Entries by Justina Janas

Student Spotlight: Ballet Star Shines Bright

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Home School student participates in ballet performance on stage

Student Spotlight: Ballet Star Shines Bright

Gianna Zahner has been dancing her way through life for years. An accomplished ballet dancer, Gianna was recently featured in the Benicia production of the Nutcracker during an unprecedented year in dance history. 

“There’s a thrill and just overall excitement that comes with dancing for people,” says Gianna. “I love looking out into the audience and seeing the smiles on people’s faces and hoping that I brought a little bit of happiness into their day.” 

Learning From Home

When Gianna was in second grade, her family decided to look for a home school option that gave her more family time and flexibility with her schedule to pursue her academic and artistic interests. Gianna’s family found Visions In Education, where Gianna connected with highly qualified teachers (including her current high school teacher, Stacey Camacho) who helped balance her schoolwork with her ambitions as a dancer as she progressed.

“I have been blessed with three different teachers during my time with Visions,” Gianna says. “I’ve only had my current teacher for about a year but I’ve enjoyed talking together and getting to know her.” 

With her teachers’ support, Gianna was able to customize her learning schedule to account for her dance classes as well as time with her church and her family. She also managed to get a jump start on college and take community college classes at Solano Community College with Visions’ support while still completing high school work!

“I think the important thing to keep in mind when juggling different things is priority,” Gianna says when asked how she managed her schoolwork with her extracurricular activities. 

Next (Dance) Steps

Gianna doesn’t know if she wants to dance professionally yet, but is interested in incorporating her love of dance with her career. She’s considering incorporating dance into her other talents such as photography and writing, perhaps becoming a dance photographer or journalist. Whatever she plans to do, her love of art and dancing will be sure to shine through. 

“I like Visions because I’m able to design my schedule around other important things like my dad’s days off, church, and ballet while still getting school done!” Gianna says. “Thanks again for this opportunity!”

“Learning Your Way” Video Contest – Deadline Extended to 3/15

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Ready for your close up? Visions wants to hear how our students make learning personal! Enter our “Learning Your Way” Video Contest and be entered for a chance to win up to $300 in gift cards! Contest Overview Create a 30 to 60-second video explaining why personalized learning works for you and be eligible to […]

Visions Featured In School Pathways Case Study

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A few years ago we partnered with leading student information system provider, School Pathways. As our enrollment grew we needed new tools to support virtual instruction, organizing student data and collecting documents. Our strong partnership allowed us to create a custom system that better serves our students, families and staff. “We needed products that would […]

February Is Black History Month

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2021 Theme: The Black Family Each year the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) develops a theme for the month. This year’s theme recognizes the representation, identity and diversity of the Black family. “The story of the African-American people is the story of the settlement and growth of America itself, […]

Visions Proudly Celebrates National School Choice Week

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January 24-30 is National School Choice Week, a time to celebrate schools, students and families that choose personalized learning! Visions In Education is proud to be a public charter school that offers school choice and flexibility in our Independent Study, University Prep, and Home School academies. 2020 made it clear that students need access to […]

Student Spotlight: Visions Athlete Scores Big On and Off the Field

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Danna Restom, online university prep student, smiles while celebrating her appointment to the San Jose State Spartans soccer team

Student Spotlight: Visions Athlete Scores Big On and Off the Field

A striker for the IR Academy of Soccer Development in Elk Grove, Danna R. has helped her teammates score for six years. But when the time came to choose a high school that would allow her to be an athlete, she turned to Visions In Education.

At Visions, Danna found the flexible learning schedule helpful when it came to balancing her responsibilities as a high school student and her passion for soccer. “I prepare a schedule for my week on Sundays and strictly keep to that schedule throughout the week,” says Danna. “This allows me to get my work done on time and keep up with my strength training.” 

Scoring On and Off The Field

Danna’s hard work and commitment has paid off in major ways. In the classroom, she’s taken multiple honors classes and plans to take advantage of Visions’ community college program to get a head start on university coursework. 

“My relationship with my teacher and counselor are great,” Danna says of teacher Mitch Weathers and Counselor Julie Winalski. “We have check up calls a few times a month to make sure everything is running smoothly.” 

On the field, Danna has helped lead her team to victory. In 2019, she was named to the NPL Best XI Girls Players Team. Danna and her teammates took the league championship as well as the Silver Lakes and Las Vegas Showcase Brackets. Her team currently stands as the number one team in their league (19th nationally). 

“I love pushing myself to be better than I was the year before,” Danna says. “I also love the strong bond and chemistry shared between my teammates.”

The Next Chapter

After graduation, Danna plans to attend San Jose State University. Her goals include majoring in kinesthesiology and, of course, playing soccer for the San Jose State Spartans. She credits Visions with helping her gain time management and organizational skills and supporting her personal and academic goals. 

“Visions is one of the many reasons I am the person I am today,” says Danna. “I was not just able to better myself as a student athlete but also as an individual.”

Virtual Teacher Job Fairs

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Visions In Education is holding virtual job fairs for prospective teachers to meet with faculty and staff. You’ll learn more about our school and meet representatives from our Independent Study, University Prep, Home School, Special Education and Human Resources departments. Why Attend? Whether you are interested in helping students who are struggling to graduate or […]

8th Grader Elissia Declared Winner of 2020 Spelling Bee

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Visions is proud to announce that 8th grader Elissia is the winner of our 2020 Visions Spelling Bee! The Spelling Bee, which was held on December 15, was the fifth Visions Bee that Elissia competed in since third grade. It was also her last opportunity to participate since the Bee is open only to 2nd – […]

Student Spotlight: Small Business Owner Hones Her Craft

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Briyannah, a female Independent Study online high school student, smiles at the camera

Student Spotlight: Small Business Owner Hones Her Craft

Not many students can claim to have started a business before graduating high school, but Briyannah “Bri” Elich has taken her love of crafting and turned it into a successful online jewelry store.

“I started playing around with different ideas and putting my creations together, to find what makes me happy,” says Bri. “And it turned out to be that I really like making customizable jewelry.”

Balancing creativity with being a full time student isn’t easy, but Bri takes advantage of Visions’ flexible schedule to make the most of her time and stay on track academically.

“I balanced [my business] with a routine and a plan to make sure I get everything done in school and my orders without feeling overwhelmed,” Bri says.

High School Her Way

At Visions, Bri worked with her learning team to create a personalized learning plan that lets her stay on top of schoolwork while expanding her craft. Bri worked with her teacher, Mindi Rold, and counselor, Karla Gonzalez, to determine her academic and professional goals to come up with a plan to achieve them.

“My relationship with my teacher was great,” says Bri. “She helped me get through some of the toughest times in my subjects and went over and beyond to make sure I understood everything.”

Bri also got the opportunity to grow creatively in Visions’ Find Your Voice writing class which allowed her to participate in a writing program with other students her age.

“Being a part of that class allowed me to grow and put together my feelings in writing and I was able to contribute and share ideas with other people I was working with,” says Bri.

Turning the Page

After Visions, Bri’s plans include going to college to continue her academic and personal growth. She hopes to explore and find a career that makes her happy and plans to continue making jewelry.

“I’m glad I was a part of this learning experience,” Bri says of her time at Visions. “It was what I needed to grow and succeed.”