One of the most common questions families ask about online school is whether their student will have a real community. It's a fair question, and the honest answer is: it depends on the school.

At Veritas Scholars Academy, community is built intentionally. Student government, yearbook, teacher appreciation, class-wide connections, local family groups, and an annual five-day gathering in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where students finally meet the classmates they've been learning alongside all year. This video covers what student life actually looks like.

Student Life at VSA: Clubs, Leadership, and the End of Year Gathering

One of the most common concerns families have about online school is whether their student will have a real community. At VSA, community is built deliberately — and it shows up in more places than you might expect.

Student Leadership

VSA offers a full range of student leadership opportunities: student government, student mentors, moderators, a Teacher Appreciation Committee, and yearbook staff.

Between my four kids, we've done all of it. Multiple class presidents and vice presidents, a couple of student mentors, a moderator, a committee chair, and a yearbook staffer. These are real roles with real responsibility, not placeholders.

If your student joins in tenth grade and is interested in student government, I'd encourage them to start thinking about running early — government offices open in April, and having a campaign ready to go gives them the best shot at the office they want.

Community Beyond the Classroom

Community at VSA extends well beyond the live classroom.

Student Commons is built into our Schoology platform and gives students a space to connect with each other day to day.

Student Connections are monthly gatherings for diploma students, organized by class year — tenth graders together, eleventh graders together. These are informal evenings for students to get to know each other as a class.

Local VSA groups form organically among families in the same area. One of our advisors in D.C. recently reached out to nearby diploma families to organize a field trip to a local art museum. These connections happen more often than you'd expect.

Omnibus study trips take students abroad to trace the history and literature they've been studying in class. My family has been on a couple of these.

Missions trips have taken students to places like Ecuador and beyond.

The End of Year Gathering

The EOYG—End of Year Gathering—is the anchor event of the VSA year. It's a five-day conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where VSA is headquartered, and it brings the whole school together.

The week includes graduation ceremonies, a student dance, field trips, luncheons, and a mom's tea. For many students, it's the first time they meet their teachers and classmates in person—and for families who've been part of VSA for years, it's a reunion.

My family has attended twelve years in a row, minus one year for COVID. My kids have always looked forward to it.

What Community Actually Looks Like

Here's a testimonial that came in from a VSA family after they received the school yearbook:

"We received our yearbook and I was amazed to realize that we have had 41 different teachers during our four short years at Veritas. From my graduate, Elizabeth, down to my fourth grader, words cannot express what these 41 humans have meant to us. They have walked with us through a life-altering medical diagnosis, offered advice and insight about significant learning challenges, fostered our love of the arts, encouraged us to continue pursuing our goals past the point when many quit, and most of all, pointed us to Christ at every turn."

That's what community looks like here. It's not a simulation of school life — it's the real thing, built differently.