Battle Ground Public Schools

Have you met Battle Ground Virtual Academy yet?

Oct. 12, 2023

Starting with the 2023-24 school year, the Battle Ground Public Schools family has grown by one. Battle Ground Virtual Academy brings the former River Online program out from under the River HomeLink umbrella, launching a new online K-12 school that allows students to learn at their own pace while offering support from professional educators.

“The experience this staff provides is second to none,” said BGVA supervising Principal Kevin Palena who is also the top administrator at Summit View High School. “More and more families are looking for something different in their child’s education and BGVA can provide that.”

As of this month, BGVA has 481 students enrolled, with another 10 in the process of enrolling. Currently, students must live within the boundaries of Battle Ground Public Schools or have a boundary exception from other districts in Clark county. The plan is to eventually open up BGVA to anyone in the state of Washington.

“It’s a joy to see a student who has had difficulty with a traditional school-based education come here to BGVA,” said Assistant Principal Matt Stanfill, the lead administrator on site at BGVA. “We take those barriers down and we get to see these kids grow and thrive. It is truly amazing.”

Stanfill said they have already seen some students who were receiving support for students with special needs transfer from their regular schools to BGVA because of the flexibility their online schedule allows.

“We don’t have the same type of calendars or day-to-day schedules of traditional schools or most other alternative learning experience schools,” said Stanfill. “We are in the business of removing barriers for students to learn.”

At BGVA, parents/guardians act as learning coaches at home, monitoring progress, helping with lessons and other online activities and communicating with their child’s assigned adviser. Students have the option of meeting with teachers either one-on-one or in small groups when needed.

Battle Ground Virtual Academy aligns with the district’s vision of “connecting every student to a successful future” by providing a safe and caring environment, high-quality instruction and collaboration that cultivates trust. 

“Our guiding values are around helping students engage in rigorous, relevant educational content that will ‘foster the joy of learning,’” Stanfill said.

Visit the BGVA website to learn more about the school and how to enroll.