This month, Toni Hardison will graduate from Carroll County High School with a diploma and a renewed sense of purpose and pride in how far she’s come.
Traditional school never quite fit for Toni. The crowded hallways, the social pressure, the constant noise all felt overwhelming. "There was just too much drama," she said. "It was mentally draining for me to be at school."
But her story didn’t stop there.
After considering homeschooling through Penn Foster, Toni and her parents discovered the Carroll County Virtual Academy, and everything started to change. “We looked into it and I felt like that would be better for me,” she said. “I could still graduate with my class and do the things I would do if I was in school, just without the things that made school so hard for me.”
The benefits of virtual school were immediate and clear for Toni, including a good relationship with the CCVA teacher Jeff Root and Director Gerda Wise.
“One of the best parts is being able to watch videos that explain everything from start to finish,” she said. “ Now, if I don’t understand something, I can text Mr. Root. He’ll either text me back or call and walk me through it. It’s just better support.”
That personalized attention made a big difference. Toni went from struggling with low grades to excelling in her junior and senior years. And she credits her turnaround not just to the structure of virtual learning, but also to the emotional support of her parents and her teachers, Jeff Root and Gerda Wise.
“Mr. Root and Mrs. Wise made it a positive space,” she said. “They would tell me they were proud of me when I achieved something, and that really helped my confidence. My parents saw I was going downhill, and they helped me change that. I’m really thankful for them.”
Root, who has taught for many years in Carroll County Schools, said “Toni is a great young woman who found herself at theVirtual Academy. She once disliked school and now she is going to become a teacher. It’s a proud moment for me.”
CCVA students go to the mobile classroom for state testing and MAP assessments. But even then, she says, the environment is calm and welcoming. “Mr. Root would bring snacks or ice cream. There’s no negative energy. It’s fun.”
The flexibility of the virtual program also opened the door for real-world experience. Toni spent her senior year in a co-op placement at First Baptist Church’s preschool, which sparked a new dream of becoming an early childhood teacher.
“I basically help the 3-year-olds,” she said with a smile. “I read books to them, we sing and dance, and I even let them pick their snacks sometimes. It’s amazing to watch a kid learn to spell their name and know I helped them do that. It makes me feel good.”
FBC Preschool Director Lisa Nab has watched Toni’s transformation during the past school year. “Working at FBCPreschool has definitely made an impact on her personally and academically,” Nab said, calling Toni an asset to the preschool. “ Working with the three year old class has changed her direction of education and I attribute that growth to all the little three year olds that touched her life.”
Toni plans to attend Jefferson Community & Technical College for two years before transferring to Eastern Kentucky University to study early childhood development.
Looking back, she’s proud of how much she’s grown. “I just told myself, ‘Now or never.’ I looked at what I was doing and realized it was stupid. When I came to work at the preschool, everything changed. The Virtual Academy helped too. I wasn’t around people who were dragging me down.”
“Toni's strong sense of responsibility, paired with unwavering drive, fuels her to make a real difference in the lives of students. We are just so proud of her,” Wise said.