Tristan Drummond was born 10 weeks premature with one kidney and enough genetic disorders that doctors gave him a 50/50 chance to turn 1. 

He had his first surgery when he was 2 days old and has far exceeded that dire prediction. He will turn 12 in June. 

But his lungs are filled with scar tissue, and his left lung tends to collapse. He’s susceptible to colds that lead to pneumonia, and that leads to more scar tissue on his lungs. 

Also, Tristan is on the autism spectrum. 

“The cherry on top,” said his mom, Danielle. 

Tristan is homeschooled and receives the state's Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with Unique Abilities. Unless he’s going to a doctor’s appointment or the grocery store with his mom, he spends nearly all his time inside the family’s home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Yet Tristan’s world virtually spans the globe. 

“The scholarship has allowed him to actually have a life,” Danielle said. “It's hard for kids like him because they don't have a lot of outlets. They need those relationships with other kids, and that is a safe way for him to do it. He has friends that he plays with online.” 

The scholarship operates as an Education Savings Account (ESA), which allows Tristan’s parents to spend its funds on curriculum and other approved education-related expenses. Art supplies have topped that list during this school year. 

The ESA also allows for electronics, which have shaped Tristan’s education and enabled him to have a social circle of about 50 friends whom he’s never met physically yet plays with nearly every day. 

Tristan was born with VACTERL, which stands for vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiac defects, tracheo-esophageal fistula, renal anomalies, and limb abnormalities. Not everyone with VACTERL has all six conditions. Tristan has three. 

“It's a nice little combo of rare diseases that just sort of all landed on one kid,” Danielle said. 

He was born without a section of his esophagus and a tethered spinal cord. 

“He had eight surgeries before his fifth birthday and so many procedures I’ve lost count,” Danielle said. 

Tristan had back surgery when he was 6 to correct his spinal cord. That’s when Danielle and her husband, Ashley, used the ESA for a large-screen TV and virtual reality equipment to help Tristan relearn how to walk. They quickly realized the benefits the ESA could have on Tristan’s life. 

Virtual reality has been used for nearly 25 years to help people on the autism spectrum learn to communicate and develop job skills. It has helped Tristan improve his cognitive and gross motor skills through occupational and physical therapy. It helped him increase his attention span and developed his hand-eye coordination and core strength. He’s learned how to count and how to exercise. 

It has also taken him around the world. 

Tristan landed on the moon with the Apollo 11 crew, swam with sharks off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and visited Epcot Center and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. 

He’s studied astrophysics and Van Gough and knows everything about the tardigrade, an eight-legged micro-animal that lives in water. 

The online game Roblox makes Tristan aware of how his body moves because it tracks a player’s body, eye, and facial expressions. He learned to work with teammates by playing the video game Beat Saber. Gorilla Tag allows Tristan to play tag with his friends, something he could never do in the real world without the risk of getting sick. 

Tristan had trouble sleeping at night until Danielle came across Liminal VR, which stimulates different parts of the brain.  

“He does his five minutes on there, takes his bath, then he goes to sleep and doesn't have a problem,” Danielle said. 

With Minecraft, Tristan has built an entire neighborhood, complete with houses and people living in those houses. He makes videos with his Stickbots and Godzilla figurines. 

Everything is relevant to her son’s education, Danielle said. Tristan is learning to code and make videos. He’s learning science and math. Some might see it as unorthodox. 

“But he doesn’t fit in a box,” Danielle said. 

Tristan responds to electronics. To not have that would be a lost opportunity when it comes to his education. 

“This is where it changes into something that can be usable for a career later,” Danielle said. “For kids like Tristan, technology is going to be where their careers, if they have them, are going to be because they have an aptitude for it. 

“You hope for him to have a productive life and hopefully be a contributing member of society, and the future of our society is electronic.” 

 Traditional school wasn’t working for Alexander Luther. The 15-year-old, who has autism spectrum disorder, would get overstimulated and tired toward the end of the 6-hour day. His mother, Sue, a former teacher who had homeschooled her son during the pandemic, knew some well-timed breaks would help him maintain focus so he could learn the life skills he would most need as an adult. 

So, Luther designed a home learning plan for him that combined lessons in core subjects with practical skills such as counting money, budgeting, housekeeping, and staying healthy. 

“The goal is for him to be as independent as possible,” she said.  

Luther, a former military spouse and single mom from Largo, Florida, stopped using Alexander’s Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with Unique Abilities to pay private school tuition and started using it to buy the supplies necessary for him to learn at home.  

Florida lawmakers passed the Unique Abilities scholarship program in 2014. Formerly known as the Gardiner Scholarship, it provides an education savings account that functions like a restricted-use bank account from which parents direct funds to pay for private school tuition and fees, approved homeschooling expenses, therapies, tutoring and other education-related expenses.  

Luther used some of Alexander’s funds to buy a virtual reality headset for physical education. He uses it to play Beat Saber, a rhythm game where players slash colorful cubes with virtual swords as they fly toward them to the beat of fast-paced music. Luther says the game not only provides physical activity but helps prime Alexander’s mind for learning. Small-scale research has suggested that so-called exergaming, which combines virtual reality games and physical exercise, can help younger users improve their performance at specific cognitive tasks. 

“VR has come a long way,” said Luther, who used personal funds to buy herself a headset to play Beat Saber and other exergames. “It’s a great workout, and we can do it together. It’s such a great tool. It’s going to be in a lot of schools someday.” 

 The VR activities also allow him to learn social skills. 

“He’s got to learn how to take turns and how to interact with others,” Luther said. “It gives him the space he needs. Nobody’s touching him.” 

