By Erica Kouros, Executive Director, Digital Academy of Texas
When Katy ISD announced plans to launch a virtual high school this fall, I wasn't shocked. I was gratified — because it confirmed what those of us already working in virtual education have known for years: this is not a trend. This is a transformation.
I spent years teaching in traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms in Texas. I loved it. I also watched students fall through the cracks — kids whose talents, circumstances, or schedules simply didn't fit the structure we put them in. When I joined the Digital Academy of Texas, a tuition-free, fully accredited online public school serving students in grades 3–12 statewide, I wasn't walking away from teaching. I was finding students whose potential just needed a different environment to thrive.
Katy ISD's entry into full-time virtual education is part of a much larger shift happening across Texas, accelerated by the legislature's passage of Senate Bill 569, which opened the door for districts to expand virtual learning options statewide. More families are choosing virtual school every year. And with that growth comes a surge of misunderstanding about what virtual school actually is — and isn't.
As someone who lives in this community and works in this field every day, I want to address a few of them directly.
Claim: Virtual school is a COVID invention
No. Virtual schools have operated in Texas for a quarter century. COVID didn't create them — it introduced millions of families to them for the first time. Many of those families never went back. That's not inertia. That's a preference worth respecting.
Claim: Virtual school is not academically serious
Virtual schools offer AP courses, dual enrollment, honors classes, and career and technical education pathways. Our students at the Digital Academy of Texas win national competitions, earn college credits, and enroll in four-year universities. Academic rigor doesn't require a physical building. It requires great teachers and high expectations. We have both. Our curriculum is TEKS-aligned, and students still take the STAAR in person — the same assessment as every other Texas public school student. And as funding has shifted from completion-based to Average Daily Attendance (ADA), virtual schools are now accountable for consistent, day-to-day participation, not just whether a student finishes a course.
Claim: Virtual students are isolated
This one I hear most often, and it's the furthest from the truth. Our students attend live classes with certified teachers daily. They join clubs, compete in robotics, participate in service projects, and gather in person for events and milestones. The community looks different than a traditional school — but it is real. For students who struggled socially in a conventional setting, it is often a lifeline.
Claim: It's just screen time
Our students are running science experiments, competing in CTE programs, performing, publishing, and building things with their hands. The screen is a delivery mechanism, not the education itself.
Claim: Virtual school is a last resort
This may be the most damaging myth of all. The families choosing virtual education in Katy and across Texas include student-athletes managing demanding training schedules, students with chronic health needs, high-achievers seeking coursework their local campus doesn't offer, and families in rural communities where advanced options simply don't exist nearby. These are deliberate, informed choices — not surrenders.
Virtual education has earned its place in Texas. It is accredited, accountable, and — when done well — exceptional. The question was never whether it belonged. The question is whether we're willing to set aside old assumptions long enough to see what it's actually producing.
In Katy, we pride ourselves on meeting students where they are. At the Digital Academy of Texas, we've been proving that's possible every single day — long before it was a headline.
Erica Kouros is the Executive Director of the Digital Academy of Texas and a former brick-and-mortar classroom teacher based in Katy, Texas.
The views expressed in this op-ed do not necessarily reflect the position of Covering Katy News.
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