A virtual charter school aiming to someday serve thousands of Oklahoma students at risk of not finishing high school has been approved to open in 2026.
The Statewide Charter School Board voted unanimously Monday in favor of establishing ThrivePoint Academy of Oklahoma. The online alternative school plans to enroll about 400 students statewide in grades 6-12 for the 2026-27 school year but has goals to reach 2,000 students after five years, according to its application.
Oklahoma is the fifth state where the Arizona-based Learning Matters Educational Group will establish and manage a charter school. The organization has opened ThrivePoint schools in Arizona, California and Nevada and is preparing to open a school in Utah next year.
The Oklahoma school, with teachers and staff based in the state, would focus on students who have fallen behind on credits needed to graduate.
"They have some experience in other states doing this and having success," the statewide board's chairperson, Brian Shellem, said after the meeting. "One of our tasks is to attract high-quality people who are already getting it done, so we're hopeful that they will have a great impact on Oklahoma, especially for kids who have already fallen behind."
ThrivePoint Academy promises an individualized learning plan, a flexible class schedule, small class sizes and a teacher/coach model "where students have multiple points of contact with adults who understand their struggles and achievements," former Oklahoma state Sen. Clark Jolley, who leads the school's governing board, wrote in a letter to the statewide board.
Each student will work with a teacher and a student success coach who will help them develop an academic plan, accelerate their learning and catch up on credits, said Timothy Smith, co-founder and CEO of Learning Matters Educational Group.
Oklahoma has one virtual charter school that serves students at risk of dropping out before graduation. Insight School of Oklahoma enrolls more than 1,100 students and has seen its numbers increase each of the past seven years, state data shows.
ThrivePoint academies have experienced significant growth in Arizona and California, where Learning Matters has run schools for 20 and 15 years respectively, Smith said. That led the group to expand into other states.
After its first application to open a ThrivePoint Academy in Oklahoma was denied last year, Learning Matters applied again in March — this time with a renamed and restocked Statewide Charter School Board. The board used to be known as the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and had mostly different members.
The new board members asked for more clarity from ThrivePoint's March application, including in the school's bylaws, class schedules and fiscal plan. They then approved an updated version of the application on Monday.
Smith said the new Oklahoma board has been more receptive since it was reconstituted last year.
"They're definitely forward thinking, looking for innovative schools," Smith said after the vote. "We think that we are one, and so we're very excited."
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