The Reality Behind Virtual

SchoolsBy Brandy SheltonOctober 21, 2010

What are virtual schools?

• Virtual schools are entities approved by the state or governing body that offers courses through distance delivery (most commonly the Internet).

How did virtual schools develop?

• Descendants of correspondence schools.

• Sometimes referred to as “distance learning.”

• First became used during the mid-1990’s in K-12.

• Now many school districts across the U.S. employ virtual schools as an alternative method of learning.

How do virtual schools work?

• Some students go to computer labs to do their work online.

• Some are completely homeschooled.

• Or they can take any combination of public / private / homeschooling and online classes.

What kinds of students thrive in virtual schools?

• Students must be independent learners, highly motivated, and have strong time management, literacy, and technology skills.

• Virtual learning had targeted adults because of these qualities.

• Adults learn differently than young learners.

• Is this the best choice for K-12?

How do public schools fit into the equation?

• Public e-schools, or virtual charter schools, are public schools that direct students’ schooling in their homes via the internet at taxpayer’s expense.

• Depending on the school district, virtual schools can get around $400 more per student in state and federal money than the school district would have gotten.

What’s California’s stance?• School districts are

looking at options of adopting more methods of learning.

• Elk Grove and San Mateo school districts are among those.

• The program K12 is the front runner in providing the virtual school experience for those school districts.

What is K12?

• Also known as CAVA (California Virtual Academy) in CA.

• A private for-profit company that provides the curriculum, support, and equipment for students who enroll via their school districts.

Why some think K12 works:

• It offers students and their parents an alternative education.

• Students can pace themselves.

• It isn’t homeschool because the curriculum is being provided by K12, not the parents.

Why some think K12 doesn’t work:

• K12 is in it to make a profit and are looking for business, not a strong education.

• Face-to-face time is limited, but students can e-mail and find help on the web.

• There is no way to make sure the students are the ones doing the work. It’s based on the honor system.

• The curriculum is not seen as comparable to that being offered in most classrooms.

Where do we go from here?• More research is needed to

see if e-schools, or virtual charter schools, are a good idea for K-12 students. Are they developmentally ready?

• The money that is leaving our public schools is going to private companies. Do they have the best interest of our students at heart?

• Who is monitoring our e-school students?