June 2, 2025 • 26 mins
What if your child's education could follow your military family around the world? For service members facing 7-15 relocations during a career, finding educational stability for their children often feels impossible. Each PCS move brings the stress of uprooting kids from schools, disrupting friendships, and navigating new academic systems – sometimes with devastating effects on children's confidence and performance.
Navy veteran Erika Nance faced this challenge with her two daughters. Her older child experienced the traditional pattern of constant school transitions, while her younger daughter found an alternative path through Sora Schools, an online education platform specifically designed to provide consistency regardless of location. As Military Liaison for Sora, Nance now helps other military families discover this powerful educational option.
Unlike conventional online learning, Sora offers a vibrant, interactive community where students engage in live classes with dedicated teachers and collaborate with peers globally. The project-based curriculum encourages creativity and independent thinking while maintaining academic rigor. Nance's daughter discovered her talent for baking through a humanities project exploring how immigration influences American cuisine – an opportunity that might never have emerged in traditional schooling.
The most remarkable benefit for military families is educational continuity despite geographical changes. As Nance's daughter said, "Mom, it doesn't matter what happens or where we need to go, because I can just take Sora with me." This stability eliminates one significant stressor from military life. Students maintain relationships with the same teachers and classmates year after year, building confidence rather than repeatedly starting over. Regional meetups and educational field trips further strengthen this global community of learners.
For military families weighing educational options, Sora Schools provides a tier-based tuition grant program based on total annual income, making private education accessible across all pay grades. The school's founder, Garrett Smiley, draws on his own experience as a military child to create an environment where these unique students can thrive academically and socially despite frequent relocations.
Visit soraschools.com to learn how your military child can maintain educational stability regardless of where your service takes your family.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Larry Zilliox (00:00):
Good morning.
I'm Larry Zilliox, Director ofCulinary Services here at the
Warrior Retreat at Bull Run thisweek.
Our guest is Erika Nance.
She's the Military Liaison forSora Schools and this is an
online private schoolorganization that helps children
(00:20):
all over the world completeschooling, but online, and they
can be dispersed around theworld.
And she's the military liaisonand I really wanted to talk to
her about the services that theschool offers to military kids
around the world and thecommunity that grows out of kids
(00:41):
being in this environment,maybe throughout their entire
schooling, so no matter wheretheir parents are deployed,
maybe they get an overseasassignment to Korea and it's an
accompanied tour.
You know, when you have thisoption, it also can help the
family, because a lot ofdecisions are made and I
(01:04):
remember this from my time inthe Air Force that does the
family come with me on thisassignment, because I don't want
to uproot the kids from school.
Erica, thank you for coming andwelcome to the podcast.
Erika Nance (01:17):
Thank you, Larry.
Thank you so much for having meas a guest.
I really appreciate it.
Happy to be here.
Larry Zilliox (01:21):
Well, you are a veteran yourself, so if you
would kind of start.
You're an Army veteran.
Erika Nance (01:28):
Navy.
Larry Zilliox (01:29):
Navy.
Okay, so start with.
When it comes to your Navycareer, why did you choose the
Navy and not the Air Force?
Erika Nance (01:39):
Well, the Navy recruiter is who showed up at my
high school.
Larry Zilliox (01:43):
Was that the only one?
Yeah, oh, okay, wow, okay, sowhen did you go in?
Erika Nance (01:50):
So 10 days after high school graduation 1998.
Wow Okay, I knew I wanted tojoin the military because I
volunteered at William Boma ArmyMedical Center at Fort Bliss.
I volunteered there for threesummers.
Larry Zilliox (02:03):
Wow.
Erika Nance (02:04):
And I really got exposed to the healthcare system
and said I want to do that.
Larry Zilliox (02:08):
Wow, okay, and Fort Bliss Okay.
Erika Nance (02:15):
That's my hometown, el Paso, texas.
Larry Zilliox (02:17):
Oh okay, yeah, oh wow.
So you went into Navy.
What did you do in the Navy?
Erika Nance (02:22):
So I was a hospital corpsman for 10 years.
Larry Zilliox (02:25):
Okay.
Erika Nance (02:25):
And then I navigated to the officer side.
I was commissioned as alaboratory officer, oh, and then
I served that, and then Itransitioned to healthcare
administration.
So then I ended up at theDepends Health Agency for my
final tour.
Larry Zilliox (02:43):
Here locally in Falls Church, right, yeah, wow,
when did you get out?
Tell us about the transition,yeah sure.
Erika Nance (02:51):
So in my career I definitely, like many military
service members, I mean wereally kind of put our all into
our service and that doesn'tleave a lot of room for family
time, that doesn't leave a lotof room for connecting because
you're constantly, you know,doing the military assignments
(03:12):
and kind of prioritizing that.
And so I have two daughters.
I have one that's 25 and that Idid the entire schooling
process with, since she was, Imean, I had her while I was in
the military, so she experienced, you know, I had her while I
was in the military, so sheexperienced, you know, the
typical things that kidsexperience as far as frequent
moves, really trying to uprootand kind of reinvent themselves
(03:34):
at every assignment.
And then I have a 14-year-oldthat is going to Sora and you
know just really starkdifferences of my approach from
my first child and just kind ofnavigating that.
