Swimmer with Olympic dreams joining growing virtual school
May 11, 2026
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Virtual education remains an option for students in public schools in North Carolina.
North Carolina Virtual Academy, a statewide remote school, has seen enrollment grow steadily over the last decade.
Annabella Carter is one of the students who joined the tuition-free, full-time online public charter school this year.
“I wanted to join to get more rest, and I also wanted to start practicing outside of swim and working out and because my goals were to get faster this year, and that definitely helped me become a better swimmer,” Carter said.
Carter started swimming competitively at age 5 and never stopped.
“Once I started getting good at it, I wanted to be even better,” Carter said. “Once I started getting good at it, I wanted to be even better,” Carter said.
Between swim meets and practice six days ago, Carter is busy, which she said made it hard to keep up with her schedule and attend public school in person.
“Ending practice at 9 p.m. and not getting home until 10 p.m., so having to eat and shower and get ready for the next day and then waking up around 6 a.m. or like 5:45 a.m., it’s not enough sleep to have for a swimmer,” Carter said.
In the past 10 years enrollment has almost tripled, increasing 35% after the pandemic.
Carter’s mom, Gabrielle Zinn, said the ability to take school on the road and not miss educational time was important for them.
“Thankfully it’s worked out really well to where typically, the way that the meets have fallen, she’s been able to do the classes as we’re traveling,” Zinn said.
The 12-year-old says one of the challenges is not getting immediate feedback from teachers, but the flexibility and learning setting is a good fit for her.
“For me, I like to be independent,” Carter said.
She’s noticed an improvement in the pool as well.
“I’ve gotten more opportunities than I have in the past, so it’s been helpful,” Carter said.
She was gearing up to represent North Carolina in the USA Swimming Southern Zone Open Water Championship in Texas at the end of April, for a second year in a row.
“It makes me super excited for her because I know all the doors that are going to open up for her, and I think that’s really cool to see your kid, like, achieve some of their dreams,” Zinn said.
Carter has her sights set on becoming a future Olympian.
“It would be around 16 years of hard work would have been paid off, in a way, just made me so happy,” Carter said.
According to NCVA, high-performing athletes are just one segment of the school’s community. The state currently caps the enrollment of virtual academies.
While NCVA’s enrollment data shows a steady increase in students, another statewide virtual school, North Carolina Cyber Academy, has seen a decrease since 2022, according to North Carolina Department of Public Instruction records.