by James A. Bacon
One of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signature educational initiatives has been to promote “virtual schools.” In June the state Department of education approved 13 virtual school programs aligned with the commonwealth’s Standards of Learning (SOL) and delivered by licensed teachers.
Approved online providers include full-time virtual schools, programs offering supplemental instruction, and blended-instruction programs in which students have a trained, on-site mentor in addition to an online teacher. “School divisions now can broaden the array of courses they offer – and reach out to more non-traditional students — by contracting with virtual schools or online providers that meet criteria and standards set by the Board of Education,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright in making the announcement.
Who will avail themselves of virtual education? In a new virtual school brochure, the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy suggests several niche categories that could benefit, including:
• Military families who move frequently
• Students on homebound instruction with medical needs
• Students with special education needs, such as the autism spectrum or ADHD
• Students with gifted education needs , who need to be challenged and move at their own pace
• Students who need credit recovery to graduate
• Competitive athletes with conflicts in traditional school day hours
• Any student who is dissatisfied with their current traditional public school as a result of overcrowding, bullying, lack of rigor.
I’ll be really interested to see how the virtual schools pan out. The increased choice and access provided by the technology is a good thing. Hopefully, we’ll see increased competition and innovation among providers. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking but virtual schools could augur a more sweeping transformation of Virginia’s moribund public education system.