And obviously as parents, youknow the first one there's a lot
of unknowns and the second one,you know, seems to benefit from
(03:58):
the first experience.
Larry Zilliox (04:00):
Wow.
Erika Nance (04:00):
And, you know, not really by design, I guess not
intentionally but while I was atthe Defense Health Agency, some
chronic medical issues startedto come to surface, and then I
ended up having a surgicalprocedure that really just
completely did like a hard reset.
(04:22):
I was no longer able to do alot of things.
I was, you know, wheelchairbound, you know very limited
mobility, and so I was undercare for about a year, going
through the medical boardprocess at Walter Reed and, you
know, rehabbing and doing all ofthat and also, at the same time
(04:43):
, my sixth grader, which is myeighth grader now.
But my youngest daughter wasgoing to a public school and
they also did COVID.
So we had, like the COVIDenvironment.
You know I'm at DHA doing, youknow, high tempo COVID response.
You know, with the headquartersfor medical it kind of just
(05:06):
like you know, the world kind ofcollided right as far as like
the different things anddifferent aspects that were
happening, and my daughter wasreally struggling with middle
school.
Larry Zilliox (05:19):
Yeah.
Erika Nance (05:21):
It was a really challenging environment.
I didn't really feel supportedwith the school system, you know
, as far as their academic needs.
And I came to my husband.
I said we know the outcome.
You know we could just let thempush through, try to do it, see
if they come out okay on theother side, or we can really do
(05:43):
something intentional about this.
And so we started to exploredifferent options and, in
combination with my daughter andgiving her that agency to say,
what do you think about anonline school and they were like
that could be cool.
And so we did the admissionsprocess.
Sora does a really great job ofinviting the student to spend a
(06:04):
day at Sora to figure out, youknow, is this going to be, you
know, an environment?
And my daughter really liked itand so I said, okay, let's give
it a try.
I didn't know it at the time,but I really was blown away by
the schooling system with Sora.
You know, it just completelytransformed her academic journey
(06:27):
.
Larry Zilliox (06:29):
Well for our listeners.
The webpage is soraschoolscom.
S-o-r-a schools plural dot com.
Take a look.
They've got a lot of differentprograms and, of course, all
different grade levels andeverything.
But part of the problem withmilitary kids is all the moving
(06:50):
around and you know, mom or dadgets transferred and now I've
got to make new friends and nowI've got to go into a different
public school system.
And let me tell you, not allpublic school systems are the
same.
It really does depend on whereyou end up.
(07:11):
You could be at an installationthat's in a rather rural area
and they wouldn't know amilitary kid if they saw one.
They just throw kids into thepool and say sink or swim.
You could land like here inNorthern Virginia where Fairfax
County, loudon, prince Williamthey are very aware of military
(07:35):
children.
In fact Prince William Countyactually has a county staff
member solely dedicated tomilitary children and
integrating them into the publicschool system.
So it really does depend onwhere you're at and what
services might be available toyou.
Now DOD also has a program.
(07:55):
They have personnel oninstallations that, that is.
Their sole job is to helpmilitary children adjust, but
it's not on every installation,it's really on just some of the
major installations, so this isdefinitely an option.
What do you think in yourexperience with Sora that makes
(08:16):
them stand out?
What stood out to you and saidof all the options for online
schooling, this was the one thatyou felt your daughter needed.
Erika Nance (08:27):
So my daughter and I'll just get a little bit of a
background.
So my daughter was very earlyon introduced to a Montessori
style of learning.
We were stationed overseas inNaples, italy.
So my oldest was in the Dodiahigh school there, and then my
youngest.
She was ready for kindergarten.
But you know, when I tried toenroll they were like she's not
(08:48):
old enough.
She's like too shy to two months, shy of like the enrollment
time, and I was like you knowwhat she's ready?
She's ready to learn and Ireally don't want to like wait
an entire year because I justanyway.
So I enrolled her in theinternational school there, in
like in the economy and theItalian economy, which did
(09:10):
mostly English, but then theyhad a little bit of Italian
learning experience, kind ofreally set the trajectory of how
she learns.
And what I noticed is that whenwe came back from overseas and
she, you know, left thatMontessori style public school
just never really fit.
And so during the pandemic,third grade is when we shifted
(09:34):
to online, and then it wasmyself and my husband, you know
we all were contributing to likethe learning experience and
then I just really realized thatthat is how she thrives, so she
needs something different fromthe public school system.
That is just.
I mean many people experiencein public school system.
(09:56):
I mean it doesn't work foreveryone and the same.
With the DoDEA environment,when you have students that are
not thriving and they needsomething different, parents can
feel very isolated you know inthe options that they have.
So a school system like Soraoffers that academic rigor and
(10:17):
it also allows students toselect their classes and how
they and their learningobjectives as far as um with a
project.
So it's a project-based approachthat sora uses and that is
really.
And, to be honest, I didn'tknow what that was when I first
enrolled my daughter.
I just knew that it was um,student-led.
(10:38):
As far as it was up to her, asfar as how, you know, she would
select her learning path, andthat was the most attractive to
me because it really kind of fitthat kind of Montessori style
transformation in how sheapproaches her academic journey,
(10:59):
because now it's not just like,okay, it's a grade, it's a
worksheet or like a test that noone really cares about and it's
just, you know, it's not likereally a hands-on experience at
school, and at Sora theyactually do get to select their
projects and I can just provide,you know, one example, and the
(11:20):
one that I love is she had likea culinary class in its
humanities and they had to lookat how immigration influences
American cuisine, yeah, which isHugely yeah, hugely yeah.
