6/6/2022
I am the proud mother of Sebastian Disla, who recently graduated with honors at Wilostar3d. I feel blessed that Sebastian had the amazing opportunity to go to school in a safe and warm environment. My son started Wilostar3d in middle school, continued all through high school and is now an official graduate!

I searched for months before enrolling Sebastian trying to search for the perfect fit! My son is very intelligent but did not do well in the traditional school setting in elementary school. He needed a school that would accommodate his lack of focus and concentration. During my months of searching for the perfect fit, I came across Wilostar3d. I immediately was captivated as well as my son Sebastian with the virtual way of schooling, it was like going to school in a video game! As a parent and a Clinical Psychologist, I  wanted him to have fun in school but to also have the academic balance, and Wilostar3d gave him that.

Sebastian was able to focus because school was fun and engaging. He had teachers that would work with him when there were subjects that were difficult for him to grasp. He had the guidance and patience from his teachers. He absolutely loved building towers and virtual projects. He enjoyed the creative and virtual aspect of Wilostar3D so much that he is now enrolling in the University majoring in Cybersecurity. He always had the inclination of IT majors but going through school at Wilostar3D just enforced what he already liked to do!

As for the socialization piece I was at first concerned how he would be able to interact and socialize like other kids in the traditional school setting. Although during these hard times in the world that we live in, socializing in the traditional school can be complicated and even dangerous. There is bullying and shootings that we as parents must be concerned with. Sebastian was able to connect with kids, make friends and be in a safe home setting. Sebastian made many friends at Wilostar3D and I believe that some of his close friends at Wilostar3D will continue to be his friends through life. Wilostar3D offers diversity. Kids from all walks of life, different cultures, in different regions, and with different interests.

Wilostar3d is an innovative way for kids to go to school. Janet Hale, the director, is very hands on and always
available to answer parent or student questions. She was readily available for any concerns. I congratulate her for brilliantly coming up with this virtual concept that has motivated my son and manyother students before and after him.

I extend my gratitude to you Janet.
Sandra Nunez

My son has Tourette syndrome and a mild autism diagnosis.  He attended a public school and seemed to be doing okay until 7^th grade/middle school.  Things went downhill quickly throughout that year with multiple IEP meetings and phone calls.  My son just didn’t seem to “fit” into the available resources the school had to offer.  The regular class room was too overwhelming for him, special education was too restrictive. No in-between was available.  So after informing the public school he would not be back, the big question was, ”Where to now?” So we looked for private schools within a two hour radius of our home and still did not find a suitable solution, not to mention the yearly costs involved.

Finding WiloStar3D

Then it was on to homeschool.  Where to begin?  Numerous options, but again seemed not the right fit in our state. At this point, while my stress level was at an all-time high, I just happened to stumble across information for WiloStar 3D Academy and I knew instantly this was the answer.  I called Janet Hale, founder of WiloStar and expressed my interest in her school.  She explained what was available, I signed my son up immediately and easily.  Done deal.  Instant relief.  Then my husband and I began to worry about our son’s verbal tics with his Tourette Syndrome and if that would pose a problem.  My husband called up Janet and she reassured him our son would be able to use typing in chat as a way to communicate.  Well, school began, and my son has loved it since day one.

Success!

He is in his second year and has made huge strides in his academics, behavior, and self-confidence.  In the beginning he had so many tics he couldn’t verbally talk to his class in audio, now he is such a relaxed speaker he is using audio frequently to communicate.  He has learned to type, research information on the internet, build 3D virtual worlds for learning, and attends a virtual school in avatar form.  WiloStar has a unique approach to educating students-not a one size fits all. Teachers and administrators respond promptly to questions and there is a genuine interest in the students with a relaxed atmosphere. This allows students to be creative in their own way with projects and assignments, and makes learning fun without the pressure.  I am able to see what is expected of him, how he is doing, and the results on a daily basis.

New Friends

There are other students that he has become friends with that have autism too and this has helped him to cope with his own diagnosis.  Before it was a secret/denial, now he is cool with it.  He has made friends with students from all over the United States and some foreign countries. I highly recommend WiloStar!