Luther bought Alexander’s laptop and headset through MyScholarShop, an online purchasing platform for families who have an education savings account. The portal lets parents buy pre-approved instructional materials and curricula without having to pay out of pocket.  

A typical homeschool day begins with breakfast after dropping off Alexander’s younger brother, Miles, 13, off at a charter school. 

Alexander helps make the toast and jelly and puts away his dishes after he eats. The activity is not only for nourishment but also to teach Alexander the life skills needed to live as independently as possible as an adult. 

Next is handwriting practice, followed by instruction on the laptop. Then he takes a break before lunch, when he helps Luther prepare the meal and clean up afterward.  

 Alexander spends the afternoon on math followed by science, which typically involves projects such as making a lava lamp or growing a plant. 

The last part of the day includes Beat Saber or yoga and then winds down with an art project before it’s time to pick up Alexander’s brother from school. 

Alexander uses his laptop for learning games and puzzles on ABC Mouse and Starfall sites and for video games that Luther offers as rewards for staying on task and achieving goals. 

In the evenings, a therapist certified in applied behavioral analysis comes to the house to help Alexander with self-care skills such as showering. The family’s insurance covers the therapy sessions, but for other families, therapy provided by a certified behavioral analyst is an eligible scholarship expense. 

This year, Luther has seen Alexander make progress in math and counting. She uses play money to help teach him addition and subtraction and how that works in real life scenarios. He recently began receiving government disability payments, making money management an even more important skill. Sometimes they dine out so Alexander can practice personal finance skills by recording transactions on Cash App.  

The app gives him a place to keep the money he earns from doing simple household chores such as putting away his laundry and cleaning his room. 

“If he wants a hamburger or a video game, he can use the app to buy it,” Luther said. The app also keeps a history of transactions so Alexander can evaluate his spending choices and improve his decision-making skills. “I want him to know so no one can take advantage of him,” she said. “I want him to be able to figure out “Did I spend this or did someone take it from me?’ I know he’s never going to be able to be on his own completely, but he needs to be aware.” 

Luther said he also has improved his handwriting as well as his patience and focus. 

“Getting him just to do that has been a huge improvement,” she said.  

Luther said she sees a need for more programs to serve teenagers who can’t go to college or technical school but who need training in job and life skills.  

“That’s the school I always wanted to start – how to survive in the world if they don’t want to go to college. We would have fewer dropouts. That’s part of the whole school choice thing, isn’t it?”  

 

Remember field trips? Typically, they involved piling on a bus and going to a local museum, zoo, or planetarium for a whole, glorious day.

In an era of standardized testing, many schools limit field trips to only one or two each year. For students at schools in rural or high-poverty areas, such opportunities are even more rare due to a lack of nearby destinations and shrinking school budgets.

Meanwhile, students from wealthier families have always had the ability outside of school to walk through historic cities, browse museums, watch theatrical productions, and experience ecosystems that don’t look like home.

Now, a Florida entrepreneur is bringing back the school field trip through virtual reality. And to paraphrase Emily Dickinson, “there is no frigate … nor any coursers like a page” that can mimic the real thing like virtual reality.

Optima ED recently unveiled a flagship social VR application, Optima Imaginare. Billed as a “cutting-edge resource,” it will be available to school districts, independent schools, and charter schools to offer educational field trips without anyone ever physically leaving the campus.

“Our VR field trips are a powerful tool to engage students on a whole new level while providing educational experiences that help them see the relevance of what they’re studying,” said Adam Mangana, executive director of Optima ED and a co-founder of Optima Classical Academy, which he and the staff describe as the world’s first VR charter school. “Optima Imaginare was brought to life by our passion for classical education and technology. Rather than simply providing a transfer of knowledge, our continued goal is to increase the level of context and understanding of a child's education through these immersive experiences.”

Scholars will have the unique opportunity to put on an Oculus headset, enter a virtual world, and travel back in time to experience the grandeur of Ancient Rome, consult with President John F. Kennedy as he navigates the Cuban Missile Crisis, or even travel to Norway to experience the Northern Lights.

They can go to Independence Hall in Philadelphia for the signing of the Declaration of Independence or help American revolutionists from 1773 toss tea into Boston Harbor.  They even can travel to the moon. While students are in each of these virtual realities, they are fully present and wholly engaged in educational discourse with instructors and peers.

The service is available by subscription, with prices starting at $299 per year for the Explorer plan, $399 for the Pioneer plan, and $499 for the Trailblazer plan. Additionally, there are five tailored, guided experiences. All packages include teacher training.

An easy-to-use user interface and design are essential components of the technology. Optima Imaginare ensures that all students and teachers have easy access to the content, keeping the learning experience the top priority.

A recent six-week case study on student use of Optima Imaginare found that it successfully delivered clear, measurable education metrics by keeping students engaged, focused, and motivated – all while providing learning experiences they will remember for a lifetime.

Optima Classical Academy founder Erika Donalds said her team is incredibly passionate about this educational resource and eager to put it in the hands of as many schools and students as possible.

“Through our data, we’ve seen that these VR field trips help students with learning mastery and concept retention more efficiently than traditional learning methods,” Donalds said. “Until now, schools were limited by where you could physically travel to by land or air, which was holding students back. We created this product and the world's first VR charter school, Optima Classical Academy, in hopes to give students experiential learning like no other.”

Donalds, a former Collier County School Board member and education choice advocate, discussed this and the advantages of education savings accounts on a recent podcast with Step Up For Students president Doug Tuthill, who lamented that many students at St. Petersburg High, where he was a teacher, had never had an opportunity to visit the beach despite it being only minutes away.

“This is leveling the playing field,” Donalds said.

Optima ED will begin offering Optima Imaginare VR field trips to businesses, school districts, independent schools, and others this fall.