(11:45):
And the and part of that is, youknow, looking at it from a way
broader perspective.
And that's how we look at life,right, as adults looking at it
a bigger perspective, you know,going into like a more problem
solving.
You know, just aware of ourglobal environment, which I
don't didn't really see in apublic education system yeah,
environment which I don't didn'treally see in a public
education system.
So being able to select.
So they had to do a fusionrecipe with another student from
(12:11):
another culture and they had tocollaborate on what that is and
then also go through thehistory of those two cultures
and kind of marry that and outof that they've discovered that
they are a phenomenal baker.
I was like, wow, who knew thatyou even had this talent?
I don't think we would havefound any of that at a public
school.
They would have just continuedto go through the motions and
(12:33):
kind of painfully you know just,you know whatever, just to get
the grade.
And at Sora students are reallyencouraged to take charge of
their learning right.
And they're in the seat withtheir learning process.
But they're also justsatisfying all the basic
requirements you know, becauseSora is accredited, so they have
to do, you know, all thetraditional you know different
(12:55):
aspects, but they get to be inthe driver's seat.
Larry Zilliox (12:58):
So what were the two fusions?
What was the dish?
Erika Nance (13:03):
So I'm from a Mexican background.
Like I said, I'm from El Paso,texas, and the other student was
German, so they did this Ithink it's some sort of pancake
and the bizcochito, which is acookie, and then they fused it
together to make and it wasactually really delicious.
Larry Zilliox (13:25):
That's awesome.
Yeah, you're getting hungryjust listening to that.
Describe for us what thatonline environment is like.
Is it a computer teaching them?
Is it a person teaching them?
A combination of both?
Erika Nance (13:40):
Yeah, no, that's a great question.
So it's actually very to mescheduled.
It's very similar to a collegeonline program, but they also
have kind of this structurearound it.
So they meet twice a day withtheir house advisors and they're
organized into houses, verysimilar to Harry Potter.
So they have the same group ofstudents that they meet with in
(14:02):
the morning and in the afternoonand then they attend classes.
They have about two to threeclasses and they're 50 minutes
long, so very similar to acollege, and they're not there
to do worksheets and things likethat.
The teacher is providinginstruction, conversation and
collaboration with the studentsand then, after class, then
(14:26):
they'd work on their projectsindependently, because each
student is doing a differentproject.
Larry Zilliox (14:31):
And so is this a live interaction, live, so it's
not like a tape of a teacherjust telling them, like you know
, a math problem or anythingRight, actual live.
Erika Nance (14:41):
It's live Awesome.
Larry Zilliox (14:43):
So once again, listeners.
The web page is soraschoolscom.
S-o-r-a.
Schools with an S dot com Inthe community to the county
where you live?
Is this consideredhomeschooling?
Erika Nance (14:59):
It is Okay, yeah, to the county where you live.
Larry Zilliox (15:01):
Is this considered homeschooling?
It is okay, yeah.
And are you then eligible forwhatever services are provided
to homeschoolers, such as socialinteraction programs, sporting?
I didn't know, but ourneighbors years ago homeschooled
their two boys and invited usto their graduation.
(15:21):
And I'm like whoa, what is thisout in the backyard or what,
what is okay?
And it turned out we went downto Richmond to the convention
center and it seemed like everyhomeschooling kid graduating was
there.
There was hundreds of them, andthey had a little banquet for
us and I remember it fondlybecause they had made the
(15:44):
mistake of setting the dessertout on the table before the
entree and I treated it as anappetizer, which I think
confused the staff.
But they eventually got meanother piece of cake, but I
just didn't know such a thingexists.
So wherever they are and end up, especially if they're in the
United States, they canparticipate in all those kind of
(16:08):
things.
Erika Nance (16:09):
Well, they can also .
They can do that, but I willjust say that Sora that's.
Another added benefit of Sorais that it's a global community.
So, for example, we just had ameetup in Atlanta where they
said, okay, everyone is welcometo come, wherever you are, we're
all going to meet up in Atlanta.
We have another one coming.
(16:30):
I think they just did one inSan Francisco, Austin, we have
one coming up in June.
And then for the middle schoollevel, they have a big field
trip that's actually coming upon.
I think we fly out nextSaturday to Orlando and what
they do is have a.
It's a class, it's part of theclass, where they go and they
(16:51):
spend a few days at Disneylooking at the STEM aspect of
how to design a ride, and thenthey the humanities portion of
it is to create a story thatwill pair with that particular
ride.
So there's all kinds ofopportunities and actually in my
local area we have twoparticular families that we meet
(17:13):
up with on a regular basis andthey're all Sora students and we
get to connect and, you know,just build community and it's
really just growing tremendously.
And so that just means, moreconnections are happening.
Larry Zilliox (17:28):
So any idea roughly how many students are
part of this community worldwide?
Erika Nance (17:35):
So right now I believe the it's I have to.
Larry Zilliox (17:41):
Ballpark, it Ballparking.
Erika Nance (17:43):
I believe it's 440 students at this moment.
