Feature Family

Meet the Valdivia Family

In Hawaii, Venture Upward has the opportunity to support InDigital, a blended program run by the Hawai’i Academy of Arts and Science (HAAS). Let’s get to know the Valdivias, one of our amazing families in this program.

Vanessa Valdivia has always had the desire to be more involved with her children’s education. When her three children, Isaiah (2nd grade), Yesenia (5th grade), and Isella (7th grade), went to a traditional school, she did all the right things to get more involved. She visited the schools often, asked about homework, and tried to help them as much as she was able.

“I felt a disconnect.”

In spite of her efforts, the kids were still coming home with incomplete papers and assignments. Vanessa recalls having no clue as to what they were really learning and even where to start helping them.

Vanessa and her husband, Luis, made the decision not to send their children to a traditional all-day school. After hearing about InDigital through a social media group, they chose a hybrid school to help educate their children from home. “With HAAS InDigital, I am there every step of the way, and I don’t feel so disconnected from their education anymore.” Vanessa further asserted, “I love that we have access to a great teacher, and the Venture Reward is a huge plus.” With their benefits, they have been able to get much-needed supplies like a printer, dry-erase boards, and iPads, to name a few. The in-person learning opportunities offered have also fulfilled a need for socialization that other schooling programs that they researched could not meet.

The Valdivia family is now making strides toward their love of learning–a large part of this is being able to cultivate their student’s interests.

“Venture Upward and HAAS InDigital have given me the opportunity to have a larger hand in educating my students and have provided the tools needed to make it fun!”

Q&A with Vanessa Valdivia:

Q: What does your family enjoy doing?
We like to go to the beach and enjoy riding bikes. The kids and I love to sing and cook together. Arts and crafts are something the children always seem to enjoy. My second grader excels in reading and gaming. My fifth grader loves to bake and gaming. My seventh grader finds enjoyment in drawing and cooking.

Q: What does a typical school day look like for you?
I love that we can pace our learning time to fit our needs. We start with breakfast around 9 am, and after a quick clean up, we strive to get two subjects done before lunchtime. There is a lot of flexibility for snacks and breaks. At around 11 am, we stop for lunch and chores, which include feeding the chickens and collecting eggs, one of the kid’s favorite things to do! After lunch, we like to get the rest of our schoolwork done and are typically finished around 2:00 pm. Even though they finish their formal learning by that time, I am always talking with my students and looking for opportunities to educate them.

Q: What Venture Curriculum do you use?
We use Imagine Learning for language arts, CTC Math, and Study.com & Studies Weekly for social studies and science. CTC Math & Studies Weekly seems to be the smoothest for us. We have also been able to get an electricity set to help get a fun, hands-on experience in science.

Q: Favorite Field Trips?
Our favorite field trips so far have been to the zoo and the Imiloa Museum.