When students speak, the education world must stop and listen. Welcome to the “Students Speak” series on Future of School: The Podcast, presented in partnership with National School Choice Week.

Jazy Manoukian, a second-year student at Patrick Henry College in Virginia, is today’s guest. She speaks with Amy Valentine, Future of School’s CEO and Education Evangelist.

From K-12, Jazy attended a small Christian school, and in fact graduated in a class of only three students. The school provided flexible options for all learners that present an effective illustration of choice in the classroom. Among other benefits, Jazy says the small class size enabled more one-on-one support from teachers and gave students the opportunity to work at their own pace.

She observed the power of specialized and personalized education for each learner. Jazy always pushed herself to try new and challenging courses, and having options in her education allowed her to do so. She also had peers who needed a slow pace, at least in some subject areas, and personalized tracks provided those students with the right support to succeed.

“By making everybody learn the exact same way, I think you’re really disadvantaging a lot of students,” Jazy says, when asked about the risks when schools don’t provide students with choices in their learning. This goes both for the students who want to accelerate and those who need to slow their pace a little bit in order to master the content.

Based on her experience in school, Jazy advocates for a hybrid learning model that includes both online instruction along with in-person learning, which she believes provides a richer, well-rounded experience and strong student-teacher relationships.

Subscribe to hear more Students Speak episodes along with upcoming series from Future of School. Follow Future of School on Twitter @futureof_school, follow Amy Valentine @amyvalentine555, and learn more on our website: www.futureof.school

National School Choice Week is a not-for-profit, charitable effort to raise awareness of effective K–12 education options for children. NSCW focuses equally on traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online schools, and homeschools. Participate in the conversation by following @schoolchoicewk on Twitter and using the hashtag #schoolchoiceweek. Learn more at https://schoolchoiceweek.com