Beginning with the ASCD SmartBrief.
Digital academies offer another option for education
Two Ohio e-schools are introducing their programs to state residents through informational sessions designed to tout the benefits of an online education. Ohio Connections Academy and TRECA Digital Academy point out that online schools can offer more course options, including Advanced Placement and foreign-language classes, than can budget-strapped brick-and-mortar schools; they offer students more one-on-one attention; provide more flexibility for students to work at their own pace; and do a better job of tracking student engagement. The Marion Star (Ohio) (7/1)
Also, from SmartBrief for EdTech.
Researchers consider pros, cons of online-learning programs
While some school districts nationwide have adopted online-learning programs, there remains the question of under what conditions such technology-driven education is effective. One study, published in December by the U.S. Department of Education, finds that an online program led to greater access to Algebra I courses by eighth-grade students. However, the students ultimately had less contact with their online teachers than had been anticipated, and there was more reliance on proctors than expected, write co-principal researchers Peggy Clements and Jessica Heppen. T.H.E. Journal (7/2)
Online courses allow rural district to offer more gifted options
A rural school district in New Mexico is expanding its offering of gifted courses through a partnership with the Virtual High School Global Consortium. The district tested the program in the spring, and will expand to enroll 20 students in the fall. One change, officials say, is that in the fall students will be able to take the online courses during regular school hours — rather than at home. Education Week/On Special Education blog (7/5)
Next, the Education Week’s Digital Directions.
Making the Online Connection
The 2012 online teacher of the year says her virtual connection with students is stronger than it was in the traditional classroom
E-Learning
Middle School Girls Want Access to E-Learning
Students who’ve grown up in an increasingly digital world favor a learning experience that gives them more control and flexibility, according to a new survey. (Digital Education Blog)
Q&A: All Students Can Be Successful Online
The 2012 online teacher of the year says her virtual connection with students is stronger than it was in the traditional classroom. (Digital Directions)
Back to the regular Google News alert for virtual school.
No NC Taxpayer Dollars for Virtual Charter School
ABC News
Despite the state board’s decision to not consider online charter school applications, an administrative judge ruled the virtual school’s application should have been approved in May 2011. The case was appealed by the North Carolina State Board of …
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Judge blocks state’s first virtual school
News & Observer
A proposal for the state’s first online charter school hit a major roadblock Friday toward its planned opening in August. Wake County Superior Court Judge Abe Jones overturned a May decision by a state administrative law judge that would have allowed N …
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Judge Blocks North Carolina Virtual School
Education Week News (blog)
Veteran reporter Sean Cavanagh covers the politics and policy surrounding vouchers, charters, and related topics in education.
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Virtual Charter School A No-Go For 2012-13, Judge Rules
WFAE.org
Cabarrus BOE Partners With Proposed Online Charter School · Expect Clash Over Virtual School To Intensify At NC BOE · Proposed Virtual Charter Tries To Force State School Board Review · Cabarrus County Schools May Have To Oversee Virtual Charter …
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Online school now taking applications
Daily Comet
“That’s one of the best features of the virtual school. It is truly individual,” said Julie Bourgeois, the recently retired student accountability supervisor who has taken over as the virtual school’s principal. “Students who need extra time can get it …
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Wisconsin Rapids School District cuts principal positions
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune
Wisconsin Rapids School District officials are working to determine who will oversee two of the district’s charter schools and its virtual school program after the resignation of the person who filled those leadership posts.
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Virtual education deserves support
Coos Bay World
Roblan, but he took time out of his busy day to see me and to listen to my family’s virtual school story. Virtual education is the right choice for my family. Thank you, Rep. Roblan, for your support of this important public education option. Steven …
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DT recruit Dante Phillips denied admission to UF
Orlando Sentinel
He had a lot of classes he had to make up through virtual school.” A 6-foot-6, 265-pound tackle, Phillips chose Florida over Miami, USF and LSU. Peacock said Phillips would wait for the result of his appeal before looking elsewhere. He ranked 120th …
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More DFW school districts are offering online courses
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Williams is among a growing number of educators who are teaching in the Texas Virtual School Network, a clearinghouse established by the Legislature in 2007. The network offers a statewide catalog of supplemental online courses to students in charter …
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Virutal High School
WISH
While every family has its own reasons for choosing a full-time virtual school like IndianaConnections Academy, the majority has children who are simply not thriving, for whatever reason, in a traditional classroom setting. Many find increased …
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Frontier virtual school agrees to give up its charter
Philadelphia Inquirer
IN THE END, it took only a minute or two to bury the remains of the Frontier Virtual Charter High School. Board members from the Philly-based cyber-school held a brief emergency meeting by phone Thursday afternoon and agreed unanimously to surrender …
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Virtual school receives high survey marks, hosts information sessions
Greenville News
South Carolina Connections Academy, a statewide virtual public charter school for grades K-12, received above-average marks in a parent satisfaction survey conducted by a third party, according to a release from the school.
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Finally, the Google News alert for cyber school.
Les Rosan: The dismantling of traditional public education
The Morning Sun
Each dollar provided to a charter or cyber school is a dollar taken forever from traditional public education. The unfortunate students who have no choice but to remain in any traditional public school system are being educationally starved but that …
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Troubled cyber charter school ignores state’s demand that it close
Philadelphia Inquirer
The cyber-school’s leaders apparently chose a third, unmentioned option. “They said they sent a proposal to [the state] to keep the school open, and they’re waiting to hear back,” said Chris Kristofco, whose wife, Amanda, taught at the school until the …
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Cyber school with local center to lose state accreditation
The Tribune-Democrat
JOHNSTOWN — A troubled cyber school with a Johnstown learning center is about to lose its state accreditation. Philadelphia-based Frontier Virtual Charter …
Pa. plans to shut down online charter school Frontier
Philadelphia Inquirer
The cyber charter’s founders had applied to the state Education Department in fall 2010 to offer online instruction to high school students from across the …
Cyber charter school may call it quits
Philadelphia Inquirer
The Charter School Law prohibited Frontier from billing school districts for GED students, so the cyber school’s administrators just didn’t bother telling …
Philadelphia-Based Frontier Virtual Charter High School Surrenders …
PR Newswire
Pursuant to the Charter School Law – Article 17-A of the Public School Code – the department is responsible for granting a charter to a cyber charter school …
Phila.-based cyber school yields its charter
Philadelphia Inquirer
The cyber charter school’s board made the decision during an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon, according to Brian H. Leinhauser, a lawyer who represents …
The Problem of Cyber Charter School Funding In Pennsylvania
Huffington Post
After the lengthy overview, the purpose of this article is to asses one of the great costs to local school districts in Pennsylvania: cyber charter school …
Online school giving up charter
The Tribune-Democrat
… charter school’s directors voted Tuesday to surrender the charter. … Frontier Virtual Charter School during the beleaguered cyber school’s first year.