Larry Zilliox (17:47):
Right and of course you know, and growing
Right, yeah, yes, yeah, and solet's talk a little bit about
the benefits for militarychildren and military families.
Me, if I'm wrong, but I seethat the main thing is that
(18:08):
continuity in not only educationbut being with your peers
throughout the process.
So whether you're in Spain on amilitary installation or in
Indiana or Fort Bliss, whereveryou're with the same kids and
you get to be friends with themand I'm sure they interact
offline.
But what do you see as some ofthe benefits for the military
(18:29):
family?
Erika Nance (18:30):
Yeah, I think for military families it really does
serve as that linchpin of thatcontinuity.
I mean, like I said, Imentioned I had an older
daughter that we had to uprootconstantly and I'm just seeing
the benefits now.
And, like I had mentioned, Iwas going through the medical
evaluation process.
I wasn't sure am I going to bemedically retired?
(18:52):
Am I going to be, you know, amI going to PCS?
I mean we really didn't knowwhat the outcome was.
And what I love about Sora andwhat my daughter was very
excited about was that you knowwhat, mom, it's okay, it doesn't
really matter what happens orwhere we need to go, because I
can just take Sora with me.
(19:13):
And so that was really powerfulwhen she had said that, you
know.
Because then that anxiety frommy side as a parent of like,
okay, yes, we will have to findand build, you know, local
community, but as far as, likethe schooling environment, okay,
yes, we will have to find andbuild, you know, local community
, but as far as, like theschooling environment, they have
the same teachers, the samestudents and they can, you know,
continue to build theconfidence.
(19:34):
I mean, because that's reallywhat I noticed, you know, as a
parent, every time you know thatmovement would happen.
You know, the confidence would,you know, kind of sink a bit
right, because, like, you needto figure out what's what, and
so I can just kind of see theopposite in my 14-year-old,
because they're building theconfidence and there's nothing
(19:55):
that's going to take that away.
Larry Zilliox (19:56):
Yeah, right, you know, and every kid is different
, you know you've got some kidsthat are shy, socially insecure,
that don't make friends easy,and so those kind of PCS moves
are really hard on them.
Then you've got your, you know,kids that play sports and are
out there and they'll play anysport and they don't have any
(20:18):
trouble making friends on theteam, you know.
So I think you know a lot of itcomes down to your children.
When I hear private school, Ithink super expensive.
No doubt there's a cost forSOAR schools.
I mean there's got to be.
But is there any kind offinancial assistance or anything
available for military families, some sort of sliding scale or
(20:43):
you know where enlisted wouldnot pay as much as officers?
How does it work if a militaryfamily is interested?
Erika Nance (20:50):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you so much for thatquestion because affordability
is really important for militaryfamilies and Sora is very
passionate about serving themilitary population.
The CEO, garrett Smiley aboutserving the military population.
The CEO, garrett Smiley, isactually a former military child
and Sora understands thatmilitary families have a wide
range of pay scales.
(21:10):
So they have a tier-basedtuition grant program that they
offer based on total annualincome for families.
Larry Zilliox (21:18):
Right, okay, again, listeners, the webpage is
soraschoolsscom.
As we kind of wrap up.
I really appreciate you coming,I think.
Well, you know, we just wentthrough April, which is the
month of the military child, andthese kind of things are really
important because these are thethings that families struggle
(21:41):
with all the time and it's it'sthe deployment and the impact
that that has on the family.
The jobs that military servicemembers have are stressful in
and of themselves.
Sometimes they're working invery dangerous environments,
sometimes they're working arounddangerous things.
Not only you could be on thetarmac refueling planes and it
(22:07):
seems like a pretty easy job,but you know there's inhalation,
injuries, there's all sorts ofexposure to chemicals and all
sorts of things that you knowyou take home to the family, and
everything you do has an impact.
And uprooting the family isreally a big deal.
And when you talk about careerservice members, they are
(22:30):
looking at sometimes 7 to 13, 15moves over a 25-year career.
It's crazy and, yeah, I knowthat.
Well, the military pays for it,you know.
And so, in addition touprooting the family, there's
you can't make a PCS movewithout it costing you money.
(22:53):
The government does pay for it,but you know what when you get
to that new house.
You got to buy toilet paper.
You know you got to buy a bunchof stuff.
You know it doesn't have ascreen door Well gosh, we need
to buy a bunch of stuff.
You know it doesn't have ascreen door Well gosh, we need
to have a screen door.
There's all sorts of costs thatare incurred.
Some families get dumped intoinstallations, where our
(23:15):
listeners know from previousepisodes.
90% of active duty servicemembers do not live on military
installations.
They are forced to seek housingin the community, which often
is more expensive than whatthey're given for base allowance
base housing allowance or theyhave to live far away from the
installation to find somethingthat's reasonably they can rent.
(23:38):
So you have that.
Then you have spouses thatuproot a career and they're a
professional, and it's atremendous hassle for that
professional to transfer theirlicense, which means you have a
minimum of probably six monthswhere that spouse is not
bringing in income, and so ontop of that, then you're trying
(24:00):
to get your kids into adifferent public school system.
I really think that militaryfamilies have to at least
examine the option, becauseanything you can do to relieve
the stress on the family isreally going to benefit
(24:22):
everybody, and so, yeah, soraschools may not be for you,
there may be another program outthere, but I I guarantee you
that when you look at Soraschools, you're going to see
quality education, that is, it'snot cheap but it's worth the
money.