Tamara S,

Parent of Vince

I cannot say enough good things about the team we call Wilostar3D. My son’s light bulb is just now starting to glow thanks to the his hard work and the many Wilostar3D team members that have supported him during his first year. This team includes the students themselves, as my son has called on many of them to help him during the building phase of the assignments. He has made many new friends and actually looks forward to going to conference. His teacher answers his questions in a timely manner and directs him instead of giving him the answer. She is very patient with the teenagers and allows them to speak their mind as long as it is respectful. She encourages the kids creativity and actually comments on almost all of the assignments. Thank you WiloStar!

WilosStar3D is a major blessing in my son’s and families life. A few years ago he became sick with a severe spinal condition that kept us in an out of hospitals. Our lives changed dramatically. This made his academic life hard to manage as well. We both began to research schools again. I feared going back to a public or private school would only set him back. We were already nearing another school year and I went to several schools and just felt aimless in my search. I decided there has to be something else and kept searching. That’s when I stumbled upon Wilostar3D Academy. It had everything that matched my son in one total package. I rushed with my laptop in hand to show my son what I was seeing online and he even couldn’t believe it. We sat down together and dissected WiloStar3D’s website. I was amazed. I had to think a day over it and reread the mission statement thinking this was too good to be true. I decided to call WiloStar3D and was surprised to get Janet Hale, founder and president, on the phone. Mrs. Hale was wonderful at answering all my questions. I was very impressed by her passion, professionalism, and vision. I was reassured that Wilostar3D was the right fit for my son. Not only am I impressed in what the school stands for and the teachers involvement, but how it has made my son change tremendously. Not only is he academically challenged, but he uses all the computer essentials that will aid him in the future. WiloStar3D is just an exceptional school for any child regardless of a medical condition. WiloStar3D takes homeschooling to a whole different level. We appreciate everyone that makes WiloStar3D happen!

Wilostar3D has been a God-send for our family. For years, we have tried a variety of schools, public and private, trying to find a good fit for our son. Although he is very smart, it was difficult for him to learn in a traditional school setting.

The structure of Wilostar3D, along with the ability for us to monitor the assignments regularly, were just what we were looking for. In addition, since our son is such a computer oriented individual, we knew this would be the perfect fit. Our son’s grades have turned from D’s and C’s to A’s and B’s. Grades aside, our son’s attitude and confidence have improved beyond our expectation. The constant battle over homework is gone. In addition, we finally feel like he is learning instead of constantly trying to find a way out of school work. This last summer, our son used his 3D building skills to build worlds for an online game. Although my husband is a high school teacher, we will be continuing our son’s education through graduation at Wilostar3D. Thank you Wilostar3D for providing a successful yet fun environment for our child to become the star we know he is.

As the end of the year, and the end of my high school career approaches near, I have become especially reflective, thinking of all the amazing experiences, lessons, and knowledge I have gained over the years and I have been filled with gratitude for all the amazing opportunities that WiloStar3D has provided me. As I continue to reflect back, I have become emotional thinking about the position I was in a few years ago.

Although I love learning and gaining new knowledge and information, I was really not cut out for the typical American Public School System and I felt trapped. When I was younger, I had severe symptoms of ADD, and my attention span was considerably short, meaning that sitting still and paying attention to my teachers all day felt impossible. Many problems arose from this including a decline in grades, getting myself into trouble and causing a distraction for other students, anxiety, and overall unhappiness. It makes me sad because the staff and administration at most public schools are unable to empathize with kids that have similar problems, and they turn to punishment over trying to help and understand the student. The way that I perceived my school environment felt more like a jail, rather than a place where I could learn and set myself up for a good future. However, given the problems that I faced in my life, it didn’t mean that I was unable to learn and become educated. I was still fascinated with so many things and whenever I got home, I would teach myself a multitude of new ideas and information through the internet, and I realized that I learn best on my own time, and with my own self-motivation.

Eventually, my mother and I stumbled upon the idea of online schooling. I knew that this form of education suited me much better and after hours of extensive research, my mom had come across WiloStar3D. This academy felt perfect for me and my style of learning, as I was very creative and needed something more engaging where I could use my imagination and creativity to demonstrate my ideas and understanding of material, rather than a test where I’ll just forget everything I studied once it’s over.

