Stanford Online High School was founded at Stanford University in 2006 with a gift from the Malone Family Foundation, becoming one of the nation’s first independent online schools. Central to our mission was creating an academically rigorous online program of study accessible to intellectually adventurous students regardless of geographic location. OHS students over the years have logged into class from every U.S. state and dozens of countries, from farms and from megacities, and even—as in this photo of OHS alum Ayla Besemer—from a sailboat on the move. In 2006, students could enroll in grades 10-12, and there was a tiny graduating class. Today, Stanford OHS enrolls about 1,000 students in grades 7-12, including full-time, part-time, and single course students, and has a graduating class of close to 100.