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Learning partly online and partly in a face-to-face environment helps students move through the curriculum at their own pace, but also requires them to take more responsibility for their own learning, students in hybrid schools say.

鈥淚 started coming here because of the independent way of learning and how you could progress through classes at your own pace,鈥� says Alex Kam, an 11th grader at the , where students spend part of their time learning through an online curriculum and the other part in pullout groups with teachers. Kam has been going to the school since it opened in fall 2010.

Before coming to the 178-student academy, which serves grades 9-12, Kam was in a traditional school environment where he would get bored with his classes because he had the potential to progress faster than his peers, but was not allowed to do so, he says. As a result, he began skipping classes.

鈥淗ere, I can go at my own pace and stay where I want to be at,鈥� he says. But part of being successful in that kind of environment is knowing when to ask for help and taking responsibility for your own learning, Kam says.

Jazmin Stoughton is also an 11th grader at 鈥淪F Flex,鈥� as well as the student body president.

Stoughton, who was home-schooled before coming to the school, got used to learning independently but fell behind on the credits she needed to graduate on time.

Enrolling in SF Flex in January 2011, she says, has helped her get back on track. Being able to move at her own pace is allowing Stoughton to regain those credits faster than she would in a traditional school environment or in homeschooling.

鈥淲hen you come here, the things you鈥檙e good at you can move ahead [in], and the things you鈥檙e not so good at, you can spend more time [on],鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e pretty much been given the chance to graduate in two and a half years instead of four.鈥�

Stoughton also appreciates the individual attention she receives from teachers in the pullout groups.

鈥淎fter so many years of studying on my own, the fact that there are actual teachers here to help me has done really good things,鈥� she says. 鈥淓ach of the teachers try to work with you individually if you need it, and they seem very understanding when you talk to them about what you鈥檙e having trouble with.鈥�

As a student with dyslexia, Stoughton says having that extra attention has helped her learn better. 鈥淚 never thought I would be doing as well at school as I am right now,鈥� she says.

The 126-student in New York City serves overage, undercredited students in a blended learning model. The school, which is a partnership with Glen Cove, N.Y.-based social work organization SCO Family of Services and Boston-based Diploma Plus, which aims to prevent drop-outs, does not classify students by grade level, but helps each student map out a plan to graduation that works for him or her.

Maribel Peralta has been attending the school since it opened last fall.

鈥淎t first, it struck me as strange that everything was online, and that the teachers were just there to guide you if you needed help, instead of everything being on a board and learning as a whole class,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 definitely much better than a traditional school because you get to learn at your own pace, so if you don鈥檛 understand something, you can always take the time to learn it, and it鈥檚 not like you got left behind.鈥�

Peralta, 17, is on track to graduate in three years. She finds that the face-to-face project-based learning she does with her teachers also helps her understand the curriculum better.

鈥淚t helps having the conference with your teacher, because you鈥檙e not always going to understand what you have read online, and the interaction with other students when you have small groups,鈥� she says.

But to be successful in such a model, it鈥檚 important for students to tap into their own motivation, says Peralta.

鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be times that you don鈥檛 understand the material that you鈥檙e learning, and you have to push yourself forward to keep learning and trying,鈥� she says.

Tatiania Morales began coming to the Bronx Arena High School last fall after dropping out of school when she was 16. It has been the 19-year-old鈥檚 first experience with online learning.

鈥淛ust learning off the computer, for me, is kind of hard,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it gets easier.鈥�

Morales says she was 鈥渟lacking off鈥� when she first started at Bronx Arena, but through the support of the school, she says, she has now made major changes in the priority she places on school in her life.

鈥淪chool is definitely number one,鈥� she says. Morales stays after school to complete coursework and works on her classes at home and during the weekends, she says.

鈥淢y [advocate counselor], my principal, my teachers, they鈥檙e definitely always pushing me to do what I have to do,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o I try to come in and type up what I鈥檝e got to type up, draft what I鈥檝e got to draft, revise my work, and do what I鈥檝e got to do, and by 2:30, I don鈥檛 want to go home. You just want to keep going and going until you鈥檙e finished.鈥�

Morales hopes to graduate in June, and says she would like to return to work at the school as a counselor one day.

Sol Gonzalez, 18, says that transitioning to Bronx Arena High requires dedication.

鈥淭he work is not easy, but you can get through it. You just need motivation and people to help you with it,鈥� she says.

It is her first time using online learning for her coursework, but Gonzalez says that transition was easy for her.

鈥淚鈥檓 really good with technology, and it鈥檚 easier [for me to learn] on the computer,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 love the self-paced thing because I don鈥檛 have anyone pressuring me. When you need help, your teachers are there, and they will show you.鈥�

Like her fellow students, Gonzalez says internal drive is an essential skill to succeed at Bronx Arena.

鈥淏ronx Arena is not like a traditional school. You need more motivation of yourself and [you need to] learn how to ask questions and make sure you know what you鈥檙e doing,鈥� she says. She, too, has a goal of graduating in June.

The sense of community and individualized attention is what appeals most about Bronx Arena to Christian Guillen, 18, the school鈥檚 student body president.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a big family because we have extra support [that鈥檚 lacking] in a traditional school,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not just a number or a student ID. You鈥檙e a person.鈥�

Guillen finds his project-based, face-to-face classes engaging and relevant.

鈥淢y [classes are project-based], so each credit you need, we figure out a project of your interest,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f you have some type of interest [in what you鈥檙e learning], you get the work done faster. People that don鈥檛 like what they鈥檙e working on most likely won鈥檛 get the work done.鈥�

Learning both online and in a face-to-face classroom is also helping to prepare him for the future, he says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the best of both worlds because once you go to college, you鈥檙e going to be online all the time,鈥� Guillen says. 鈥淭his program has given us a taste of that.鈥