LOS ANGELES — Five years ago, COVID forced schools and campuses nationwide to close, thrusting students into online learning. Although many were glad to return to their classrooms, some embraced online schooling.

In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week, we’re learning about a completely online school in Southern California.

What You Need To Know

  • IQ Academy is a fully online K through 12 school that has 172 staff members

  • IQ Academy has more than 2,252 students 

  • This year’s National Teacher Appreciation Week is being celebrated from May 5 through May 9

“That idea of having a classroom that is totally mine and all my responsibility was actually really scary the first time that I walked in,” said Mariann Papadopoulos, a full-time online teacher with IQ Academy.

She explained how her mother has been teaching for over 40 years and the last nine, she’s been following in her footsteps.

“I have to be a teacher. I love this, I have to do it. I went and got my teaching credential, and I have not looked back,” she said.

But after COVID, Papadopoulos said her classroom wasn’t the same.

“Coming back to the classroom after COVID, that was kind of the transition, I don’t know. There was something that was missing for me in that format,” she said.

So, Papadopoulos went to the IQ Academy, a fully online K through 12 school with 172 staff members supporting more than 2,200 students of all backgrounds. This is her third full year with the IQ Academy in Los Angeles, teaching five classes a day.

“These kids are here for a specific reason, and they need someone to help them and who’s willing to help them in this different format and that was something that also really appealed to me about teaching online,” she said.

There are students who are really involved in sports or the performing arts, students who may have health problems, and some students who may benefit from a quieter setting, like 10th grader Ajaylaa Brown.

“It was a little stressful for me and I think I needed a much quieter environment to focus on my schooling more,” Brown said.

She would be a junior next school year but said she’s graduating early thanks to IQ Academy and teachers like Papadopoulos.

“Mrs. Papadopoulos is really supportive and understanding, especially since it’s online schooling. She always gives really clear feedback, and she encourages a lot of creativity in our writing, especially in English class,” Brown said.

Papadopoulos noted that she doesn’t have any plans to leave her online classroom anytime soon.

This year’s National Teacher Appreciation Week is celebrated through Friday.