Page 28 - THE Journal, March 2017

28
| MARCH 2017
ONLINE EDUCATION
work within existing state frameworks to close chronically low-performing schools. “Authorizers have a legal and a moral responsibility to close chronically low-performing charter schools of any kind, including full-time virtual charter schools,” he said in a press release. “In many cases, this would not require a change to state law.”
But virtual charter school operators have concerns about some of these recommendations, especially the idea that enrollment should be limited only to those students who are likely to thrive in an online environment.
“We don’t believe students should be prejudged as to whether they can succeed or not,” said Jeff Kwitowski, senior vice president of public affairs and policy communications for K12. “Virtual charter schools, for many thousands of kids, are the only option” to a traditional public school, he said.
More Choices
Annie Mange had always done well in a traditional public school setting. But in the seventh grade she was bullied, and the following year her father died. As she began to struggle with depression,
her schoolwork suffered. By the end of her freshman year, she
no longer was thriving in school — and that’s when her mother, Debbie, realized a change was needed.
When a friend described her success at an online school, Annie thought she would like to try it as well. She enrolled in Ohio Connections Academy, a Connections Education virtual charter school.
At first, the online platform took some getting used to, and Annie struggled with this completely different approach to instruction — which is a common experience. But with the help of her teachers, eventually she learned to manage her time. She was able to take college courses through a program called College Credit Plus, and she took part in extracurricular activities such
as choir, art and drama with a local homeschool co-op. She graduated in June and now attends Lorain Community College, where she is working toward a psychology degree and wants to become a grief therapist.
“Moving to Ohio Connections was a great alternative,” Debbie Mange said. “I knew more about what was going on with Annie’s courses. I didn’t feel as helpless or hopeless when she struggled with a subject, as I could always track how she was doing. We had more support whenever we needed it — and as a single working mom, we had the schedule flexibility to ensure Annie got a good education.”
At iQ Academy, a K12-managed school, Isabelle Lowell also appreciates the school’s flexible schedule and the ability to work at her own pace. Isabelle plays volleyball for a club team, and she can travel while still attending school. “We can take her school with us,” her father, Mark, said. “That works really well for us.”
He concluded: “Online school isn’t for every student, but we are so grateful to have this choice.”
Dennis Pierce is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience covering education and technology. He can be reached at denniswpierce@gmail.com.
A SNAPSHOT OF VIRTUAL CHARTER SCHOOLS
“Inside Online Charter Schools,” a report from Mathemati- ca Policy Research, examines the academic and adminis- trative workings of online charter schools and provides a snapshot of those currently in operation.
Here are some of the report’s findings:
Three-quarters (76 percent) of online charter schools include courses that are self-paced rather than tied to the academic calendar. One-third of online charter schools rely exclusively on self-paced courses.
Students in the typical online charter school have less synchronous instructional time in a week than students in a traditional school have in a day. Online charter schools reported an average of four hours per week of synchro- nous instruction in fourth grade, three hours in seventh grade, and three hours in high school.
Online charter schools support synchronous instruction in several ways, the most common of which are telephone calls (88 percent), screen sharing or web conferencing (84 percent), video conferencing (76 percent) and audio con- ferencing (75 percent). Schools also reported using online chat forums, instant messaging and
text messages.
Online charter schools reported typical class sizes of
25 students at the elementary and middle school levels, rising to 30 students at the high school level. At the high school level, more than one-third of online charter schools reported typical class sizes of 50 or more. On average, on- line charter schools have 30 students per full-time teacher, compared with 20 in brick-and-mortar charter schools and 17 in conventional public schools in the same states.
All students receive computers in only 56 percent of online schools, and another 33 percent supply a computer to some but not all students. Eleven percent of schools expect families to provide a computer, and 40 percent expect families to provide Internet access. Most schools provide technical support to students, usually by remote control of their computers, but 13 percent of schools do not provide live technical support to students.
(Source: Mathematica Policy Research, October 2015)