Spotlighting Student Voice with Ashley Born: GCA’s Science & Social Studies Fair

Inquiry gives students the opportunity to move beyond simply learning information and begin asking questions, investigating ideas, and sharing what they discover. In this episode of GCA Unmuted: Voices of Virtual Education, Ashley Born, K–12 Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator and Science & Social Studies Fair Lead at Georgia Cyber Academy, shares how GCA brings that kind of student-driven learning to life through its annual fair. The conversation explores how students choose topics, conduct research, develop projects, and present their thinking in a virtual-school setting. Ashley also discusses how the process builds critical thinking, communication skills, confidence, and academic ownership while giving students across grade levels a chance to pursue their own interests. This episode offers a closer look at how virtual schools can create meaningful opportunities for inquiry, creativity, and student voice beyond everyday classroom instruction. Thanks for listening to GCA Unmuted: Voices of Virtual Education, a podcast documenting how virtual school works in practice at Georgia Cyber Academy. Each episode features educators, staff, and leaders sharing real stories and systems that support teaching and learning in a virtual environment. Learn more about the podcast and explore past episodes at:  https://www.georgiacyber.org/about/unmuted You can also watch full episodes and highlights on our YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@GCAchampions