It’s flexible. You can take many of the required high school courses and do the work online, at your own pace, and from anywhere, whether you’re road tripping with your family or hanging out at the pool.

And, it’s free. Any high school student in Utah, including incoming freshmen, can take courses through Canyons Virtual Academy completely free of charge.

“Summer is a super popular time to take advantage of what we have to offer. We have students who want to graduate early or free up space in their fall course schedule so they have a lighter load,” said CVA Principal Amy Boettger. “We also have students wanting to do credit replacement and retake a class for a better grade. And, new this year, we are offering credit recovery, which allows students to retake a course they already took but, for whatever reason, weren’t able to finish.”

While CVA operates year round, serving students in grades 4-12, summer courses are only open to grades 9-12.

Students can sign up now. Access to the courses begins on May 31 and students need to be done with their coursework by Aug. 31.

“That gives about eight or nine weeks where students can crank through as many courses as they want to try to do in the summer,” Boettger said. “Every course has a proctored exam. We recommend students put together a schedule and plan on devoting 2-3 hours to studying two to three times a week.”

CVA’s course schedule includes honors courses and core classes in math, science, English, and social studies. Students can even sign up for physical education, financial literacy, and electives, such as, drawing, accounting, and photography. AP courses are available in the fall, winter, and spring.

“It’s not ready yet, but soon we’ll be launching music classes,” Boettger said.

Before signing up, it’s recommended students check with their counselors to make sure they are taking the courses they need for graduation. Counselors must sign off on any courses taken for credit replacement, which has to be done in advance.

CVA teachers are fully licensed and specially trained in online learning. Canyons Virtual Academy is one of the longest-standing providers of online education in Utah and, as an accredited and certified Statewide Online Education Programs (SOEP), one of the few online schools authorized to do summer school and enroll students from all across Utah.