Career aspirations drove Emma Hanaka to choose distance learning after finishing Grade 9 in public school.

B次元官网网址淚 have eight more years of schooling ahead of me, I want to be an optometrist,B次元官网网址� said the 15-year-old.

Her goal is to complete grades 10 through 12 in two years then move on to post secondary, but Hanaka didnB次元官网网址檛 want to give up  her passion of eight years B次元官网网址� soccer. She plays on the Juan de Fuca gold girls U16 team and in the Belmont soccer academy which is open to any student living within the Sooke district.

B次元官网网址淚t helps to come out every day and be around other kids,B次元官网网址� Hanaka said, though she doesnB次元官网网址檛 miss navigating crowded halls.

Hanaka participates in the academy five days a week for about an hour a day alongside fellow distance learner Breanna Ennis, 16, of Sooke.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 valuable for the girls to join the academy. School is a lot about social aspects too. ItB次元官网网址檚 really important for students to socialize on a regular basis,B次元官网网址� said academy coach Troy Harris. Both girls are enrolled through distance learning. They call themselves home school students, but are technically called distributed learners.

The teens agree they miss the friendships and social lives traditional school offers, but the rewards of homeschooling are worth it.

B次元官网网址淗omeschooling allows me to have a lot more time to do my work,B次元官网网址� said Ennis. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 feel rushed B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 easy to balance my homework and the academy.B次元官网网址�

Registration required for home learning

Homeschooled students in B.C. must be registered in a public, independent or distance learning school. This doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean they need to attend classes at the facility, they just need to register with the district.

In the Sooke School District there are only two students who are  homeschooled.

B次元官网网址淭hey are both seven and live in Sooke,B次元官网网址� said superintendent Jim Cambridge.

Many other children study from home but are referred to as distributed learners who are registered or enrolled in a distance learning or other program.

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