“Whether in an online school, blended school, or traditional classroom, teachers are essential to student success,” said Teresa Scavulli, VP of Academic Services at K12 Inc.  “K12 is honored to work with thousands of talented teachers who are committed to making a difference in children’s lives.”

K12 teachers work in a variety of school models including full time online public and private schools, innovative blended school programs, and classrooms.  In all of these school models, K12 teachers are delivering individualized learning opportunities to students, meeting their needs wherever they are.

Three teachers in K12 online schools received special recognition this week.  Winning the Colorado Department of Education’s 2011-2012 Online Recognition Award were Deborah Sudbeck, a teacher at Colorado Virtual Academy, and Pam Decker, a counselor at Insight School of Colorado.

The National Coalition for Public School Options (NCPSO), a coalition of parents, students, teachers and advocates who support public school choice, announced today Ohio Virtual Academy High School Intervention Specialist Paul Wulff as the national American Pioneer of Teaching. Votes were cast on Facebook for the 19 state finalists competing for the national award.

In honor of National teacher Appreciation Week, NCPSO launched the American Pioneer of Teaching award to recognize top performing elementary and secondary teachers who work in pioneering public schools, such as online and traditional charter schools.

For the rest of the article, go to Ohio Teacher Named National American Pioneer of Teaching by National Coalition for Public School Options

Facing a $1.6 million deficit for the 2012-13 school year, the Shenandoah Valley school board voted Wednesday to approve its tentative budget that includes a 4-mill increase in real-estate taxes. Layoffs and program cuts are also being considered, although the board did decide to keep pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Both programs had been on the list to be eliminated.

Proposed cuts to the music and art programs have raised protests from students and parents, who have cited the importance of those skills in many children’s lives. At Shenandoah Valley, high school music teacher Robert Stoner and elementary music teacher Emily Volek have developed music programs that have revitalized the high school band over their time in the district – five years for Stoner, two years for Volek. Both are concerned that students who have participated will lose out if the programs are eliminated.

“I think what we have to do is reinvent ourselves,” Rakowsky said. “Now, we have to be introspective. It can’t be the same old thing from here on.”

Rakowsky said funding cyber and charter schools is putting a strain on school district budgets in Pennsylvania.

“We are facing something that we never expected – the cyber and the charter school situation,” Rakowsky said. “In 2007-08, we were budgeting $50,000 for those schools. Right now, we have in the current budget $600,000 with no end in sight. The governor supports all this stuff. We have to jump on that bandwagon.”

Rakowsky said the school district will look at providing those services.

“We’re going to work to create our own cyber charter blended school system,” Rakowsky said. “The initiative that Shenandoah Valley is taking is I have directed the administration – as part of our short- and long-term plan – is to see how we can provide the same services electronically that our kids are getting by going elsewhere. That’s how we’re going to deal with it.

“We going to reinvent ourselves electronically,” he said.

For the rest of the article, go to Shenandoah Valley superintendent says running school district can’t be business as usual

On an 8-0 vote on Thursday, the Virginia Board of Education approved a request from Carroll County Public Schools to operate its online primary school as a stand-alone entity.

Chesterfield also has an online school, but it is focused on certain courses, not operating a comprehensive school.

“Chesterfield (Public) Schools has a very robust online education program. We continue to enhance our course offerings,” said Shawn Smith, a spokesman for the system. “The action taken by the state Board of Education may provide additional opportunities from which our online education program could benefit.”

For the rest of the article, go to Carroll’s bid for full-time virtual school is approved

They join the 13 multi-division online providers approved in June.

For the rest of the article, go to Va. approves six virtual school providers

Virtual schools

In May 2011, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the Virtual Public Schools Act, which gives authority to public school systems to establish online schools and allows students to complete all of their primary and secondary education online.

The act also allows private companies to contract with school systems to provide the online classes.

Most notable of these is Union County public schools, which contracted with Virginia-based for-profit firm K12 Inc. to provide a family-friendly learning platform. Officials there estimate 1,100 students signed up to take online classes after the academy launched late last year.

For the rest of the article, go to Home schools draw closer look 

The request is scheduled to come before the Virginia Board of Education for a vote in April, about two months before legislation takes effect directing the board to create statewide regulations establishing Standards for Accreditation of public virtual schools with full-time students.

It would essentially create a policy for what Carroll would like to do.

“Establishing our Virginia Virtual Academy Program as a separate school ensures that this academy and the vendor providing online instructional services will be held to the same high level of expectations and accountability as a traditional brick-and-mortar school,” Carroll’s waiver request states.

To create that stand-alone school, division leaders want exemptions from various standards that traditional brick-and-mortar schools must meet, including school facility and safety provisions.

They also want greater flexibility allocating instructional time per subject area so it’s more flexible to an individual student’s mastery of the curriculum.

Virginia L. McLaughlin, chairwoman of the Virginia Board of Education’s School and Division Accountability Committee, said during a meeting this week about Carroll’s request that “we go into this recognizing that it’s certainly uncharted territory for all of us.”

For the rest of the article, go to Carroll County seeks stand-alone virtual school

Constantino envisions a “STEAM” school focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, or potential expansion of the International Baccalaureate program into middle school. He said the new school could also become a “digital academy” for virtual learning that would be used by middle school students during the day and high schoolers or adult learners at night.

No one piped up for building a new school, but some did commend Constantino for being innovative.  “It’s not a safe choice,” said Jim Kelly, Jamestown School Board rep.

For the rest of the article, go to 4th middle hung up on $34 million cost

The question of “virtual“ charter schools - private educational institutions offering classes entirely online – have been a lightning rod during the charter school debate. Leading the charge against virtual charter schools has been state Superintendent Tom Burnham and Parents’ Campaign executive director Nancy Loome – both of whom say virtual charters schools have poor performance records.

Drawing particular fire from Loome and others has been K12 Inc. K12 is a publicly-held Herndon, Va., firm that is the largest U.S. operator of taxpayer-funded online schools and that is part-owned by billionaire Michael Milken. In 1990, Milken – at that time known by the pejorative title “junk bond king” – pleaded guilty to six felony counts of securities fraud and served a one-year-and-10-month federal prison sentence. Milken’s connection to K12 Inc. has been roundly flogged during the ongoing charter school debate in this state.

For the rest of the article, go to Will virtual charter schools make the cut?