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iNACOL Webinar to Explore Online Learning for Extending Learning Opportunities in the Community

February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

VIENNA, Va., Feb. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) will host a webinar on Wednesday, February 22 to explore how online learning can support extended learning opportunities and after-school programs in community-based organizations. The webinar, called “Digital Learning in Class and Beyond,” is based on a report by The After School Corporation (TASC). The webinar will describe the report’s findings on how out-of-school programs can use online learning resources to expand educational opportunities. It will highlight examples of after-school programs actively utilizing digital learning to expand learning opportunities for students.

For the rest of the article, go to iNACOL Webinar to Explore Online Learning for Extending Learning Opportunities in the Community

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Virtual charter school company with NC intentions slapped with class-action lawsuit

February 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A NYC-based law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit in a federal court in Virginia against K12, Inc., the for-profit virtual school company, claiming that its top officials intentionally misled the public and investors about its quality of the education.

The lawsuit was filed Jan. 30, as reported here by the Washington Post.

The claims of fraud at the top levels of the company should be of particular interest here in North Carolina after the company, K12, Inc., (NYSE:LRN) edged its way  into a partnership with the Cabarrus County school system to try and tap into state education dollars.

Stock for the virtual school company had been steadily rising (a high of $39.74 was reached last April) since its 2007 emergence on the market, but plummeted after a critical New York Times article late last year, “Online schools fare better on Wall Street than in classrooms.” The Times investigation found that the company pushed to bring in more profits while students were failing and falling far behind their traditional school peers.

K12 stock was trading at $21.63 a share mid-day today.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual charter school company with NC intentions slapped with class-action lawsuit

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K12 Inc. Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2012 Results

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
  • Revenues for second quarter FY 2012 grew to $166.5 million, an increase of $37.5 million or 29.1 percent over the prior year, due to organic revenue growth in our core business of providing curriculum, technology and management services to K-12 schools and to acquisitions completed in the past year. These acquisitions include the American Education Company, International School of Berne and certain K-12 assets of Kaplan Virtual Education (“KVE”), which together added $10.4 million of the growth. Revenue was negatively impacted in the period by adjustments related to potential state funding reductions totaling over $8 million.

For the rest of the article, go to K12 Inc. Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2012 Results

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An arguement for school choice

February 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In the world of business, when one company has a monopoly on the market, there is less incentive to be effective or efficient. Healthy competition, on the other hand, fosters growth and success.

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 

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Online K-12 schooling on the rise

February 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Katerina Christhilf is training to become a ballerina. She dances four days a week, up to eight hours on Fridays, when most seventh graders would be at school. That’s why Katerina goes to school online.

“Sometimes I’ll study in the morning and I’ll do a few classes and then I’ll go to ballet for maybe, like, three or four hours and I’ll come back home and do some more,” she said.

An estimated quarter of a million students in Kindergarten through 12th grade were enrolled in full-time online schools last year, a 25 percent increase over the previous year. K12 Inc., a for-profit company, runs many of the programs, contracting with school districts that receive state aid for online education.

For the rest of the article, go to Online K-12 schooling on the rise

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U.S. Virtual Ed. Companies Court Global Clients

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Within U.S. borders, online learning providers often approach districts, schools, and individual students and families by pitching the idea that virtual courses can help a student reach beyond a school system that falls short of addressing all student needs.

International e-learning consumers, by contrast, are approaching American virtual providers because they represent not an alternative to traditional American education, but an extension of it.

For the rest of the article, go to U.S. Virtual Ed. Companies Court Global Clients

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Virtual schools on the rise, but are they right for K-12 students?

January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“Ballet is really important to me and it’s usually in the mornings, so if I went to school I would only be able to go on the weekends,” Katerina explained. “Sometimes I’ll study in the morning and I’ll do a few classes and then I’ll go to ballet for maybe like three or four hours and I’ll come back home and I’ll do some more.”

Katerina is one of a growing number of students who go to school online full time. About a quarter of a million students in kindergarten through 12th grade were enrolled in full-time online schools last year, according to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a 25% increase over the previous year. Some parents choose these schools because their children are struggling in traditional schools; others do so for their flexible schedules.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual schools on the rise, but are they right for K-12 students?

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Peace: Equity in education transforms public schools

January 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Virginia continues to serve as a beacon of educational success, yet we must not be satisfied with the status quo. Striving for excellence begins with the pursuit of equity in education. This session, legislation proposed by the governor and House Republicans will continue our pursuit of excellence and build upon the great things occurring in schools across the commonwealth.

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

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The governor’s education plan for Virginia

January 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

“You perform well, you keep your job. You don’t perform well for an extended period of time, you don’t get a guarantee,” was Mr. McDonnell’s common-sense argument. The success of the initiative will depend upon the strength of a more rigorous evaluation system, the details of which have yet to be fleshed out, and expected opposition from the Virginia Education Association, representing the teachers.

Particularly noteworthy is the governor’s aim to empower parents by giving them more educational choices. He would give tax credits to businesses that provide scholarships for children from low-income families to attend private schools, would encourage virtual schools as a new approach to learning and would provide more support to charter schools. The Republican governor is to be commended for aligning himself with President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan in his support of charters, but we wish he had gone further in removing the barriers that have made Virginia so inhospitable to charters. The governor’s plan would establish a technical advisory committee to help charter-school applicants develop their plans and ensure they get a fair share of public resources, but it does not break the stranglehold that local school divisions have in authorizing start-up of charters.

For the rest of the article, go to The governor’s education plan for Virginia

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Is Online Learning One Third Cheaper?

January 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Blended learning can save some money; online learning can save a lot. That’s the conclusion of a working paper — The Cost of Online Learning–from Fordham’s Creating Sound Policy for Digital Learning series. A talented team from Parthenon lead by Tammy Battaglino wrote the report. They estimate “that full-time virtual schools cost, on average, $6,400 per pupil, compared with $8,900 for blended schools and $10,000 for traditional brick-and-mortar public schools.”

Online learning providers won’t agree with the projected 35% savings. They would say that with staffing ratios not all that different from traditional schools there is some opportunity for cost savings — maybe half of what Parthenon came up with.

For the rest of the article, go to Is Online Learning One Third Cheaper?

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