Gage Lewis has high hopes for the 2015-2016 school year, and they involve more than graduating.

The 18-year-old, who began his education at Brandywine before moving to Arizona, has returned to Niles with the intent of not only finishing his education, but also pursuing a career of professional BMX riding.

“When I came back to Brandywine, I was so far behind in credits that it didn’t make sense for me to go to the high school,” Lewis said. “This way, I can focus on my BMX and firefighting and still get an education.”

Lacking the requirements to graduate on time in a traditional setting, Lewis opted for the opportunity to learn at an accelerated pace on a flexible schedule.

Now, the student attends the recently incorporated Brandywine Innovation Academy, which is housed in the former Bell Education Center.

The Four Flags Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the new opportunity for students in the Brandywine School District that allows students to learn online at their own pace.

Tammy Youngs, who has been working with The Odyssey Learning Center for seven years, is one of the teachers at the BIA. Along with the name change, the BIA also transformed into an opportunity for younger students, Youngs said.

“Opening it up to younger students, keeping up with all of the lessons has been one of the challenges,” she said.

But the teacher has full faith in the program, even opting to enroll her own children, Annie and Ben, into the BIA.

Annie, a sixth grader who struggled with the traditional middle school setting at Edwardsburg, enjoys being able to study on her own time.

“It’s a lot less stressful,” Annie said. “When I was at Edwardsburg Middle School and we’d switch classes, a lot of the teachers would mark off points if you didn’t have the correct tools, and it was really hard when you were going from class to class so fast.”

Tammy’s older child, Ben, enjoys the fact that he gets to use technology. After finishing his education, the eighth grader hopes to work with robotics.

“It’s all virtual,” Ben said. “I can do it whenever I want, and I get to use the computer a lot.”

The BIA offers a number of electives, among which are classes catering to STEM programs (science, technology, engineering and math), and a new robotics program that Ben hopes to take advantage of.

Other students who opt to attend the BIA have interests similar to Lewis’. For example, one student is a professional motocross rider, and the flexibility allows her to travel for her sport while still completing her education.

The teachers who facilitate the program communicate with students over the phone, through email and in person when students wish to come in to get help. Because of the nature of the program, the teachers are expected to be able to help students in a wide variety of backgrounds.

“It’s really kind of odd,” said John Hoke, another teacher at the BIA. “We sort of teach everything in that we help people who have trouble with French or chemistry or social studies, anything that they’re taking as a course, we’re sort of the person who helps them out. I like to say facilitator.”

At the ribbon cutting, superintendent John Jarpe was excited to share all of the new opportunities with the community, as various chamber representatives and community leaders were represented to celebrate the district’s most recent achievement.

“I’ve been working in the field of education for 43 years, and I’ve never been part of a change where they changed the whole building name,” Jarpe said. “We wouldn’t be able to do it without the great leaders and board of education that we have, and we’re very lucky.”