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Education News on NCLB and Virtual Schools

December 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

One area in which there seems to be positive news is in “virtual” schooling. “Virtual” education refers to taking classes online using the internet as the teaching device. It seems completely obvious that online learning – if packaged properly – will revolutionize education. See the Khan Academy. A recent article notes the rapid growth in this new avenue for learning. I think it is a positive development for a market-based approach to make an appearance in schooling.

The New York Times published a lengthy incredibly negative article on virtual learning recently. Virtual learning probably has its difficulties, but it also strikes at the core of the modern public school power structures by giving parents more choices. Lindsey Burke at the Heritage Foundation has some good observations on this debate. One wonders if the Times is more worried about that than learning.

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Going to a virtual charter school

September 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Seventh grader David Tanner is off to a new school year. But he’s not in a traditional classroom. He attends Georgia Cyber Academy, a statewide public virtual charter school.

His mother transferred him to virtual school because she felt he wasn’t reaching his full potential with the hustle and bustle of traditional school.

For the rest of the article, go to Going to a virtual charter school

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Increase allowed in virtual class limit for students

September 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Thanks to some recent rule changes, Georgia students now possess greater choice and flexibility in how they choose to tailor their educational experience, according to top state education officials.

In July, the State Board of Education increased the amount of Carnegie units that a student is eligible to take per semester. This change no longer limits students to the one full unit per semester but increases the amount of Virtual School content available to a student per semester, and even permits students to take their entire course load through the Georgia Virtual School with FTE funding.

“My vision is to Make Education Work for All Georgians,” said State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge. “This change to allow students to take more courses through the Georgia Virtual School is a huge step toward making education work for our students.”

“We are happy to see that the state has taken this positive step to increase educational choices for Georgia students,” said Andy Geeter, school director for Newnan’s Odyssey School, which is actively involved in online learning through the Georgia Cyber Academy (a separate program from the Georgia Virtual School).
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Forum: Innovation needed in school funding

July 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In addition to the Georgia Virtual School, the Georgia Cyber Academy provides full-time enrollment for K-12 students throughout the state. The Cobb, Gwinnett and Forsyth County school systems also have created their own virtual schools. Finally, high school students can take dual-credit classes online from Georgia’s many technical colleges and universities. Unfortunately, schools are not encouraging these options because they “lose” funding. As these options expand, the state should develop an easy way for students to review their many options and provide for a seamless funding process.

As efficiency and slower population growth reduce demand for facilities, we should consider expanding the flexibility of the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. First passed in 1996, this law has funded more than $15 billion in capital improvements. Today, Georgia spends more money per student on capital outlays than all but six states, and more than every Southeastern state except Florida.

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DeKalb gives two charter schools a new lease on life, but it’s a short-term lease

June 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The 16 commission charters collectively would have enrolled 15,644 students this fall, 10,000 of whom would be taking their classes virtually through online schools.

One virtual school is operating, the Georgia Cyber Academy, and two are supposed to open this fall. Brick and mortar schools represent only a third of the students stranded by the high court’s ruling. It’s interesting that two-thirds of the affected students would be taking classes online, a growing trend in Georgia and elsewhere.

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Blogging live from Senate committee: Any ideas on saving charters?

June 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“We have two categories of schools,” said Millar. “Existing ones that are proven and new ones on the block that we expect would do as well.”

Of the 15,644 affected students in the 16 charters, 10,000 of them would be taking classes virtually through online schools. One virtual school is operating, the Georgia Cyber Academy, and two were due to open this fall. So, in terms of brick and mortar schools, they represented only a third of the affected students. Two-thirds of the students are online students — which presents a special challenge.

Since virtual schools are statewide and cannot apply to a single school board for approval and funding, their situation is trickier. Peevy is saying they can go back to the state and become state charter special school, but those schools only receive state funds. There is no local money when a charter school is commissioned by the state board of education.

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Middle Georgia Parents Send Kids to Virtual Schools

April 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Amanda Pruitt couldn’t be happier, because Georgia’s Connection Academy comes fully equipped with the latest technology trends.
The virtual school has certified teachers and follows state regulated teaching programs. The key difference in this type of school and a traditional school is flexibility.

 

Students at Connection Academy talk to their teachers through live online lessons. The lessons are taught using traditional books and online texts.

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Bethel: This Week in the Senate

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Charter school athletics bill moves on to the House

The Senate approved legislation on Wednesday sponsored by Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) that requires public schools to allow charter and virtual school students to participate in any extracurricular activity offered by the school outside of regular school hours. Students at these types of schools could pursue sports programs offered at other schools in their district with approval from the principal and as long as the sport is not already offered through their current school. – SB 34

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More cyber schools await Georgia students this fall

March 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Members of the Georgia Charter Schools Committee heard a pitch Wednesday to expand the network of cyber campuses serving students in metro Atlanta including plans for a new virtual campus located at Gwinnett County Schools. The offerings could raise the number of full-time virtual schools approved by the state to six, with most, such as Georgia Cyber Academy, serving students statewide.

Gwinnett Schools proposes a virtual high school this fall that will offer the same curriculum as brick-and-mortar schools. Gwinnett County Online Campus would use the Internet to deliver instruction and have a team of teachers offering individualized instruction. The school is expected to serve about 125 students its inaugural year.

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Maureen Downey: Public school buffets

March 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I call this trend the public-school-buffet-line movement, whereby politicians treat public school offerings as a buffet line from which parents can pick the activities that appeal to them. Some public schools in other states permit home-schooled students to drop in for a math or advanced placement U.S. history course or attend field trips.

In arguing for his bill, Rogers maintained that charter and virtual school parents pay taxes, so they’re entitled to after-school chess clubs and soccer teams.

“It is a simple matter of fairness,” Rogers told the Senate. “The parents pay the same taxes. They should be able to use what they are already paying for.”

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