Hi WOL Friends,
The World of Learning began supporting schools and districts nine summers ago. With nine very passionate teachers, we created synchronous courses in Canvas, learned how to use Zoom to deliver real humans to classrooms, and found schools and students who sought the real learning we were offering in a virtual environment.
Now, heading into our 10th school year at Appalachia IU8, we offer expanded courses rooted in exceptional pedagogy, led by teachers who understand the importance of building relationships, and supported by a team ready to help you navigate whatever scenario might be holding your students back.
The four stories showcased below (from our podcast) offer a peek into the flexible ways we help schools, districts, and families provide learners with the content they need to stay engaged in school and pursue their passions.
How the World of Learning Fills the Gaps in Education: Four Powerful Use Cases
When schools find themselves with students eager to learn but without the staff or resources to teach, the World of Learning Institute can help. With a decade of experience in virtual education, our WOL team has mastered the art of human-centered, high-quality online instruction, particularly in world languages and hard-to-staff subject areas like physics, art, music, and calculus.
What makes our team unique isn’t just the flexibility of online learning. It’s our commitment to authentic, relevant, and engaging instruction that meets learners where they are, no matter where they live, or what life circumstances they face.
Here are four real-life use cases that illustrate how the World of Learning has filled critical educational gaps this year.
1. When Life Demands Flexibility: Supporting the Student Who Became a Caregiver
Imagine being a high school student juggling school, caring for younger siblings, taking lunch to your grandmother, and supporting your mother who is sick – all while adjusting to a new school. One WOL student lived that reality. Thanks to flexible online courses and personal support from our team, including regular biweekly check-ins, he was able to regain confidence, stay engaged, and ultimately succeed.
This is more than just scheduling flexibility, it’s human-centered learning that adapts to a student’s life, not the other way around.
“We’re filling that gap for him… so that he can get the classes he needs in a flexible environment and still be there for his family.” – Melissa Henderson, Virtual Learning Specialist
2. When Traditional Offerings Fall Short: Expanding Access to Passion Areas
One example: when a student wanted to continue learning American Sign Language (ASL), but scheduling conflicts at her traditional school prevented her from enrolling in the next-level course, WOL provided the class asynchronously. This allowed her to continue her studies without sacrificing her other academic commitments.
By providing access to ASL, Arabic, Chinese, Latin, and even German novels (yes, we’ve sourced them from publishers who only ship to Germany!), WOL helps keep learners engaged in subjects that spark curiosity and open doors for the future.
“Sometimes the things that keep a student connected to school are the things that matter to them the most.” – Pat Mulroy, WOL
3. When There’s No One Left to Teach: Filling Instructional Gaps at Scale
Rural and small districts often struggle to fill vacancies for specialized subjects. WOL is designed to step in as the “next best thing.” We provide a certified, experienced teacher on the screen who brings warmth, rigor, and community.
Take the case of an entire district without a French teacher after a retirement. Rather than cancel the program, the district turned to WOL. Students enrolled in French I through III and formed real relationships with their virtual teacher, relationships that outlasted the course itself, with one student even sending a graduation gift and staying in touch post-high school.
And it’s not just French. WOL has filled in with music, library science, middle school coding, and even emergency PE and health courses when no certified teacher was available. Each course was engaging, standards-aligned, and taught by someone who truly cared.
“We didn’t do them forever… but when districts didn’t know what to do, we provided that human being on a screen who could step in and care.” – Pat Mulroy, WOL
4. When Health Challenges Disrupt Schooling: Supporting a Homebound Learner Through Extended Campus
Not every student can attend school in person — and when textbooks and paper packets aren’t enough, that’s where WOL’s Extended Campus steps in.
This is the story of a high school student who, due to an ongoing health condition, required homebound instruction. For months, his education had been limited to traditional packets and sporadic tutoring, leaving him disengaged and without the academic consistency he needed.
His parent, seeking a better experience, reached out to the district, which had already partnered with WOL for virtual Spanish instruction. With that trusted relationship in place, the district connected the family with our team. By the end of March, he was officially enrolled in WOL’s full-time K–12 Extended Campus program.
From day one, the student became an active, valued member of our virtual classroom. He met regularly with his homeroom teacher, attended live sessions with enthusiasm, and made steady academic progress. Our team maintained close communication with the family to ensure he felt supported and had access to everything he needed.
What could have been an isolating and academically limited time turned into a season of growth and connection — thanks to a program designed to support learners where they are, even when “where they are” is far outside a traditional classroom.
“It was incredibly rewarding to provide a flexible, rigorous, and engaging learning environment for a student who needed it most.” – Lauren McMinn, Supervisor WOL
A Trusted Partner, Not Just a Provider
Whether you’re a parent trying to preserve your child’s passion for World Languages or a superintendent needing a teacher yesterday, the World of Learning Institute doesn’t offer cookie-cutter solutions. We build relationships. We listen. We adapt. And above all, we believe in every learner’s potential.
We do this every day. And we’d be honored to help you do it, too.
If you need us we are here,
Pat
Explore how we can partner with your district:
Contact us at https://worldoflearninginstitute.com/contact-us/
OR
Schedule a Time to Learn More:
Olivia Grugan – World Language Single Enrollments
This blog post was developed using my writing, our podcast transcript, and support from AI (ChatGPT by OpenAI) which was reviewed by Pat Mulroy for accuracy, tone, and context.