Achievement House Cyber Charter School student Bobby Wilson regained his self-esteem, motivation and career ambitions after almost failing all his classes in a brick-and-mortar school.

EASTON, Pa. (April 8, 2015) — Clifford Wilson’s son Bobby was on his way to becoming a high school dropout before he transferred out of a traditional public school to attend Achievement House Cyber Charter School.

Although cyber charter school seemed like a last-chance option at the time, it turned out to be the chance of a lifetime for Bobby.In the last two years, Bobby has made three trips to Singapore to live with his aunt, an American attorney who works for an international insurance company. In all, he has spent about six months in Southeast Asia touring historic, cultural and scenic sites in Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Indonesia — all while continuing to attend school virtually in Pennsylvania at Achievement House Cyber Charter School.

A brick and mortar school would have laughed at us if we had asked about sending him to Singapore,” Mr. Wilson said. “At Achievement House, there was nothing stopping us from accomplishing that feat. It was seamless for him to keep up with his school work. 

While attending a brick-and-mortar school, Bobby said he could not get motivated. Part of the problem was the long day that started at 6:25 a.m. with an 8-mile bus ride to school. By the time he got home at 3:45 p.m., homework was the last thing he wanted to do.

“I just couldn’t sit in a classroom all day after getting up so early and such a long bus ride,” Bobby said. “I was not doing too well grade-wise.”

He was, in fact, failing nearly every class.

“We’d punish him for not doing his homework, but it didn’t do any good. The regular school wasn’t working out for him, and he didn’t want to be there,” Mr. Wilson said. “When he started at Achievement House, he really wanted to make it work and he has done a really good job.”

Bobby enrolled in Achievement House near the end of his freshman year and is flourishing in his 11th grade classes, which include an Honors Civics class. He first traveled to Singapore in the fall of 2013 while in 10th grade and returned again in the spring of 2014 and in December 2014.

Bobby said he was more motivated to do his school work while in Singapore than at any other time in his life because he wanted to go exploring with his aunt. During one of the trips, he spent a weekend in Bali earning his scuba diving certification.

“Getting his scuba certification was just another benefit of his cyber schooling at Achievement House,” Mr. Wilson said. “It feels really good knowing he had that experience and also for him to see there is so much more to life outside of Easton.”

The Wilsons live just south of Easton in Williams Township. Bobby has an older sister who is in college. Their mother lost her battle with cancer when Bobby was three years old. His aunt in Singapore, a corporate attorney, is his mother’s sister.

After spending time with his aunt, Bobby now hopes to also become a lawyer.

The fact he is considering such an ambitious career goal is a testament to his transformation as a student since enrolling at Achievement House Cyber Charter School, according to Dr. Stefan Bailis, who has been like an uncle to Bobby since he was born.

Dr. Bailis recalls that Bobby had become so discouraged at the brick-and-mortar school he posted “I am one big fail” on his Facebook page. He also recalls an almost immediate change in Bobby once he started attending Achievement House.

“Within about a month he said to me, ‘I now know I really am smart, and I can do well.’ It showed a great positive change in his self-esteem and his belief in his own ability to make changes and control the direction of his scholastic life,” Dr. Bailis said. “Just being out of the restrictive setting of brick-and-mortar school seemed to be the change Bobby needed to turn around his academic career.”

Bobby called upon his “Uncle Stef” to help him with his schoolwork as a way to assure his father he was keeping up, especially while he was not at home.

“Bobby is like the son I never had, and I really enjoy helping him and seeing him do so well,” Dr. Bailis said. “His dad is a good friend, and I’m happy to assist him in the duty of supervising Bobby’s schoolwork.”

Dr. Bailis and Mr. Wilson became close friends in the 1980s long before Bobby was born while they were working at a cargo airline based in Miami. Dr. Bailis was a flight engineer and served under the command of Mr. Wilson, who was the flight captain. Dr. Bailis, who later became a licensed psychologist, lives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota.

With approval from Bobby and his father, Achievement House authorized Dr. Bailis to act on Bobby’s behalf and also access his school work online.

“The system readily allows other family or close family friends to be involved in a supervisory role in a child’s life and provides a lot of support to the child and family,” Dr. Bailis said. “Because of the technology, we can all communicate easily — even with Bobby being in Singapore while I am in Minnesota and his teachers are in Pennsylvania.”

The only real challenge was the 12-hour time difference between Singapore and the United States, but Bobby adjusted his schedule to make sure he got his school work done so he did not miss out on any of the fun with his aunt.

“I would wake up later in the day to go sight-seeing and come home to attend virtual classes at midnight or 1 a.m.,” Bobby said.

During his last visit, one of his teachers posted a photo on the virtual classroom blackboard of “Inuka,” the first polar bear born in the tropics celebrating his 24th birthday at the Singapore Zoo.

“I typed in, ‘I just saw that yesterday!’ ” Bobby said. “My teacher actually did not realize I was in Singapore until then.”

Dr. Bailis logs in to the Achievement House Charter School website at the end of each day to check Bobby’s school work and advises and encourages him where he needs to focus or do more work.

“Achievement House is more comfortable for Bobby, and the system actually provides for more personal attention and tailored lessons for the students,” Dr. Bailis said. “I also communicate every two weeks with his mentor at Achievement House and sometimes his teachers, who get back to me really quickly.”

Dr. Bailis said the flexibility of online classes at Achievement House also allowed Bobby to continue his studies while traveling to other locations, including to stay with him for a few weeks in Minnesota and to visit a cousin in Virginia. While the schedule and courses are flexible and adaptable to the student, Dr. Bailis believes the curriculum is rigorous.

Achievement House offers customized classes as well as pre-packaged programs, such as Rosetta Stone for foreign languages and Plato Courseware for Advanced Placement and other classes. Achievement House also allowed Bobby to earn elective credits by taking a welding class at the local vocational-technical high school.

Dr. Bailis said the unique online format allows Bobby and other students to review classes multiple times if necessary, because all the classes are recorded for students who may miss a class due to illness or who did not understand the material the first time. Students also may resubmit homework assignments and retake some quizzes and tests, which Dr. Bailis said also has helped Bobby.

If he didn’t transfer to Achievement House, Bobby may never have had a chance to prove to himself his capabilities or discover his true interests,” Dr. Bailis said. “And how many students can say they went scuba diving in Bali and worked on their algebra homework later that day?