And when, because that issomething that is going to
(24:44):
impact your children for therest of their life.
I really do.
Thank you for coming and sittingdown with us and talking about
your experience.
You know, these are the kind ofthings that we like to do.
Episodes about that areresources that families
sometimes don't even consider.
Yeah, and so really, thank youfor coming.
Yeah, thank, you so?
(25:04):
much that are resources thatfamilies sometimes don't even
consider.
Yeah, and so really thank youfor coming.
Erika Nance (25:07):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Larry Zilliox (25:09):
Well for our listeners.
We'll have another episode nextMonday morning at 0500.
You can find us on all majorpodcast platforms.
Like and subscribe.
We're also on YouTube and onWreaths Across America Radio.
So until next time.
Thanks for listening.
Good morning.
I'm Larry Zilliox, Director ofCulinary Services here at the
Warrior Retreat at Bull Run thisweek.
Our guest is Erika Nance.
She's the Military Liaison forSora Schools and this is an
online private schoolorganization that helps children
(00:20):
all over the world completeschooling, but online, and they
can be dispersed around theworld.
And she's the military liaisonand I really wanted to talk to
her about the services that theschool offers to military kids
around the world and thecommunity that grows out of kids
(00:41):
being in this environment,maybe throughout their entire
schooling, so no matter wheretheir parents are deployed,
maybe they get an overseasassignment to Korea and it's an
accompanied tour.
You know, when you have thisoption, it also can help the
family, because a lot ofdecisions are made and I
(01:04):
remember this from my time inthe Air Force that does the
family come with me on thisassignment, because I don't want
to uproot the kids from school.
Erica, thank you for coming andwelcome to the podcast.
Erika Nance (01:17):
Thank you, Larry.
Thank you so much for having meas a guest.
I really appreciate it.
Happy to be here.
Larry Zilliox (01:21):
Well, you are a veteran yourself, so if you
would kind of start.
You're an Army veteran.
Erika Nance (01:28):
Navy.
Larry Zilliox (01:29):
Navy.
Okay, so start with.
When it comes to your Navycareer, why did you choose the
Navy and not the Air Force?
Erika Nance (01:39):
Well, the Navy recruiter is who showed up at my
high school.
Larry Zilliox (01:43):
Was that the only one?
Yeah, oh, okay, wow, okay, sowhen did you go in?
Erika Nance (01:50):
So 10 days after high school graduation 1998.
Wow Okay, I knew I wanted tojoin the military because I
volunteered at William Boma ArmyMedical Center at Fort Bliss.
I volunteered there for threesummers.
Larry Zilliox (02:03):
Wow.
Erika Nance (02:04):
And I really got exposed to the healthcare system
and said I want to do that.
Larry Zilliox (02:08):
Wow, okay, and Fort Bliss Okay.
Erika Nance (02:15):
That's my hometown, el Paso, texas.
Larry Zilliox (02:17):
Oh okay, yeah, oh wow.
So you went into Navy.
What did you do in the Navy?
Erika Nance (02:22):
So I was a hospital corpsman for 10 years.
Larry Zilliox (02:25):
Okay.
Erika Nance (02:25):
And then I navigated to the officer side.
I was commissioned as alaboratory officer, oh, and then
I served that, and then Itransitioned to healthcare
administration.
So then I ended up at theDepends Health Agency for my
final tour.
Larry Zilliox (02:43):
Here locally in Falls Church, right, yeah, wow,
when did you get out?
Tell us about the transition,yeah sure.
Erika Nance (02:51):
So in my career I definitely, like many military
service members, I mean wereally kind of put our all into
our service and that doesn'tleave a lot of room for family
time, that doesn't leave a lotof room for connecting because
you're constantly, you know,doing the military assignments
(03:12):
and kind of prioritizing that.
And so I have two daughters.
I have one that's 25 and that Idid the entire schooling
process with, since she was, Imean, I had her while I was in
the military, so she experienced, you know, I had her while I
was in the military, so sheexperienced, you know, the
typical things that kidsexperience as far as frequent
moves, really trying to uprootand kind of reinvent themselves
(03:34):
at every assignment.
And then I have a 14-year-oldthat is going to Sora and you
know just really starkdifferences of my approach from
my first child and just kind ofnavigating that.
And obviously as parents, youknow the first one there's a lot
of unknowns and the second one,you know, seems to benefit from
(03:58):
the first experience.
Larry Zilliox (04:00):
Wow.
Erika Nance (04:00):
And, you know, not really by design, I guess not
intentionally but while I was atthe Defense Health Agency, some
chronic medical issues startedto come to surface, and then I
ended up having a surgicalprocedure that really just
completely did like a hard reset.
(04:22):
I was no longer able to do alot of things.
I was, you know, wheelchairbound, you know very limited
mobility, and so I was undercare for about a year, going
through the medical boardprocess at Walter Reed and, you
know, rehabbing and doing all ofthat and also, at the same time
(04:43):
, my sixth grader, which is myeighth grader now.
But my youngest daughter wasgoing to a public school and
they also did COVID.
So we had, like the COVIDenvironment.
You know I'm at DHA doing, youknow, high tempo COVID response.
