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Case Study: LanguageBird & Blue Ridge Academy

Blue Ridge Academy is a non-classroom-based public charter school serving TK–12 students across Los Angeles, Ventura, and Kern Counties. With a strong emphasis on flexibility and family choice, the school offers a personalized homeschool model that allows parents to choose from a wide array of curricular and enrichment options. LanguageBird was a natural fit, delivering accredited, live online world language instruction tailored to the needs of independent learners.

Families at Blue Ridge can use their planning amounts to purchase supplemental programs such as music, art, or world languages. LanguageBird quickly emerged as a sought-after vendor. With 15 languages available for credit-bearing courses, tutoring, test prep, and live conversation practice, students have the freedom to explore global learning in a way that meets both academic requirements and personal interests. 

The Challenge:
Enrich Offerings with Personalized, Interactive Language Learning

Blue Ridge Academy, a school that prioritizes flexibility, choice, and high-quality learning experiences, recognized a growing need: more opportunities for interactive, live world language learning. While language programs were available, LanguageBird offered real-time conversation, cultural immersion, and personalized feedback to help students build language proficiency in an engaging and supportive setting.

Students, especially those learning from home, often benefit from regular, supportive interaction with live instructors. But for families in a homeschool setting, finding accessible, accredited, and engaging language programs that fit their schedule and learning style can be a challenge.

The Solution:
A Flexible, Engaging, and Custom-Built Language Program

LanguageBird partnered with Blue Ridge, starting with the 2021-22 school year, to provide a language learning experience that aligned with their independent study model and supported the school’s goals for both enrichment and academic rigor.

How ASL Supports Neurodiverse Learners

The program centered around three key offerings:

  • Accredited 1:1 Courses – WASC- and Cognia-accredited, UC- and NCAA-approved
  • Chirp Rooms™ – live, small-group sessions exclusively for Blue Ridge students
  • Cultural Events – themed activities like games, cooking, and holiday celebrations

These programs were delivered with LanguageBird’s hallmark flexibility and personalized support:

  • Flexible scheduling that allows students to learn on their own time
  • Tailored instruction for diverse learners, including heritage speakers, advanced students, and those with IEPs or 504 plans

Implementation:
Easy Integration, Ongoing Support

The rollout was smooth and highly collaborative. Blue Ridge added LanguageBird as an approved vendor after vetting the curriculum and confirming accreditation. From there:

  • Families enrolled using planning amounts
  • Helpful fliers were shared with families to provide schedules, instructor bios, and contact information
  • The LanguageBird team provided onboarding support to parents and students
  • Progress and attendance were tracked and shared with Blue Ridge teams
  • Events were recorded to offer continued access and increase familiarity with instructors

Following a 41% year-over-year enrollment increase in LanguageBird’s accredited courses, Chirp Rooms were introduced in Spring 2023 to provide more consistent, low-pressure live practice.

Unlike traditional platforms, these small-group sessions were held just for Blue Ridge students, helping learners feel more comfortable engaging in conversation. This format gave students the chance to practice real-time speaking, listening, and writing skills—critical for meeting UC graduation requirements. Chirp Rooms initially launched for American Sign Language (ASL), French, German, and Spanish. 

LanguageBird launched Cultural Special Events in the 2024-25 school year, tied to real-world themes and holidays to further boost engagement. These fun, low-pressure sessions helped hesitant students test the waters and feel more comfortable joining Chirp Rooms regularly. Attendance increased significantly following these events, and LanguageBird introduced raffles and rewards to further encourage participation.

Examples included a French-language demonstration on how to make Flan Pâtissier Traditionnel, springtime celebrations in Spanish, an imaginary Thanksgiving meal using food-themed signs in ASL, and a virtual tour of German tourist attractions.

The combination of low-pressure access, instructor familiarity, and event-driven engagement strategies helped students build confidence and curiosity in their language studies—something that did not go unnoticed by families.

This is our first year trying LanguageBird—what an amazing program. Landon loves the resources and always seems engaged after his sessions.”

– Blue Ridge Parent

The Impact:
Increased Engagement, Expanded Access, Strong Results

The 2024–25 school year showed growth in student engagement and program visibility. What started as a small pilot expanded quickly, especially after the introduction of Special Cultural Events and increased exposure to Chirp Rooms and instructors.

Program Impact at a Glance:

  • 41% increase in accredited course enrollments year over year from year one to year two
  • 3,000% increase in Chirp Room participation from the first to the second month in 2024
  • Chirp Room hours doubled from 2022–23 to 2023–24
  • Chirp Room enrollments nearly doubled from 2023–24 to 2024–25
  • Chirp Room sessions had high repeat attendance across multiple languages

These outcomes reflect a strong demand for live, culturally relevant language experiences—and demonstrate that when students feel supported, they show up, stay engaged, and thrive.  Spanish remained the most popular language across all offerings, while German and ASL saw the fastest growth in interest. In addition, engagement through recorded cultural events significantly extended the program’s reach, especially among students who were initially hesitant to join live sessions. 

Our partnership with LanguageBird has been a game-changer for our world language program. Through their small-group ChirpRooms, our student cohorts get personalized instruction and authentic practice with native speakers—building confidence in speaking, writing, and listening. The monthly cultural events are a favorite among students, and it’s no surprise that enrollment continues to grow each year.”


– Lisa Sophos, AD Curriculum & Instruction
Blue Ridge Academy

What’s Next:
A Growing Partnership

Blue Ridge and LanguageBird continue to build on this success.

Together, we plan to:

  • Expand Chirp Rooms to more time slots and languages, including Japanese
  • Increase cultural event participation across student groups
  • Increase visibility among newly enrolled Blue Ridge families
  • Explore new ways to support diverse learners with customized solutions

As the program evolves, our focus remains on creating engaging, accessible language experiences that meet academic goals while nurturing global curiosity.