Rocky View Schools (RVS) two online schools now have permanent names: Discovery Trails Online School and Summit Trails Online High School. 

According to Board Chair Fiona Gilbert “these new school names reflect the unique nature of our online educational environments and evoke a sense of exploration and achievement as students' progress through each grade.” 

Bob Rodgers, the Principal of Discovery Trails Online School, says although his school doesn’t run in a brick-and-mortar building, the experience is similar to that in a traditional in-person classroom. 

"We run live classes, synchronous with our kids and on Zoom calls. The teacher and the students are live with each other, screens are on, teachers talking to students and they have that interaction. 

According to Rodgers, parents have told him if it wasn't for this school, their kids wouldn't be in school for various reasons. 

The word “trails” reflects the learning journey students embark on beginning in elementary school and its use in both school names creates a connection between the two. A sense of continuity is evoked by the two names, with younger students engaging in discovery as they travel towards the summit of their learning in RVS, which culminates in high school before heading off towards new journeys. 

The 2021-2022 school year was the inaugural year for these schools, with Discovery Trails serving approximately 440 students in Grades 1-9 and Summit Trails has approximately 200 students. 

A key point Rodgers pointed out about these online schools is that you don’t have to live in Rocky View County to attend them. 

“If we've got a student in far northern Alberta, we are going to make a home for them, if they think that this is something that would work for them.” 

Registration is currently open for these online schools, RVS recommends taking a look into the newer option.  

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