Alabama Career Academy Under Scrutiny

Alabama Destinations Career Academy, a Stride Inc. virtual school, is being questioned for its career-readiness claims after a student’s experience highlighted gaps in the program.

Student Experiences

Cori Space spent her freshman year of high school in Madison, Alabama, juggling coursework and health issues that her school did not accommodate. For her sophomore year, her family enrolled her in Alabama Destinations Career Academy, which advertises five career tracks and industry-recognized credentials. However, Space said the staff never discussed a career path with her family. Cori had only two hours of live class each week and finished homework in under an hour most days, a schedule her mother called "concerningly short." "I don’t really understand why ALDCA is considered a career readiness program," Space said.

In contrast, Mileka Hager attended the Idaho Technical Career Academy, another Stride Inc. school. She chose a business track and had four hours of live online classes daily in core subjects and business courses. Hager earned eight professional certifications, which she believes will aid her job search. In 2024-25, 61% of students at her school earned industry-recognized credentials, compared with a state average of 7%.

Program Expansion

Stride Inc. has expanded its career-oriented offerings in recent years. The company, which has provided virtual education since 2000, now manages more than 50 online secondary schools that offer career programs. In fiscal year 2026, revenue from middle and high school career learning programs topped $1 billion, a 19 percent increase from the year before. Stride claims that online career learning is the fastest growing part of its business.

State Oversight

State regulation of these programs varies widely. In Idaho, all online schools operated by private providers must be public charter schools governed by independent nonprofit boards. The Idaho Division of Career Technical Education develops quality standards for career tracks and reviews each program every five years. In Alabama, local school districts can contract directly with outside entities to operate virtual schools, creating a more decentralized oversight structure. Some districts have done little to monitor their online schools, according to state and local officials.

Certification Outcomes

The Wisconsin Destination Career Academy, a Stride school with 750 students, offers job-shadowing and practice kits for hands-on training. Teachers help set up job shadows and ship students practice kits for health sciences courses. Students attend live online classes only two days a week, with the other three days reserved for optional career activities such as job-shadowing or field trips.

Between the 2021-22 and 2024-25 school years, only 16 students earned an industry-recognized certification, according to Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction. The school’s 2024-25 academic growth score placed it in the bottom 10 percent of state high schools. Stride officials dispute the low certification number, saying that more than 500 students have earned certifications and that the company defines some industry certifications differently than the state.

Stride spokesperson Brooke Gabbert defended the company’s performance, noting that many students enroll midyear and are academically behind, making outcome comparisons difficult. She said all students are monitored through assignment completion, course performance and participation, and that many students explore career courses without finishing a career track. Some enroll to satisfy elective or graduation requirements rather than pursue a full career path, she said, and she described this variation as by design, not a gap in outcomes.

For more detailed state data, see the latest stats. The evolving landscape of online career education continues to raise questions about quality, oversight and student outcomes.