Starting in the fall, Aubrey ISD will offer hybrid and virtual instruction options for high school students.
The district developed the program starting early in the 2025-26 academic year to keep pace with the district's growth.
“We've seen expanding needs across our districts, a lot of different families, different backgrounds coming in, and we wanted to be able to give them an alternative,” Director of Student Services Jewelisha Jefferson said.
There are a few other new programs that will be offered in the upcoming academic year, including a cosmetology program and the Trades Academy.
“We wanted to stay competitive in regard to what we offer our kids, always being cuttingedge and innovative,” Jefferson said.
As of now, the program does not offer accelerated courses.
Instead, it will allow students who, for example, participate in extracurricular activities or have an internship to stay on track with their classmates by providing a more flexible schedule, while still graduating the traditional way.
“Any student enrolled in the Chaparral Course Connection is considered an Aubrey ISD student,” Jefferson said. “So, they're available to participate in everything from fine arts to UIL sports, and they will also have a CTE pathway that will be offered to them so that they can get their college and career readiness credit when they graduate.”
If the Chaparral Course Connection does not meet a student's needs, Jefferson said, they can switch to inperson instruction at the end of a semester.
The programs will offer tutoring and other academic support options to students, both online and in-person.
“A lot of our parents have decided that they definitely are interested in the homeschool route,” Jefferson said. “However, just being able to identify their curriculum or online options, it's a little easier when you have something like the Course Connection because they can seek out help from online teachers [and] educators, but they can still have that homeschool feel.”
She added that it could also provide support to families experiencing hardship without causing too much disruption to the student.
“We do want to encourage any family interested to make sure that they are 100% all in,” Jefferson said. “It's not just a student commitment; it would need to be a family commitment. … We'll definitely need their support so that we can make sure our students are hitting the goals and accessing all their educational opportunities as they would on campus.”
With it being the inaugural year, Jefferson said, the plan is to get feedback from students and families and grow the program in the years to come.
“We want families to understand that the hybrid option is not anything separate from Aubrey High School,” Jefferson said. “The expectations, the rigor, the traditions … will all remain in place, and they will still be a part of the Aubrey ISD family.”
