COVINGTON, Ga. - Jené Moore will be entering the seventh grade this fall. However, she is also a busy professional dancer. In pursuit of her career, her mother, Kanisha Hayes, estimates Moore would miss more than 20 school days a year if she attended a regular brick and mortar school.
To avoid that problem, Moore enrolled in the Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA) midway through fifth grade when the family moved to Covington. She has taken all of her classes online ever since and is a straight-A student.
Moore has appeared in commercials, television shows, movies and dance tours. She is busy. For example, last week she performed for a scene in dance movie that is currently in production. This week she rehearsed for a YouTube Red series. Next month she will be in Los Angeles for two weeks to perform and train with choreographers.
Videos of her performing can be found on Instagram and YouTube. Hayes is in the process of setting up a GoFundMe page to help defray travel costs.
Moore is currently focused on dance, but according to Hayes ultimately wants to “do it all” as a dancer, singer and actor. She also likes helping other children learn to dance as well as think about their own goals and careers. She has taught dance classes.
GCA is a public school founded in 2007. It operates statewide and serves more than 14,000 students in grades K-12, including about 280 residents of Newton County. It is largely funded by the State of Georgia and has an annual operating budget of approximately $75-80 million.
The curriculum is from K12, Inc. and can be tailored to meet the needs of individual students. Classes are delivered online with supporting materials and equipment mailed to the student.
Moore is online with her teachers and classmates from 8:30 a.m. to noon Monday through Thursday. She also completes offline learning activities in the afternoon. If she has to miss a day to perform or rehearse, Moore can complete that day’s learning activities either ahead of time or later. Hayes serves as her learning coach.
GCA offers student clubs and group events, such as picnics and field trips. However, Moore’s professional schedule has so far limited her ability to participate with classmates in these face-to-face activities. Her favorite subjects are mathematics and science and she hopes to be able to join the local science club this fall.
