According to Susan Patrick of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a trade association, 250,000 students are enrolled in full-time virtual schools in 30 states. K12 Inc. of Herndon is the largest provider of virtual courses, Fairfax high school is considering the move to virtual classrooms, and Capistrano Unified School District has held discussions for a K-8 option.

For the rest of the article, go to Is a virtual school the best option for the next generation?

Kinsey was a classroom teacher for nine years before becoming a gifted and talented resource teacher for FCPS. She was named assistant principal at Lees Corner Elementary School in 1997 before being named principal at Sangster. A graduate of New Jersey City State University, Kinsey also holds degrees from Boston University Overseas and George Mason University.

For the rest of the article, go to Gail Kinsey Named Virginia’s 2012 National Distinguished Principal

Virginia is blessed with world-class colleges and universities. Through college lab schools, local school divisions can now partner with these institutions to provide our students access to their world-class resources.

The success achieved in 2010 was a great start, but it was just that — a start. This year, we proposed an ambitious education agenda for the 2012 General Assembly session that builds on our previous successes and truly makes education innovation a reality in Virginia.

Through legislation passed during the 2012 session, we strengthened the criteria and funding mechanism to charter schools and college lab schools so that there is clarity for educators looking to partner with school districts to open one of these great educational options. We also opened the door for low-income students who otherwise might not have access to a high-quality education to have the opportunity to attend a non-public school by providing tax credits to companies that contribute to the educational improvement scholarship fund.

For the rest of the article, go to Innovation in Virginia’s K-12 education

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

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

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?

Virtual schools. The governor proposed establishing an alternative licensure route for virtual-school teachers and said he wants new regulations for accrediting full-time virtual schools.

Dual enrollment. The governor wants to tweak the law to allow high school students to work toward an associate’s degree.

For the rest of the article, go to McDonnell proposes repealing ‘Kings Dominion law,’ teacher tenure in schools plan

The state must confront the growing problem with its retirement system. Over the past few months the “unfunded” portion of the retirement system has grown from $17 billion to close to $20 billion, according to a recent JLARC study. The Thomas Jefferson Institute suggested in its own study this past summer that our state implement a hybrid program that combines parts of the current defined-benefits program with a more realistic 21st century defined-contributions program. As mentioned earlier, limiting future growth of state spending to an inflation/population formula and earmarking part of any excess funds to fill the hole in the retirement program makes good sense.

For transportation, the governor, secretary of transportation and General Assembly should go on record requesting that Virginia become a test case for changing the way federal transportation monies are used. A U.S. House Transportation Committee study about 15 years ago showed that one dollar of federal transportation construction money increased the cost of a project by 30-40 percent. Virginia should ask that all federal transportation money come in a block grant only used for major construction projects, thus freeing up state and local funds for all other projects. This would have the same impact as a transportation tax increase of 30-40 percent without raising taxes. Using government money in this way could have a huge impact on our transpiration needs.

For the rest of the article, go to General Assembly: A blueprint for fixing Virginia

His plan calls for four satellite campuses spread around the city. They would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and students juggling other obligations — such as work or child care — could drop in at their convenience.

The option would be restricted to students ages 15 to 22. Courses would be delivered via computer by a subsidiary of K12 Inc., a Herndon-based company that operates virtual schools nationwide. Certified Alexandria teachers would be on hand to offer instruction and motivation.

For the rest of the article, go to Alexandria debates adult education

And in 2008, Arizona blogger David Safier reported that K12 was outsourcing a critical teacher function — grading papers — to workers in India. The company later discontinued that practice.

I could go on, but you get the point. Local reporters in farflung places were paying attention to virtual schools long before folks in big cities took notice. And for that, they deserve a heap of credit.

For the rest of the article, go to The stories behind the story of K12 Inc.