You know, with the headquartersfor medical it kind of just
(05:06):
like you know, the world kind ofcollided right as far as like
the different things anddifferent aspects that were
happening, and my daughter wasreally struggling with middle
school.
Larry Zilliox (05:19):
Yeah.
Erika Nance (05:21):
It was a really challenging environment.
I didn't really feel supportedwith the school system, you know
, as far as their academic needs.
And I came to my husband.
I said we know the outcome.
You know we could just let thempush through, try to do it, see
if they come out okay on theother side, or we can really do
(05:43):
something intentional about this.
And so we started to exploredifferent options and, in
combination with my daughter andgiving her that agency to say,
what do you think about anonline school and they were like
that could be cool.
And so we did the admissionsprocess.
Sora does a really great job ofinviting the student to spend a
(06:04):
day at Sora to figure out, youknow, is this going to be, you
know, an environment?
And my daughter really liked itand so I said, okay, let's give
it a try.
I didn't know it at the time,but I really was blown away by
the schooling system with Sora.
You know, it just completelytransformed her academic journey
(06:27):
.
Larry Zilliox (06:29):
Well for our listeners.
The webpage is soraschoolscom.
S-o-r-a schools plural dot com.
Take a look.
They've got a lot of differentprograms and, of course, all
different grade levels andeverything.
But part of the problem withmilitary kids is all the moving
(06:50):
around and you know, mom or dadgets transferred and now I've
got to make new friends and nowI've got to go into a different
public school system.
And let me tell you, not allpublic school systems are the
same.
It really does depend on whereyou end up.
(07:11):
You could be at an installationthat's in a rather rural area
and they wouldn't know amilitary kid if they saw one.
They just throw kids into thepool and say sink or swim.
You could land like here inNorthern Virginia where Fairfax
County, loudon, prince Williamthey are very aware of military
(07:35):
children.
In fact Prince William Countyactually has a county staff
member solely dedicated tomilitary children and
integrating them into the publicschool system.
So it really does depend onwhere you're at and what
services might be available toyou.
Now DOD also has a program.
(07:55):
They have personnel oninstallations that, that is.
Their sole job is to helpmilitary children adjust, but
it's not on every installation,it's really on just some of the
major installations, so this isdefinitely an option.
What do you think in yourexperience with Sora that makes
(08:16):
them stand out?
What stood out to you and saidof all the options for online
schooling, this was the one thatyou felt your daughter needed.
Erika Nance (08:27):
So my daughter and I'll just get a little bit of a
background.
So my daughter was very earlyon introduced to a Montessori
style of learning.
We were stationed overseas inNaples, italy.
So my oldest was in the Dodiahigh school there, and then my
youngest.
She was ready for kindergarten.
But you know, when I tried toenroll they were like she's not
(08:48):
old enough.
She's like too shy to two months, shy of like the enrollment
time, and I was like you knowwhat she's ready?
She's ready to learn and Ireally don't want to like wait
an entire year because I justanyway.
So I enrolled her in theinternational school there, in
like in the economy and theItalian economy, which did
(09:10):
mostly English, but then theyhad a little bit of Italian
learning experience, kind ofreally set the trajectory of how
she learns.
And what I noticed is that whenwe came back from overseas and
she, you know, left thatMontessori style public school
just never really fit.
And so during the pandemic,third grade is when we shifted
(09:34):
to online, and then it wasmyself and my husband, you know
we all were contributing to likethe learning experience and
then I just really realized thatthat is how she thrives, so she
needs something different fromthe public school system.
That is just.
I mean many people experiencein public school system.
(09:56):
I mean it doesn't work foreveryone and the same.
With the DoDEA environment,when you have students that are
not thriving and they needsomething different, parents can
feel very isolated you know inthe options that they have.
So a school system like Soraoffers that academic rigor and
(10:17):
it also allows students toselect their classes and how
they and their learningobjectives as far as um with a
project.
So it's a project-based approachthat sora uses and that is
really.
And, to be honest, I didn'tknow what that was when I first
enrolled my daughter.
I just knew that it was um,student-led.
(10:38):
As far as it was up to her, asfar as how, you know, she would
select her learning path, andthat was the most attractive to
me because it really kind of fitthat kind of Montessori style
transformation in how sheapproaches her academic journey,
(10:59):
because now it's not just like,okay, it's a grade, it's a
worksheet or like a test that noone really cares about and it's
just, you know, it's not likereally a hands-on experience at
school, and at Sora theyactually do get to select their
projects and I can just provide,you know, one example, and the
(11:20):
one that I love is she had likea culinary class in its
humanities and they had to lookat how immigration influences
American cuisine, yeah, which isHugely yeah, hugely yeah.
(11:45):
And the and part of that is, youknow, looking at it from a way
broader perspective.
And that's how we look at life,right, as adults looking at it
a bigger perspective, you know,going into like a more problem
solving.
You know, just aware of ourglobal environment, which I
don't didn't really see in apublic education system yeah,
environment which I don't didn'treally see in a public
education system.
So being able to select.
So they had to do a fusionrecipe with another student from
(12:11):
another culture and they had tocollaborate on what that is and
then also go through thehistory of those two cultures
and kind of marry that and outof that they've discovered that
they are a phenomenal baker.
I was like, wow, who knew thatyou even had this talent?
