August 6, 2021 — Sora, the online high school geared towards experiential, student-led learning, announced today that Chris Wilson would be expanding his consulting role with Sora to include serving as Head of Schools.
“We couldn’t be more excited for Chris to join us as Head of Schools,” said Garrett Smiley, Co-Founder and CEO of Sora Schools. “The knowledge and experience he’s gained through decades of innovative school leadership will take Sora and our educational philosophy to the next level.”
Wilson, who has been working in an advisory role with Sora since early 2020, comes with over 20 years of experience in school administration and education, including at institutions such as Peoria Academy, The Bement School, Esperanza Academy of Lawrence, and Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy Baltimore.
“Some of the most important professional experiences I’ve had have been working with schools that are on the cusp of change. I’ve had an opportunity at several independent schools to develop new programs and change curricular paradigms. All of these experiences and moments in my career have led me to this opportunity to expand my role with Sora,” said Wilson.
Wesley Samples, Co-Founder, Chief of Operations, and former Head of Schools at Sora, shared his optimism for what this move means for the families Sora serves.
“Over the past year, Chris has been my mentor and advisor, and has been in the background of many of our biggest initiatives and decisions as a school,” Samples said. “We’re so excited for this next chapter for Sora, and the future that Chris will be able to help bring us into.”
Samples will be dedicating his time to building out the student experience, continuing to develop a strong curriculum and design team, and focusing on partnerships such as Outschool to further bolster the Sora program.
“I’ve never been more excited about a model of education than I am about Sora Schools,” Wilson said. “The opportunity to build a future for young people that is transformative and individual — that’s very exciting for me.”
Sora Schools is focused on project-based learning, and fully engaging students with their educational paths. At Sora, students get to learn from a selection of faculty-led expeditions, meant to foster a cross-functional understanding of applied concepts, and spark new ideas for independent projects in their areas of interest and career aspirations.
“I’ve spent most of my career on the cutting edge of what’s next in education, and I’m honored to join Sora in this journey to rebuild the way high school is structured,” Wilson said. “Working with such a dynamic team is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Sora is a fully-accredited virtual high school where students explore their interests and future careers. In the program, students are given the responsibility and agency to control their education based on what they’re interested in. Sora’s educational philosophy revolves around autonomy, relevance, and community, and is also one of the first online high schools to be a member of the Mastery Transcript Consortium. Sora is backed by a number of world-class investors, including Union Square Ventures, Village Global, and ReThink Education. For more information, please visit http://www.soraschools.com.
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