Columbia County Schools launches 'Columbia Online' for grades 6–12 with in-person supports

Columbia County Schools announced the launch of Columbia Online, a new online school program for students in grades 6–12 that will offer full-time enrollment, part-time options and support for homeschoolers, Andrea Cox, the district’s new director of online education, said on the district’s podcast.

The program is designed to give students flexibility while keeping them in the county’s public schools. "Columbia Online will be a full time online school," Cox said, adding that students may "choose to go fully online with all their course load or they can be part time students, or even homeschool students." She said the district will also allow students to take core classes online while attending campus for in-person electives next school year.

Cox said Columbia Online will add a physical location and offer in-person tutoring and live online lessons targeted at EOC and other state-tested courses to help students prepare for assessments. "We'll offer in person tutoring to students who need just that more personalized touch and online live lessons for, like, any EOC state tested courses," Cox said.

The district outlined criteria for full-time enrollment: approximately a 3.0 cumulative GPA (or a C average in some circumstances), on-grade-level results (level 3) on relevant state or EOC assessments, consistent attendance and being on track for promotion or graduation. Cox said students who do not meet those benchmarks may still participate as part-time or homeschool students.

Shelley Shoop, a program staff member, described the district’s onboarding process and student supports: an in-person "meet and greet" with students and families, individualized goal-setting, frequent check-ins and targeted reminders when a student is near completion of a course. Shoop emphasized that the online curriculum follows district and state standards and that students will have access to labs and teacher contact to avoid isolation. "It couldn't be further from the truth" that online students work without support, Shoop said.

Students who participated in the pilot provided firsthand accounts. Eli Umstead said he chose online courses after surgery limited his ability to attend in person and praised weekly goal-setting and frequent text check-ins from teachers. "What I like most is how flexible it is," said a student participating in the program pilot, Rayna Harden, describing a schedule of morning coursework followed by golf practice.

District staff said they plan to increase office staffing next year to provide more individualized support; discussions mentioned moving from a small pilot team to roughly five staff in the office as enrollment grows and offering subject-specific office hours so students can come in for in-person help. "If you have geometry and you're really needing in person help, we'll have hours that you can actually come and meet in person," Cox said.

The district framed Columbia Online as a way to retain students who might otherwise enroll in private or out-of-district virtual programs. Cox noted scholarships and options elsewhere and said the district wants to compete to keep students and the related community connections within Columbia County Schools.

The podcast guests said the pilot year showed promise but did not record a formal board action or vote during the episode. Cox and staff presented next steps as operational: finalizing staffing, establishing the physical location and scheduling live lessons and tutoring to begin with the upcoming school year.

The program’s administrators said more detailed policy items — including precise enrollment caps, budget figures and launch dates — were not specified during the episode. The podcast closed with an announcement that the next episode will focus on school safety and operations.