I don't think we would havefound any of that at a public
school.
They would have just continuedto go through the motions and
(12:33):
kind of painfully you know just,you know whatever, just to get
the grade.
And at Sora students are reallyencouraged to take charge of
their learning right.
And they're in the seat withtheir learning process.
But they're also justsatisfying all the basic
requirements you know, becauseSora is accredited, so they have
to do, you know, all thetraditional you know different
(12:55):
aspects, but they get to be inthe driver's seat.
Larry Zilliox (12:58):
So what were the two fusions?
What was the dish?
Erika Nance (13:03):
So I'm from a Mexican background.
Like I said, I'm from El Paso,texas, and the other student was
German, so they did this Ithink it's some sort of pancake
and the bizcochito, which is acookie, and then they fused it
together to make and it wasactually really delicious.
Larry Zilliox (13:25):
That's awesome.
Yeah, you're getting hungryjust listening to that.
Describe for us what thatonline environment is like.
Is it a computer teaching them?
Is it a person teaching them?
A combination of both?
Erika Nance (13:40):
Yeah, no, that's a great question.
So it's actually very to mescheduled.
It's very similar to a collegeonline program, but they also
have kind of this structurearound it.
So they meet twice a day withtheir house advisors and they're
organized into houses, verysimilar to Harry Potter.
So they have the same group ofstudents that they meet with in
(14:02):
the morning and in the afternoonand then they attend classes.
They have about two to threeclasses and they're 50 minutes
long, so very similar to acollege, and they're not there
to do worksheets and things likethat.
The teacher is providinginstruction, conversation and
collaboration with the studentsand then, after class, then
(14:26):
they'd work on their projectsindependently, because each
student is doing a differentproject.
Larry Zilliox (14:31):
And so is this a live interaction, live, so it's
not like a tape of a teacherjust telling them, like you know
, a math problem or anythingRight, actual live.
Erika Nance (14:41):
It's live Awesome.
Larry Zilliox (14:43):
So once again, listeners.
The web page is soraschoolscom.
S-o-r-a.
Schools with an S dot com Inthe community to the county
where you live?
Is this consideredhomeschooling?
Erika Nance (14:59):
It is Okay, yeah, to the county where you live.
Larry Zilliox (15:01):
Is this considered homeschooling?
It is okay, yeah.
And are you then eligible forwhatever services are provided
to homeschoolers, such as socialinteraction programs, sporting?
I didn't know, but ourneighbors years ago homeschooled
their two boys and invited usto their graduation.
(15:21):
And I'm like whoa, what is thisout in the backyard or what,
what is okay?
And it turned out we went downto Richmond to the convention
center and it seemed like everyhomeschooling kid graduating was
there.
There was hundreds of them, andthey had a little banquet for
us and I remember it fondlybecause they had made the
(15:44):
mistake of setting the dessertout on the table before the
entree and I treated it as anappetizer, which I think
confused the staff.
But they eventually got meanother piece of cake, but I
just didn't know such a thingexists.
So wherever they are and end up, especially if they're in the
United States, they canparticipate in all those kind of
(16:08):
things.
Erika Nance (16:09):
Well, they can also .
They can do that, but I willjust say that Sora that's.
Another added benefit of Sorais that it's a global community.
So, for example, we just had ameetup in Atlanta where they
said, okay, everyone is welcometo come, wherever you are, we're
all going to meet up in Atlanta.
We have another one coming.
(16:30):
I think they just did one inSan Francisco, Austin, we have
one coming up in June.
And then for the middle schoollevel, they have a big field
trip that's actually coming upon.
I think we fly out nextSaturday to Orlando and what
they do is have a.
It's a class, it's part of theclass, where they go and they
(16:51):
spend a few days at Disneylooking at the STEM aspect of
how to design a ride, and thenthey the humanities portion of
it is to create a story thatwill pair with that particular
ride.
So there's all kinds ofopportunities and actually in my
local area we have twoparticular families that we meet
(17:13):
up with on a regular basis andthey're all Sora students and we
get to connect and, you know,just build community and it's
really just growing tremendously.
And so that just means, moreconnections are happening.
Larry Zilliox (17:28):
So any idea roughly how many students are
part of this community worldwide?
Erika Nance (17:35):
So right now I believe the it's I have to.
Larry Zilliox (17:41):
Ballpark, it Ballparking.
Erika Nance (17:43):
I believe it's 440 students at this moment.
Larry Zilliox (17:47):
Right and of course you know, and growing
Right, yeah, yes, yeah, and solet's talk a little bit about
the benefits for militarychildren and military families.
Me, if I'm wrong, but I seethat the main thing is that
(18:08):
continuity in not only educationbut being with your peers
throughout the process.
So whether you're in Spain on amilitary installation or in
Indiana or Fort Bliss, whereveryou're with the same kids and
you get to be friends with themand I'm sure they interact
offline.
But what do you see as some ofthe benefits for the military
(18:29):
family?
Erika Nance (18:30):
Yeah, I think for military families it really does
serve as that linchpin of thatcontinuity.
I mean, like I said, Imentioned I had an older
daughter that we had to uprootconstantly and I'm just seeing
the benefits now.
And, like I had mentioned, Iwas going through the medical
evaluation process.
I wasn't sure am I going to bemedically retired?
