One solution is to create a statewide clearinghouse where students from anywhere could sign up for online classes from multiple providers and taught by certified teachers.

The exciting part about this solution is that several of Georgia’s most accomplished school districts, including Gwinnett and Forsyth counties, already have virtual schools to provide online classes to their own students. A state clearinghouse would allow their courses to be offered seamlessly to students across the state.

Imagine the impact if every Georgia student had access to a Gwinnett County quality of education. Even better, visualize the ability to leverage the skills of our most effective teachers. This would provide an opportunity to expand these teachers’ circle of impact and compensate them commensurately.

For the rest of the article, go to Education Policy: Time to Put Students First

One reader made a rationale for tax breaks for private school scholarships, a scheme I dislike and one that I don’t think our state can afford in these difficult economic times.

However, I told him I would support private school scholarships, private school vouchers, virtual schools, charter schools and, if necessary, even schools of fish if somebody in the legislature, the governor’s office or the Department of Education will tell me how all of this fits together into a grand plan for educating our young people to compete and prosper in the global marketplace in which they will find themselves as adults.

I told him the people of Georgia would like to know, too. He said he would get right back to me with someone who would do just that. I am still waiting for him, too.

For the rest of the article, go to Yarbrough: Dear teachers — I appreciate what you go through

The General Assembly earlier this year passed legislation creating the sixth and current 20-member committee, including key legislators, State School Superintendent John Barge and newly appointed University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby.

The committee will look at revamping or replacing the QBE formula, which officials say has not really been adjusted through the years to take into account schools’ increasing need for technology or issues such as the rising costs of textbooks.

But the committee’s work could go far beyond — covering a myriad of other funding issues from charter schools and school choice to virtual schools and private-school scholarships. It also takes place as local school systems have collectively taken more than $1 billion in state austerity cuts and have been forced to cut programs and furlough teachers.

For the rest of the article, go to Committee begins to scrutinize public school funding

Since virtual schools are statewide and cannot apply to a single school board for approval and funding, their situation is more complicated.  Because of their statewide enrollments, they can’t ask a single local school system to adopt and fund them, as the Museum School of Avondale and Peachtree Hope Charter successfully did in DeKalb Monday.

Instead, the virtuals have to petition the state Board of Education for a charter. State board approval will allow Provost to open but at reduced funding as state board schools only earn state funding. They get no local dollars for their students.

For the rest of the article, go to An online charter school travels south Georgia in search of rejection

Despite initial pessimism from some charter school advocates, both the Cherokee and Gwinnett boards of education appear open to two  charter schools whose futures were jeopardized by a recent Georgia Supreme Court decision.

The high court ruled that a state commission created by the Legislature in 2008 could not approve charter schools over the objections of the local boards. The commission had approved 16 such schools, most of which now must be legitimatized by their local boards to continue to operate. (There are also statewide virtual schools in the mix, and their fate remains unclear.)

For the rest of the article, go to Gwinnett willing to work with Ivy Prep to keep charter school alive. Lawmakers meet Friday.