I first attended WiloStar3D my sophomore year of high school, and straight off the bat I knew I would be much happier and more successful here. I immediately grew fond of the building aspect and creating immersive tower displays. It was cool to display what I had learned in a fun and creative way, making it feel more like a game than a tedious assignment. I also noticed that it was far easier for me to get my work done on my own time and pace, rather than being forced to do it in a set amount of time in a classroom. I was able to take breaks, go on walks, play with my dog, eat snacks, or do pretty much whatever I wanted in between assignments. This took a lot of the stress away and boosted my motivation to get the work done.

I also loved the fact that there were no standardized tests because I feel that tests don’t accurately measure what students have learned, and the stress and anxiety that they put on students can be debilitating. I also feel that standardized tests are not helping to prepare students for college or careers, as nothing similar exists in the modern workplace, and students only perform well on tests to get a good grade and move on, not because they are passionate or interested with the material. The obsession with raising student test scores creates a one size fits all curriculum that ignores the unique needs of individual students. Every student learns a different way and benefits better from different styles of learning. WiloStar3D is great at catering to individual needs and offers a much wider variety of assignments with an innovative curriculum. Another problem with tests and homework that I have witnessed firsthand, is the abundance of cheating that they create. Most students will create group chats where one person will do the homework, and however many other students can just copy and end up learning nothing. Most WiloStar assignments allow the student to do the assignment in their own way, and they give us a variety of options of what we want to research. This allows the student to become far more passionate and interested with the assignment.

Over the years at WiloStar3D, I have studied many fascinating things, some of my favorites being zoology, geography, US history, art, physics, and I even learned to fly drones through one of the many great elective courses. There are also many other subjects that I though I never would’ve found interesting but ended up teaching me fascinating things. This taught me to become more open minded and open to new ideas. My time here has also taught me not to fear the future. I used to often worry about the uncertainties of life and felt that I needed an entire life plan by the time I was a senior. However, with only a few days left in high school, I have learned so much fascinating material and so many important lessons that I know I can apply them and carve out the perfect future for myself. I’m not 100% certain what I want my future career to be, but I know that something will fall into place as long as I stay motivated and passionate with the things that interest me.

I have also learned a lot about my personal qualities, such as my strengths and weaknesses, and my work habits and attitudes. WiloStar has taught me what works best for me, and I have a much deeper self-understanding. I know what things stress me out, and what habits/routines I can use to combat stressful situations. Especially if I ever happen to be self employed with an entrepreneurial career, I know how to structure my workload much better, and I can use newfound strategies and techniques to create things that I am passionate about.

I am beyond grateful to have discovered WiloStar3d back when I was a freshman, and I can say with confidence that I have succeeded and learned much more here than I ever would have at my old school. Not only did I learn about new subjects and information, but I learned about myself and life as a whole.

I started WiloStar my 10th grade year.  I was excited to start this new school with me using the computer more, and making my lessons visual.  My other school had very little hands on, and hardly any kind of computer use.  I couldn’t wait to dive in to learn new things, from building tower projects, to creating scenes from books that I had read. 

  To be honest at the beginning I struggled.  I watched the help videos, but I still had trouble getting my avatar to fly, build towers, and remembering my password.  It took me a couple of weeks of frustration, writing the principal, and asking for help multiple times, but I finally started to get the hang of things.  Being able to bring your lessons to life by adding pictures to the information you learned helps me to remember things much better than I did at the other school.  I loved the way I could interact with my classmates even though they were miles from my home.

  These past three years have flown by.  I have grown so much academically.  I have gained confidence in trying new things that I would have never tried before.  Before this school I really didn’t think I had it in me to attend college.  I took courses through this school that let me see my potential, and helped me find what I was good at.  I never realized that I was actually really good at Math, and had a gift to do 3D Blender.  I am thankful my parents found this school, and I can’t wait to start college in the near future.

  For the new student coming in that might be struggling academically or just don’t find school fun anymore you’ve come to the right place.  At this school you will find you can spread your wings, and try new things.  You will have hands on learning, and teachers that will support you every step you take.  It might be a bumpy road the first couple of weeks, but after that you will find out that school is fun, and exciting again.  Who knows at this school you might find out what your future career will be like I did.

My time at Wilostar Academy has been the best years of my schooling yet. It presented me with challenges, enjoyable projects, and probably the best learning environment someone could ask for. Every second I spent learning here has been a blessing, and will continue to be a blessing for years to come.

