ATLANTA - Seventh grader David Tanner is off to a new school year. But he's not in a traditional classroom. He attends Georgia Cyber Academy, a statewide public virtual charter school.
His mother transferred him to virtual school because she felt he wasn't reaching his full potential with the hustle and bustle of traditional school.
"There were so many different areas he went every day, and so many different teachers he saw every day, he had a hard time organizing himself with that and keep up with the work. And so his grades started slipping and we realized that this whole school system didn't work for his personality," said his mom, Suzanne.
"I can concentrate better when it's peaceful and quiet," David said.
David tunes in to lessons taught by a live teacher -- fully certified by the state. The classes are recorded so he can watch them again later at his own pace.
"It offers flexibility in that he can actually speed through topics he already knows. Let's say with math -- there's some things he just gets very fast. He doesn't have to sit through the whole class if he already gets it. He can just move on," Suzanne said.
But cyber school also meant a lifestyle change for his mother - turning her into a stay-at-home mom.
"I definitely had to sacrifice some of my dreams for now. I started going back to school. I'm gonna wait for that until later. And that's fine with me," Suzanne said.
Learning isn't limited to online. There are monthly field trips where David has the opportunity to get out and meet other students.
"It's a very flexible program. You can go on field trips once a week and you can do all your homework at home," said 10th grader Malaysia Moore. "It's a lot less stressful than high school and brick and mortar."
The state contributes $3,000 for each child. Kids from all over Georgia are eligible to attend, and the school says it attracts all kinds.
"We see gifted students who are getting bored in the class. We see students who have fallen behind and need an opportunity to catch up. We see students with health issues or special needs that the distractions or obstructions in the classroom just don't work well for them. We see students who face bullying issues in schools or cultural issues or their local school just isn't safe," said the head of the academy, Matt Arkin.
David's mother keeps him active and engaged with extracurricular activities.
"He plays violin, he's learning Spanish right now and then we do additional things on top of that," she said. "He sometimes takes classes at one of the county classes that they offer. And he plays soccer in the evening to get his P.E hours."
And they still make time for the fun stuff - like homemade milkshakes.