We asked Alyssa Tormala, Head of School, to tell us more about Laurel Springs School. Here’s what we learned:
Q: What’s one innovation or tool you’ve implemented that has made a significant impact on your students or staff?
A: While our families love the flexibility of online learning, they also crave human connection. We’ve found that our most innovative and impactful efforts for students, families, and staff have been in how we foster human connections in the digital space. We continue to expand high-touch counseling services for all grade levels, we’ve added 70+ live instruction opportunities for our Academy program (grades 6-12) in the past five years and launched live grade-level experiences for our K-5 program in the past year, and we’ve significantly expanded our Community Engagement program to include 90+ virtual clubs/activities, 14+ in-person field trips each year, 16 honors societies, and more. We have also made a significant effort to increase the virtual and in-person opportunities for our faculty and staff to learn and grow with each other. All of this has been met with gratitude and joy by our community — as well as a thirst for more!
Q: What’s a success story from your program that you’re especially proud of?
A: There are several great stories within our Community Engagement program. For example, in 2024-25 we launched our high-school teams for the Future City program, a national engineering competition. Both of our high school teams placed in the top 20 in the nation, and one placed 4th at the national competition. That trend has continued into this year with one of our high school teams once again placing in the top 20 and being invited to the national competition. This is a huge accomplishment given that our students – unlike their competitors – have to do everything virtually up until the moment they arrive at the event.
On a broader scale, we are also incredibly proud of our Counseling Program. LSS students are consistently admitted to over 500 colleges and universities around the world, including all of the most selective schools in the U.S. This is because our students receive top-notch college and career planning support from our counselors. Our families and students consistently say that they love their counselors and develop excellent working relationships with them.
Q: How has being part of DLAC shaped your approach or inspired your work?
A: The most important benefit of being a member of DLAC is the connection we get with other online educators and leaders. LSS teachers love attending the DLAC conference to speak about their work and make connections with other educators, and I really appreciate the access to information and sharing of resources between school leaders. In short – it helps us expand our understanding of online learning practices and not feel alone in the world of virtual education.