light into why she is so adamant and passionate about giving all children the opportunity for an education. She knows it can save their life!

“One of our most memorable students is a young man who had been absent from one of our Focus Learning Academies for several weeks, and we were all very concerned about him. While I was at the school, a thin, frail, weak young man made his way to the office to check in. Surprisingly, it was our long-lost student, who was on his way home from the hospital and we were his first stop…so he could collect his assignments.”

Maxine, a VCS Ohio parent shares, “Sarah has always has some health limitations that made it difficult for her to go to public school. VCS Ohio seemed like a good answer for her. It’s worked very well with Sarah’s disabilities. It is easy to adapt the VCS schedule for Sarah’s needs. Robin, another VCS Ohio parent is thankful for the program as well. “Kyle’s sleep disorder would cause him problems. Sometimes he’d be drowsy in the middle of the day. That just doesn’t work well in the traditional setting. VCS has really…saved my son.”

Dr. Musick has built a business in which she has seen opportunities, seen the potential, but most importantly has taken action. Although, she is by no means finished yet. Her desires and dreams are to expand the schools to help more students and continue to build her team of good teachers and staff who also share the belief that they are part of making a positive difference in the students’ lives. The children of today are the future and Dr. Musick hopes that people really understand that taking care of children is critical…as they will be the ones taking care of their children. One can have all the knowledge in the world, but only when you do something with it will you make a difference. Columbus is blessed to have such a pioneer in the field of education right here in our community and she is living proof that knowledge is potential…but action is power!