Audience Takeaways: 1.) Understand the motivations behind the growing number of families pursuing alternative, non-traditional educational paths. 2.) Explore strategies for how schools can evolve to meet shifting family expectations around flexibility, personalization, and purpose in education. Presentation Description: In this session, we’ll share the story of Sora Schools, a virtual-first middle and high school that has experienced rapid growth over the last five years. From a niche startup to a nationally recognized leader in virtual education, our journey offers a unique vantage point into the evolving expectations families have for their students’ learning experience. We’ll dig into the data and stories from our candidate pool—families who actively sought out alternative education models—and uncover what their choices reveal about the shifting priorities in K-12 education. Why are more families stepping outside traditional frameworks? What do they value most in a school today? And how can schools adapt their messaging, offerings, and structures to better align with these emerging desires? This presentation is not just about the success of a virtual school—it’s about what that success signals for all of us. We’ll explore practical ways independent schools can respond—from revised admissions strategies to hybrid programming. Attendees will leave with concrete ideas for meeting the moment with creativity, empathy, and a willingness to reimagine what's possible in independent education.