This is Melissa Brandon: Principal of PrepNet Virtual Academy

A few years ago, the idea of a fully virtual school felt impossible – but Melissa Brandon’s team has done the impossible.
 
Melissa received her bachelor’s from Calvin College in 2000 with a double major in Science in Art and Geography. During the winter before graduation, Melissa studied architecture abroad in the Netherlands. She spent the time reflecting on how far she’d come and what was ahead. It became clear that although Melissa was intrigued by her studies and enjoyed what she was doing, it wasn’t a calling. She decided to re-enroll with exploratory classes in Education… and never looked back.
 
Over the years, Melissa served as a long-term substitute, full-time teacher, and led a school improvement team as co-chair. She was nominated twice as teacher of the year at National Heritage Academies (NHA^®) and later selected a fellow for Grand Valley State University, which “changed the trajectory” of her career, steering her toward senior leadership. But it wasn’t until an unexpected cancer diagnosis that virtual learning entered the picture for Melissa. “I needed to step away from work during treatment, so I began to create e-learning development for our leaders because I could do it from home. It grew my muscles in a new way. When the pandemic hit last July, NHA called and said ‘what do you think about leading our virtual instruction for the whole company?’ I was uniquely positioned for the role so I thought, ‘why not?’ My team ended up leading 29,000 students, supporting every principal, and making education happen successfully during a really difficult time. It was all the pieces of the last 18 years coming together at the right time and place.”
 
This year Melissa is at the helm of PrepNet Virtual in West Michigan. “The reason I stay with NHA and PrepNet Virtual is because we really do ask ourselves at every turn – is this best for kids? Not what is easiest for adults or what is simply popular. We go to great lengths to make it happen, from the structure to our curriculum, we open doors and make changes in kids’ lives that are going to last forever – in the physical and virtual classroom.”

About PrepNet Virtual Academy
PrepNet Virtual Academy is a tuition-free, online public charter school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving students in kindergarten through high school. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA^®) network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through high school across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.

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