Comment by Felice Brown
When my daughter transferred from a school in Texas to Marian University Preparatory School, a 100 percent virtual educational institution, I was cautiously optimistic. In Texas, my daughter was enrolled in a large online school where she often struggled to get the attention she needed—as evidenced by the fact that she was rarely addressed by name because there were too many students to remember their names.
As a young child, my daughter’s lack of connection with her teachers and education made her feel overlooked at best, or at worst, get in trouble for not responding to a name that wasn’t hers. By the end of first grade, my daughter was already discouraged and depressed without even being able to define the words. And that’s when our family took action.
When we moved to Indiana, I was looking for a different academic environment where my daughter would feel safe and seen while learning—and that’s how I discovered Marian University Preparatory School. Throughout the enrollment process, I had one goal: I wanted my daughter to have a positive literacy experience over the next 12 months.
When she entered Marian University Preparatory School, a 100 percent virtual school, we had to make some adjustments. Interacting with fewer students was daunting for her at first. In Texas, my daughter didn’t need to know the answer because the likelihood of her being called on was so low. However, in the virtual environment with fewer students, her teachers and I were able to quickly identify her learning gaps and give her the extra support she needed to master what she was learning — and the personalized attention she received from her teachers, Ms. Ready and Taylor, was transformative. They worked diligently to help her adjust to the new environment and fostered an atmosphere that focused on her well-being and academic progress.
The results have been remarkable both in and out of the classroom. My daughter actively participates in school plays and has seen a significant improvement in her reading and comprehension skills. Her enthusiasm for learning has increased tremendously and she can now confidently spell and learn new language skills. The progress in her English language proficiency, or ELA, The results are a testament to the nurturing and effective teaching methods at Marian University Prep. What took her several days earlier in the year due to test anxiety now takes a fraction of the time, demonstrating her increased confidence and reduced anxiety.
In addition, the school’s religious approach goes beyond academics. It subtly integrates values and teachings into everyday activities without being overly prescriptive. On Earth Day, for example, my daughter passionately began picking up trash in our community. She even began thanking others for not throwing trash on the ground, demonstrating her growing sense of responsibility and commitment to the community.
Financially, the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program has been a blessing as it significantly reduced tuition and allowed us to fund her sophomore year as well. This has allowed us to consider additional extracurricular activities even though we live three hours away from the school. We plan to use some Fridays or Mondays to travel so she can participate more fully in what the school has to offer.
In sharing my daughter’s journey, I would like to provide a comprehensive overview of our experience with Marian University Preparatory School. The personalized attention, supportive environment, and holistic development approach all helped transform her educational experience from a struggle to a success. While we are still evaluating all options for her future education, our experience with Marian University Prep has been nothing but positive and has laid a solid foundation for her continued growth and learning.