I was given the opportunity to practice skills that could very well help me in my career goals, and it has helped teach me to be innovative when presented with a limitation or problem within a system. Frequently practicing these skills helped me to polish my determination and perseverance. “To never give up” is a big lesson that this school has firmly imprinted into my brain.

If I were to look to a new student about to join Wilostar, I would tell them they will need some patience with the system. While it seems unconventional and confusing, it can turn out to be a lot of fun. Though, I would also be sure to let them know that they are the ones managing assignment times. It can be very easy to let missing work to pile up, so acts of self-discipline are necessary to succeed.

The hardest thing when I first joined the program would have been adapting to the new system, and managing my screen time. However, I would still find myself with a headache due to eye strain every now and again while working on assignments or projects. The best part about this school is just how much more efficient its teaching methods are, and how the projects encourage innovative thinking. Thanks to how Wilostar does things, I was able to comprehend things that just didn’t make a connection with me before.

     I’m going to miss being a student at this school, but I can say with certainty that my time here will be put to good use. I wish everyone, whether you are reading this or not, a magnificent Summer. To the staff of Wilostar Academy, thank you so much for having me as a student. My time here with you has been amazing, and I shall be sure to remember y’all fondly!

I first joined WiloStar when I was in 6^th grade. I absolutely loved it. There I made some of my best friends to this day.  After a year or two, my real life friends began to join WiloStar as well.  Throughout the years I’ve built hundreds of displays and towers and learned so much while doing it.  If I were to give advice to an upcoming student, I’d say take the extra building classes by the mentors.  The hardest part in my opinion is the building.  The best part is seeing everyone in your classes work, and seeing them every day even if it’s virtually.  In my many years in WiloStar I have had so many great teachers and met so many great people, and have even made friends that are still extremely close to me.  It will feel weird to never log in to WiloStar again, as it’s been my routine for 6 years now.  I will miss you all so much!

Oh my goodness, I don’t know where to start. I guess I will start with the letter Mrs. Janet ask us to write, this letter was going to be about what we would do after we graduate from WiloStar3D Academy. I guess I better back up a bit, and explain about how excited I was when I discovered wilostar3d on the internet. I have been homeschooling my whole life and I have done traditional Florida Virtual, Alpha Omega, and Hooked on Schoolhouse. I was getting so bored with the everyday routine, I knew there must be more out there. So I was searching the internet and to my surprise, I came across an online school called WiloStar3D. My sister also homeschooled at the same time, she was two grades above me. So I knew I was going to have to convince my mom to let me join this totally awesome school online. My selling point was that she would not have to oversee me anymore, due to the fact that I would be in class with the teacher every day. Needless to say, I sold my parents on the school and have never regretted it.

First of all, I want to start with all of the great things that I have learned in my three years at Wilostar. I never thought I would be able two create anything on the computer that was worth looking at. But thanks to Wiloworlds I was able to create so many different kinds of builds, that even my friends were amazed. The reason why I say that is because I am more of an artsy kind of a girl, I dance, sing, and love to make people laugh. Yes, I mean I am not a very computer savvy person or so I thought. I love to play video games with my little brother and my friends, so being able to create something that looks like a video game was very impressive. So yes, that was a really great thing.

 At first, it was very complicated when I was trying to figure out how to use the vloper in the tower and Wiloworld. Luckily the instructions that I also had to learn how to use online really help me. I can diffidently say to not be afraid to ask for help. And use those directions. I can really say that my senior year building was so much better than my sophomore year of building. Another great thing was being able to interact with other builders and being able to visit the different builds that they had created. I must say though I’ve come a long way in Wilostar3d it is not compared to some of the other builds that we’re out of this world.

 My favorite build was my senior project. I really enjoyed being able to express my ideas in the Wiloworld build. You always think about how you would like something to be or how you would want it to look on paper. However, I was able to see my ideas in 3D and actually walk through my creation. I’m amazed that the bricks-and-mortar high schools have not taken on this same idea.

 Again, I am so very thankful for my time at Wilostar3D Academy. I really believe that my high school years would not have been as good as they were. I would not change a single thing about the school. I loved and will remember it always.