PHILIPSBURG:--- Demar Browne was all smiling on Friday last when he received his high school diploma from Dianne Greenaway, Director of Victory Christian Academy, located in Ebenezer. Even though he was the lone graduate in Sint Maarten, his class consisted of 30 other graduates, located around the world, in countries such as the United States of America, Qatar, the Philippines, and Tanzania. Together, they all took part in the online graduation ceremony. When the graduate’s name was called it was posted on the computer screen, along with a picture and a brief bio. Then locally the graduate was called to receive his or her diploma. Demar, a very bright student, followed most of his high school education via distance learning. When his parents realized that he had difficulties coping with the regular secondary education on the island they enrolled him in Victory Christian Academy where he was able to study and learn at his own pace. It was the individualized, self-paced, self-instruction type of curriculum that re-ignited Demar’s passion for learning and caused him to take responsibility for his own education. Victory Christian Academy is the local campus for two reputable distance education high school programs namely Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) and Alpha Omega Academy (AOA). ACE offers self-paced learning materials from kindergarten through high school. The Alpha Omega Academy is online and students are able to have direct access to their teachers via the internet. According to Demar “the program was tough but exciting, especially the online IT courses". Being enrolled in both high school programs at the same time, Demar was able to take advantage of the best of both schools.
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