Nearly 1,000 students successfully graduate from Primavera each year. These students came from many different walks of life. Some didn’t feel comfortable in their old school environment, some felt they did not get the support they needed.
Then there are other students who needed a greater challenge.
The Story of Jessica Tylka, Primavera Graduate
Meet Jessica Tylka, a 20-year-old Arizona State University and Primavera Online High School graduate.
You read that right. Jessica is 20 years old with a bachelor’s degree and a full-time job as an analyst. Since she was little, Jessica’s mother, Florenca Tylka, knew she was different.
“When Jessica was in second grade, I was told by her teacher that Reader’s Digest wasn’t appropriate for a free-time reading book,” said Florenca. “I was told the other children are not reading at that level and understanding the content. I knew then the school just wasn’t prepared to teach an intelligent child. ”
Jessica grew up in Texas, where she faced these challenges for the next few years.
“My classes were not as challenging as I had hoped,” said Jessica. “A lot of students distracted the teachers and kept the class moving at a slow pace which left me bored and my brain unstimulated in the classroom.”
Jessica moved to Arizona in her junior high years. Soon after, Jessica encountered health issues that made attending school daily difficult. They decided to try an online schooling, and saw Jessica excelled. But they weren’t quite sold on the idea. After finishing 8th grade online, Jessica went to her traditional high school for three months.
“In my old high school, I found it difficult to sit in a classroom all day (in honors classes) and not feel like I was learning anything, yet I was sent home with five or more hours of homework each day,” said Jessica. “I did not find my high school experience enjoyable, especially when my counselors and teachers were telling me to ‘stay put and wait it out’ in classes that were not advanced enough for me.”
Florenca knew her daughter was smarter and needed the ability to challenge herself. That’s when she started searching for full-time online high school options.
“We enrolled Jessica in Primavera, which was the best decision we made,” said Florenca. “Jessica excelled at a very high pace taking the max blocks of four classes at a time, finishing ahead of the schedules and always having great interactions with her teachers, enabling her to finish four years of high school a year and a half.”
This is a very unique situation at Primavera, but certainly not unheard of. A full 
schedule at Primavera consists of two courses every six weeks. They are fast-paced and rigorous. But when a student like Jessica proves she can excel, we work with her to let her achieve her goals.
Jessica set the goal of graduating early to jumpstart her college education. And she exceeded her goal. Jessica graduated from Primavera 2.5 years early with a 4.0 GPA.
“Primavera allowed Jessica to finish high school in a short amount of time and get accepted to ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business at 16 years old,” said Florenca. “She moved on to college, finished in three years, and now has a full-time position at Northern Trust in Hedge Fund services. I feel proud, one simple word.”
Jessica isn’t done pursuing her education just yet.
“After having an excellent experience with online education, I have decided to pursue my Masters of Business Administration online,” said Jessica. “I hope to one day work at a university so that I can give back to the education system and show students that hard work in the classroom pays off in the future.”
Empowering Students to Thrive
We are proud to provide students like Jessica the opportunity to thrive. Many schools passed off her poor attendance due to health as her being incapable of doing well in school. And now she is a 20-year-old high school and college graduate. It’s students like her who deserve to have an education molded to them, and not ‘sit it out and wait for the other kids to catch up.’
“The greatest benefit from Primavera was the encouragement I experienced from my teachers, specifically Mr. Joshi and Mr. Forrett,” said Jessica. “They both pushed me to be my best and are two teachers I will forever remember. I enjoyed being connected to my teachers even though I was located hours away from them. It made me feel like a regular high school student who was checking in with my teachers and asking questions in study sessions online. Primavera was extremely technologically advanced and knew exactly how to engage students, ensure each student received a personalized education, and encourage success.”
For information on graduating early through Primavera, head to this article.
- What do you think of Jessica’s story? Share with us in the comments below!
