HOLA gives students a HOLAtta opportunities!

HOLA, Hershey Online Academy, is a way to get a Derry Township School District education without entering the building. This program is offered to students so they can learn in a way that best fits them and their schedule.

HOLA is available to students in grades six through 12. It gives students an opportunity to pursue their passions even if that means they cannot attend school while doing it. They can take classes online and still get the same credits as attending students.

HOLA started five years ago when the state of Pennsylvania passed a law for school districts to fund students enrolled in cyber charters outside of the district. According to HHS Assistant Principal Laurie Wade, DTSD created HOLA so students could still get an education from Hershey instead of going to another cyber charter school.

DTSD buys its online curriculum from Edison. Edison employs all of the teachers, and Hershey checks in to make sure the teachers meet its standards.

Wade and Hershey’s staff both understand that each student has his or her own situation. That could be online full-time, online some of the time, or a blended option.

Not a huge amount of students do the full-time online option. Many more students do the blended option. A lot of kids are enrolled in an online language, community service, or ethical research.

To Wade, it’s not important if a student needs to learn online or have a blended schedule, but it is important that each and every student’s learning is first and they are getting what they need to be successful. For DTSD students who want to take their courses online, Hershey’s staff tries their best to make online learning as similar to those who come to the building everyday as they can.

“We want our online learning kids to feel like they’re apart of our community,” said Wade.

Online students can use Hershey’s guidance counselors, library, be a part of school extracurriculars, and come to assemblies. Also, HOLA students can take their driver’s test with Mr. Sohn, Private Contractor, if they choose to do so.

HHS freshman, Rory Ogden, uses HOLA often. Ogden travels to New York City and Los Angeles to act throughout the school year. Ogden goes there about three times a month almost every month.

Ogden enjoys using HOLA because she is able to do her school work quickly while doing what she loves to do.

“I can do a day of school in two hours,” said Ogden. That leaves plenty of time for her to act.

Ogden first started using HOLA in sixth grade. That is the earliest HOLA is offered. When she  went to NYC and LA in grades K-5, she came home to lots of work to make up. The program is a huge help to Ogden because she now can do her school work while she is away, and she doesn’t have to do piles of make up work when she gets home.

A new thing coming soon is the K-5 pilot. DTSD is working on offering HOLA to the elementary school.  This past summer, Wade looked at the programs and curriculums that would be possibly used for the elementary students.

Wade also had her niece try a few lessons and she liked it and thought it was fun. With her niece’s recommendation, Wade feels confident with the pilot.

DTSD wants to add this to the HOLA program because they know that it is not only students in grades six through 12 that need this program. Kids in the elementary school should have the option of HOLA, so they can learn in the best way for them.

Ogden recommends using HOLA to students. “It makes it easier to achieve your goals,” Ogden said.

If you are interested in using this program, talk to your guidance counselor.