(18:52):
Am I going to be, you know, amI going to PCS?
I mean we really didn't knowwhat the outcome was.
And what I love about Sora andwhat my daughter was very
excited about was that you knowwhat, mom, it's okay, it doesn't
really matter what happens orwhere we need to go, because I
can just take Sora with me.
(19:13):
And so that was really powerfulwhen she had said that, you
know.
Because then that anxiety frommy side as a parent of like,
okay, yes, we will have to findand build, you know, local
community, but as far as, likethe schooling environment, okay,
yes, we will have to find andbuild, you know, local community
, but as far as, like theschooling environment, they have
the same teachers, the samestudents and they can, you know,
continue to build theconfidence.
(19:34):
I mean, because that's reallywhat I noticed, you know, as a
parent, every time you know thatmovement would happen.
You know, the confidence would,you know, kind of sink a bit
right, because, like, you needto figure out what's what, and
so I can just kind of see theopposite in my 14-year-old,
because they're building theconfidence and there's nothing
(19:55):
that's going to take that away.
Larry Zilliox (19:56):
Yeah, right, you know, and every kid is different
, you know you've got some kidsthat are shy, socially insecure,
that don't make friends easy,and so those kind of PCS moves
are really hard on them.
Then you've got your, you know,kids that play sports and are
out there and they'll play anysport and they don't have any
(20:18):
trouble making friends on theteam, you know.
So I think you know a lot of itcomes down to your children.
When I hear private school, Ithink super expensive.
No doubt there's a cost forSOAR schools.
I mean there's got to be.
But is there any kind offinancial assistance or anything
available for military families, some sort of sliding scale or
(20:43):
you know where enlisted wouldnot pay as much as officers?
How does it work if a militaryfamily is interested?
Erika Nance (20:50):
Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you so much for thatquestion because affordability
is really important for militaryfamilies and Sora is very
passionate about serving themilitary population.
The CEO, garrett Smiley aboutserving the military population.
The CEO, garrett Smiley, isactually a former military child
and Sora understands thatmilitary families have a wide
range of pay scales.
(21:10):
So they have a tier-basedtuition grant program that they
offer based on total annualincome for families.
Larry Zilliox (21:18):
Right, okay, again, listeners, the webpage is
soraschoolsscom.
As we kind of wrap up.
I really appreciate you coming,I think.
Well, you know, we just wentthrough April, which is the
month of the military child, andthese kind of things are really
important because these are thethings that families struggle
(21:41):
with all the time and it's it'sthe deployment and the impact
that that has on the family.
The jobs that military servicemembers have are stressful in
and of themselves.
Sometimes they're working invery dangerous environments,
sometimes they're working arounddangerous things.
Not only you could be on thetarmac refueling planes and it
(22:07):
seems like a pretty easy job,but you know there's inhalation,
injuries, there's all sorts ofexposure to chemicals and all
sorts of things that you knowyou take home to the family, and
everything you do has an impact.
And uprooting the family isreally a big deal.
And when you talk about careerservice members, they are
(22:30):
looking at sometimes 7 to 13, 15moves over a 25-year career.
It's crazy and, yeah, I knowthat.
Well, the military pays for it,you know.
And so, in addition touprooting the family, there's
you can't make a PCS movewithout it costing you money.
(22:53):
The government does pay for it,but you know what when you get
to that new house.
You got to buy toilet paper.
You know you got to buy a bunchof stuff.
You know it doesn't have ascreen door Well gosh, we need
to buy a bunch of stuff.
You know it doesn't have ascreen door Well gosh, we need
to have a screen door.
There's all sorts of costs thatare incurred.
Some families get dumped intoinstallations, where our
(23:15):
listeners know from previousepisodes.
90% of active duty servicemembers do not live on military
installations.
They are forced to seek housingin the community, which often
is more expensive than whatthey're given for base allowance
base housing allowance or theyhave to live far away from the
installation to find somethingthat's reasonably they can rent.
(23:38):
So you have that.
Then you have spouses thatuproot a career and they're a
professional, and it's atremendous hassle for that
professional to transfer theirlicense, which means you have a
minimum of probably six monthswhere that spouse is not
bringing in income, and so ontop of that, then you're trying
(24:00):
to get your kids into adifferent public school system.
I really think that militaryfamilies have to at least
examine the option, becauseanything you can do to relieve
the stress on the family isreally going to benefit
(24:22):
everybody, and so, yeah, soraschools may not be for you,
there may be another program outthere, but I I guarantee you
that when you look at Soraschools, you're going to see
quality education, that is, it'snot cheap but it's worth the
money.
And when, because that issomething that is going to
(24:44):
impact your children for therest of their life.
I really do.
Thank you for coming and sittingdown with us and talking about
your experience.
You know, these are the kind ofthings that we like to do.
Episodes about that areresources that families
sometimes don't even consider.
Yeah, and so really, thank youfor coming.
Yeah, thank, you so?
(25:04):
much that are resources thatfamilies sometimes don't even
consider.
Yeah, and so really thank youfor coming.
Erika Nance (25:07):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Larry Zilliox (25:09):
Well for our listeners.
We'll have another episode nextMonday morning at 0500.
You can find us on all majorpodcast platforms.
Like and subscribe.
We're also on YouTube and onWreaths Across America Radio.
So until next time.
Thanks for listening.
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