The same can be applied to educational systems.

Providing alternatives that create competition for traditional public schools is but one of the compelling reasons Virginia should consider school choice, a movement that would help parents select the best option for their children’s education, particularly those who are frustrated by declining or stagnant performance at their local schools.

The traditional model, in which government provides everyone with a “free education” generously underwritten by the taxpayers, might be sufficient if school performance were consistently high, most dollars were devoted to direct instruction, and the best teachers were rewarded and the weakest let go.

But that isn’t the case today.

And throwing more money at the problem — which we’ve continued to do even though it hasn’t worked — is impractical due to falling state tax revenues and reductions in federal support.

Many states are by necessity undertaking reforms aimed at correcting the deeply entrenched obstacles to improvement by adopting merit pay and contractual review policies and by reducing non-instructional budgets. Gov. McDonnell has pushed for such improvements in the current legislative session.

Improving efficiency and shoring up quality and accountability at existing schools has to be at the forefront of Virginia’s educational reforms. But school choice could be an important component, as well.

School choice includes a range of options, both public and private. Public school choices include charter schools, magnet schools and open enrollment plans that allow students to choose among multiple schools within a district or region. Private school options include faith-based and other private schools supported by tuition and donations, virtual schools and home schools.

For the rest of the article, go to An arguement for school choice 

Equity in Virginia’s public school system starts with choice and competition. In fact, both sides of the aisle agree that choice and competition enhance our system rather than erode it.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is focusing on teacher tenure and performance pay in New York City. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are working on similar matters.

Leading this charge in 2010, Virginia’s Gov. Bob McDonnell championed three initiatives to enrich public education: a charter school reform, the creation of virtual schools and a college laboratory partnership measure.

For the rest of the article, go to Peace: Equity in education transforms public schools

K12 Inc. of Herndon has become the country’s largest provider of full-time public virtual schools, upending the traditional American notion that learning occurs in a schoolhouse where students share the experience. In K12′s virtual schools, learning is largely solitary, with lessons delivered online to a child who progresses at her own pace.

Conceived as a way to teach a small segment of the home-schooled and others who need flexible schooling, virtual education has evolved into an alternative to traditional public schools for an increasingly wide range of students – high achievers, strugglers, dropouts, teen-age parents and victims of bullying among them.

“For many kids, the local school doesn’t work,” said Ronald Packard, chief executive and founder of K12. “And now, technology allows us to give that child a choice. It’s about educational liberty.”

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual schools expand territory

But it’s not technically a school — it’s a program of rural Carroll County, which borders North Carolina.

That matters for one key reason. Unlike almost every other school in the state, VAVA student test scores aren’t reported separately — they’re rolled into the scores of Carroll County’s brick and mortar schools.

That means there is no way for a curious parent, educator or policy maker to judge the performance of the virtual school, which is run under a contract by a for-profit vendor, K12 Inc. of Herndon.

It also means that under the federal No Child Left Behind law, Carroll County educators are responsible for the achievement of students they never see in class. (Though the vast majority of VAVA’s students live outside the county, they appear on county teachers’ class rosters.)

James G. Smith, superintendent of Carroll schools, says that is a problem.

“We want to make sure that the vendors and the students are held accountable for their learning and the performance of the program,” he said in a recent interview.

For the rest of the article, go to Will Virginia’s first virtual school report separate test results?

Conceived as a way to teach a small segment of the home-schooled and others who need flexible schooling, virtual education has evolved into an option to traditional public schools for an increasingly wide range of students – high achievers, strugglers, teenage parents and victims of bullying among them.

“For many kids, the local school doesn’t work,” said Ronald Packard, chief executive and founder of K12. “And now, technology allows us to give that child a choice. It’s about educational liberty.”]

For the rest of the article, go to Education entrepreneurs: Virtual schools seek national presence

Both want to create jobs in Virginia, but differ sharply on some of their views on K-12 education.

The two candidates are at different points in their lives. Kleiner, 22, graduated with a degree in political science last May from Mary Baldwin College. She is a dance and theater instructor.

As a former teacher, Bell has an interest in K-12 education. He was the House sponsor of virtual schools legislation that was signed into law in 2010.

Funding is an issue for virtual schools, which allows school districts to contract with vendors for online courses for students.

McDonnell touted virtual education as part of his education reform package when he ran for governor two years ago.

Kleiner is not a proponent of virtual schools, saying they encourage a social isolation that does not prepare students for the workplace.

“There are very few jobs after K-12 where you can just interact through the computer and e-mail,’’ she said. She also worries about funding being diverted from traditional K-12 to virtual schools.

For the rest of the article, go to A tale of two hopefuls

“The Online Learning Definitions Project is designed to a provide a field-building set of definitions related to online and blended learning to better foster understanding of online learning within states, school districts, individual schools and the communities they serve,” said Susan Patrick, President and CEO of iNACOL.

For the rest of the article, go to iNACOL Releases Clarifying Report on Online Learning Terms

The Scott County Board of Education voted unanimously at its July meeting to let interim Superintendent John Ferguson begin negotiations with K12 Medallion, Inc., the nation’s largest for-profit online education provider.

For the rest of the article, go to Scott County explores ‘virtual school’ program

There are more publishers marketing textbooks, workbooks and DVDs to home-school families, too. Virtual classes and extracurricular groups provide social outlets. Churches and enrichment centers hold home-school graduations each year, and the home-school prom that Moore started for her daughter in 1991 is going strong. About 200 teens attended in May.

Home schooling has proved particularly helpful for students who want extra time to focus on their talent. With the time they’re not spending in a structured school setting, they can practice or take lessons with groups like the Young Musicians of Virginia, which has a home-school band and choir.

For the rest of the article, Virginia Beach woman was home-schooling pioneer

The initiative is part of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s effort to expand access to online learning while adhering to state academic standards.

York already has its own virtual high school open to students from other districts.

But the state required virtual schools or online programs to secure board approval to enroll more than 10 percent of their students from outside the host school division.

For the rest of the article, go to State approval opens new opportunities for online learning