MANSFIELD — Mitzie and Belle circled a small pen set up in the parking lot, munching on hay. Bells on their collars jingled as they walked.
Meanwhile, employees from Kleerview Farms chatted with visitors, sharing facts about reindeer behavior and inviting children to pet the animals on the back.
The two reindeer brought an extra dose of holiday cheer to GOAL Digital Academy’s holiday celebration Thursday. The school invited students and their families to meet the reindeer and enjoy hot chocolate and donuts.
Around 100 students and their families attended the event, according to Assistant Principal LeRoy Smith.
GOAL Digital Academy is a K-12 public school that offers online education, credit recovery and dropout prevention programming. The school is headquartered in Mansfield and has campuses throughout Ohio.
Assistant Principal Leroy Smith said there are around 200 students enrolled at Mansfield’s GOAL Digital Academy campus. Students living within a 25 mile radius of the school are eligible to attend.
Each GOAL location has a computer lab where students come in and get their work done. Students can also come in to receive tutoring and assistance from teachers and staff weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“Some students come in daily for a couple hours a week. There are computers here. It’s a quiet place,” Smith said.
Smith said more than half of GOAL students are over the age of 16. He said many are at risk for dropping out of a traditional public school or have already done so.
Some enroll at GOAL for its flexibility — online curriculum and assignments are accessible 24/7 online.
“We have a number of our students that are working. Our teachers will get assignments submitted at one o’clock in the morning or two o’clock in the morning,” Smith said. “We have a number of parenting teens that need that flexibility also.”
Ellie Besco, 18, has attended GOAL Digital Academy in Mansfield since the 7th grade. She’ll graduate this spring.
Besco said she came to GOAL after experiencing bullying from staff and students at her old school. She said she feels supported by the teachers at GOAL.
“If you need help, you just come in and ask them,” Besco said. “If you can’t come in, they can do video calls for you and that will help you stay on track and be ready to graduate.”
Besco’s mother, Joanie Hunter, said she recommends the school to everyone.
“GOAL has been a blessing to us. We love it here,” Hunter said. “It’s a family atmosphere, everybody gets along. They really go above and beyond to help her with her math.”
Chevelle Hudson, a seventh grade student, said she does most of her work at home but sometimes comes in for help with math.
“It’s a lot easier here because you can get one-on-one time,” she said.
Students are required to be logged on and doing school work for a minimum of 25 hours each week, but Smith said students are only required to come in if they’re struggling academically.
“Then we write a plan for them to come in and meet with their teachers, either in-person here or online,” he said.
Amber Stanford, a 2011 GOAL graduate, went on to become a medical assistant and work in home health care.
She attended Thursday’s holiday party with her stepson, Blu Pounds.
“I like it (at GOAL) because there is no drama,” Pounds said.
Smith said the school typically has two family engagement events each year, one at Christmas and the other in the spring. The school also has monthly lunches where students can socialize and get to know each other.
While GOAL is different from traditional public schools, Smith said there are similarities. The school has a PBIS program, special education department, school picture day and parent-teacher conferences. Students can graduate with their high school diploma.
Smith said graduation is the highlight of the school year. The ceremony is held at the Mid Ohio Conference Center.
In the years prior to COVID-19, Smith said the room would be packed with more than 700 people.
“We have a lot of families where this was the first person in the family that’s graduating high school,” he said.
