It allowed students to take some or all online classes and still qualify for a diploma through the district, said Tracey Kinney, assistant superintendent of instruction.

“They deliver the curriculum, but those students still fall under our policy and guidelines whereby they’re reaching the same graduation standards as our students,” she added.

About 180 students are enrolled.

But administrators have recommended that the board of trustees not continue the partnership.

For the rest of the article, go to LCSD1 may part ways with virtual academy

The Associated Press reports that more than 200,000 kindergarten to 12th grade students are enrolled in full-time “virtual charter schools” in at least 40 states. That number soars to two million schoolchildren nationwide when one takes into account students who are enrolled in at least one course.

For the rest of the article, go to Why Is Public Education Being Outsourced to Online Charter Schools?

This process is designed to allow families to request their top three choices for schools for the 2012-13 school year. It’s targeted specifically at families who are new to the district, including those whose children are starting kindergarten, and those whose students are changing schools in 2012-13 (by the family’s choice or because a child is moving to middle or high school). Students who’re staying in the same school from this year to next school year don’t have to do anything; they will automatically have a place in their school for 2012-13.

Families of current students in kindergarten through 11th grade should have received detailed information on this process in the mail, including a catalog detailing all of the district’s schools and programs. They also should have received a separate letter providing them with a username and password for the school request process. When they visit www.natronaschools.org, they’ll be asked to enter their username and password, then they’ll be allowed to request three schools for their child. Families that have more than one child to enroll will need to complete the process separately for each child.

For the rest of the article, go to District’s online enrollment process begins Jan. 3

American K-12 schooling is a hotbed of dynamic problem-solving on this front. Non-profits like Teach For America, Florida Virtual School, The New Teacher Project, Carpe Diem, and Citizen Schools are showing new ways to recruit and utilize educators. For-profits like Wireless Generation, Tutor.com, Pearson, Discovery, and Rosetta Stone are offering up a range of ways to harness new tools and technology to support teaching and learning. Figuring out how to leverage these new problem-solvers is a place where our state systems, districts, and schools have fumbled badly. This is an area where would-be reformers have devoted far too little attention. Meanwhile, not only have the “best” performing nations not done any better on this count, but the schemes promoted by those covetously eyeing Finland inevitably entail oodles of regulations and rule-writing calculated to stifle such providers.

Indeed, if we look to nations that are gearing up to lead the pack in 2052, rather than 2012, we see that countries like Qatar and India are busy spying on these American ventures to help them make the leap. We would be well-advised to take the hint, and to push forward by drawing on what the U.S. has always done best.

For the rest of the article, go to America Is Still the Most Innovative Country in the World

The Wyoming Virtual Academy (WYVA) offers an alternative.

The WYVA is an online school in which K-12 students can enroll part-time or full-time. Thought it is based in Lusk, the WYVA offers its services throughout the state.

According to WYVA school head Dr. Ed Weber, the academy began soon after the Wyoming Legislature approved funding for a statewide distance learning initiative. Weber first worked as a consultant in the school’s planning and beginning phases, but later became head of the school.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual school offers K-12 distance learning option

First, there’s no question in my mind that for-profit entities have made important investments in the development of their virtual offerings and in doing so have upped the ante of the quality of online teaching and curricula. There is a higher bar to aim for now.

In addition, as Connections Academy co-founder Mickey Revenaugh points out in our story, districts that contract with for-profit companies like hers can offer a wider range of online options than if they had to build it all themselves. It’s not just the rural school in Arkansas that can now offer Mandarin. It’s that amazing online math curriculum that you want your students to benefit from, or the turnkey solution that will allow districts to serve families that opt out of public schooling for religious or political reasons.

For the rest of the article, go to Mutually Assured Learning

Jackson Hole Connections Academy

Jackson Hole Connections Academy

In 2009, the Goshen County School District (GCSD) joined the Wyoming Virtual Academy, a distance-learning program offered by the Niobrara County school district for K-12 students throughout the state.

Now another online public school, Wyoming Connections Academy (WYCA), has appeared on GCSD’s radar. This academy operates through Big Horn County School District #1 and enrolled a couple of Goshen County students last year.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual academies gaining local momentum

eHarvey – An online school combining three different complementary technologies to provide a robust, flexible and supportive online learning experience.

For the rest of the article, go to 10 Websites That Make Homeschooling Easy