U.S.Department of Education Hosts Discussion on Virtual Schools

The new Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) that was established by U.S. Secretary of Education, Rod Paige in December of 2002 has made a good start. It hosted its first session of Innovations in the Education Exchange Series on May 29, 2003, on virtual schools.

The Office of Innovation and Improvement is an arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Its willingness to encourage education innovation and acknowledge the presence of technology as a viable means of delivering knowledge and education to a wider audience than the traditional education delivery system is encouraging. “Virtual Schools” or “Cyber Schools” are now available to K – 12 students.

Virtual schools provide online educational systems that deliver knowledge and instructions through the Internet or other technologically advanced communication channels that allow rapid feedback between students and the system. Virtual schools are the way to the future. Virtual schools provide classes to home-based students, students in traditional school with limited resources, rural school, charter schools, and individuals who want to re-enter the education system to learn and earn an accredited diploma.

A virtual school can be an extension of a traditional school, but with separate high-tech classrooms where students can attend scheduled lectures from experts, miles away with the opportunity to ask question and receive answers to their questions. On the other hand, a virtual school could have a principal, a staff, teachers, and technical support, but no classrooms. Students log on to their courses at their convenience (unscheduled classes) where the instructions are delivered on the Internet with feedback between students and teacher done through email, instant messaging or conference calls.

One of the presenters of the Office of Innovation and Improvement Exchange Series on Virtual Schools was Raymond Rose from Concord Consortium. Apart from the Office of Innovation and Improvement, parents with children, who have learning disability, or are gifted, are interested in virtual schools.

Virtual schools have varying characteristics. Let us take a brief look at a few of them:

Houston Elementary Schools

Houston Elementary Schools have teamed up with the Minnesota Virtual Academy to serve students in kindergarten through fifth grade, and plan to extend their courses to sixth and seventh graders in September of 2003. The Minnesota Virtual Academy provides a curriculum that mixes instructional technology with the traditional curriculum for students in Minnesota. This approach was successful in Minnesota.

The virtual school curriculum also is accepted by the Houston School District. The curriculum is based on the notion of a core set of knowledge that should be mastered in sequence. In other words, elementary and middle schools need a solid set of specific and shared core curriculum that will provide the basic foundation of knowledge through learning in stages.

Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School

The Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School (PAVCS) offers online courses whereby high school students are offered individualized curriculum at low cost. Students at outlying areas can log on from their homes, get assignments on the PAVCS website, and talk to teachers and classmates via email, instant messaging, and Internet chat rooms.

The curriculum is provided by K – 12 Virtual Academy. The President of K12 is William J. Bennet, a noted educator. The K-12 program is used successfully for home schooling. It combines individualized instructions with scheduled courses that are offered to private and public schools. Enrolled K-12 students are provided with a computer system, software, and Internet reimbursement program, K12 standard materials, workbooks, and access to certified teachers. K12 virtual Academy is extending their programs to other states such as California, and Illinois.

Florida Virtual School

The Florida Virtual School (FLVS) was established in 1997 and is funded by the state. The local school district participates in the educational program offered by FLVS. Thus, allowing FLVS students to get credits for subjects taken and to receive a high school diploma through their local school district.

The Florida Virtual School program provides the opportunity to students in rural areas or low performing schools with limited resources to obtain high-quality instructions and take courses that are not normally offered at their local schools. The FLVS is a good example of joint participations between (A), traditional school system of classrooms with face-to-face instructions and (B), an online virtual school that is offering instructions through the Internet.

The Florida Department of Public Instruction is in partnership with the Florida Virtual School system. It offers courses in a variety of subjects where students are expected to meet certain requirement and pass their examination in order to be successful.

Virtual schools have flexibility and present opportunities, and choice. These are the necessary conditions for fulfilling the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

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