Kayden Gonzales can solve a Rubik’s cube in about 30 seconds. But sitting in a classroom really isn’t for the Columbia Falls senior. He already works four days a week and only needs a couple of classes to graduate.

The school’s new Wildcat Independent Academy has proven to be a good fit for him, as he takes classes online like English and government while also getting credit for working, provided he shows up on time and does his work adequately.

Gonzales meets with semi-retired counselor Ross Lingle once a week to monitor his progress. So far, things have been going well, and Gonzales fully expects to graduate come June.

“It’s been a lot easier for me,” Gonzales said. While attending regular school, where a student is in class from 7 to 7-½ hours a day, doing schoolwork from home has proven advantageous, as he’s not distracted by his peers. 

“I don’t have the background noise,” Gonzales said.

He also can get his schoolwork done at work during work breaks and early in the morning. He’s currently a dishwasher at Grouse Mountain Lodge.

The school started the online academy this year after 48 students opted for homeschooling last year, which was about double the two previous years, noted Principal Josh Gibbs.

The school’s new digital academy looks to not only be a resource for students who might not fit traditional high school; it also counts toward the school’s enrollment, and thus, state funding.

The classes are taught through the state-sanctioned Montana Digital Academy, Gibbs noted, which uses state certified teachers.  Some Columbia Falls teachers teach classes for the Academy, Gibbs said. 

This year the program was capped at 20 students and Lingle, a longtime school counselor in Whitefish who is now working part-time, oversees their progress. For its pilot year, students are required to go completely online, Gibbs noted, but in the future the school may make it a more hybrid program, where students  can take some classes online and others in-person, so they could participate in band or choir, for example.

Gibbs said the program is going well. It’s already prevented some students from going to homeschooling. It works well not just for students who travel a lot. For example, one student is often away on skiing competitions, so uses the academy for instruction.