Milwaukee Junior Admirals balance hockey, virtual school with eAchieve
Junior Admirals balance hockey, virtual school
The Pettit National Ice Center in West Allis is a place to play and practice. But for four aspiring hockey players, it is also their school.
WEST ALLIS, Wis. - The Pettit National Ice Center in West Allis is a place to play and practice. But for four aspiring hockey players, it is also their school.
Virtual learning off the ice
What we know:
Cash Doman lives and breathes hockey. He is used to getting attention for his moves on the ice. But on weekday mornings, the 14-year-old gets attention for another reason.
Cash Doman
"Do you ever get people – especially here at Pettit – going, ‘Shouldn’t you be in school?’" asked FOX6's Bret Lemoine.
"Yeah, actually I have," Doman replied.
"What do you tell them?" asked Lemoine.
"We have a school here," Doman said.
Cash Doman
How does it work?
Dig deeper:
Doman is one of four Milwaukee Junior Admirals who take their classes virtually through eAchieve Academy.
The teens practice in the morning, then go upstairs, or really anywhere, to do their schoolwork before competing at night.
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Freshman Liam Ranfranz admits that virtual learning is not for everyone. He told FOX6 News it takes discipline to do math and social studies homework at your own pace.
Liam Ranfranz
But Ranfranz said he now has more free time to devote to athletics, something he hopes will give him an advantage when pursing a career in the NHL.
"It’s a sacrifice you have to make, but if you love your team, and you love the guys you’re with, it’s as much – if not more fun," Ranfranz said.
eAchieve in action
By the numbers:
eAchieve launched more than two decades ago as a free, virtual charter school through the School District of Waukesha.
Right now, there are 1,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students enrolled from all over Wisconsin.
Thirty full-time teachers work for eAchieve, including science teacher Kelly Lewis.
Kelly Lewis
"We have due dates, we have rubrics and expectations, just like students in person," Lewis said.
Junior Admirals
What we know:
Hockey coach Matt Doman, who is Cash's dad, said he expects five times as many Junior Admirals to be enrolled in eAchieve in fall 2026. He said the teens work as a team upstairs, just as much as they do on the rink.
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"If they are behind in school, we do weekly check-ins on their grades. Are they getting their classwork done? If they are not – they don’t get to skate and work out. That has to come first," Matt Doman said.
Matt Doman
What you can do:
Open enrollment is taking place now for eAchieve.
The Source: Information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.