Profits To Be Made in K-12 Online Learning

So some six years ago I flagged an article out of an NPR outlet in Ohio that I wanted to come back to and write something about at a later time.  It was so long ago in fact that the article is no longer available online and I had to go through the Internet Archive to find a copy of it.

The original article was entitled “How Much Does It Cost to Run an Online School?” and at the time I had planned to write an entry that examined the literature related to what we know about the funding provided to K-12 online learning, and how much of the literature – that wasn’t coming from the corporations themselves or their neo-liberal proponent organizations – found that full-time online learning cost less.  See for example:

• Barbour, M. K. (2018). Funding and resourcing of distributed learning in Canada. Halfmoon Bay, BC: Canadian E-Learning Network.
• Molnar, A. (Ed.); Rice, J. K., Huerta, L., Shafer, S. R., Barbour, M. K., Miron, G., Gulosino, C, Horvitz, B. (2014). Virtual schools in the U.S. 2014: Politics, performance, policy, and research evidence. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. (see the “Research to Support K-12 Online Learning Policy – Funding” portion of Section II)
• Barbour, M. K. (2012). Virtual schools are more cost-effective compared to traditional, brick-and-mortar schools? In K. P. Brady (Ed.), Technology in Schools: Debating Issues in American Education (pp. 84-90). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

However, as I look back on the original article now, I’m reminded of another piece that I recently saved because I wanted to come back to it in an entry…

Virtual schools keep education publisher Pearson on course – The Irish Times

The basic gist of this article is that, as a company, Pearson Education is a money losing business – or at least its profit has been significantly decreased – if not for the fact that some years ago it bought out Connections Education and the “demand for online courses and virtual schools” in the United States will essentially save the company during this fiscal year.

Image what could happen if all of those tax dollars were spent on public education, instead of enriching the pockets of Pearson executives and shareholders?