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Chicago Schools Opens Its First Virtual Elementary School
The Illinois State Board of Education has approved the state’s first virtual public elementary school, the Chicago Virtual Charter School. The Board acted against State Superintendent Randy Dunn’s recommendation to disapprove the Chicago schools application, as well as against the opposition of the powerful Chicago Teachers Union, by voting a five-to-four approval.
Though virtual schools already exist in the United States, they usually are high schools. Several states, however, prohibit virtual charter schools, such as Indiana, Tennessee and New York. South Carolina goes one step further by prohibiting any home-based instruction at its charter schools.
Opposition to the Chicago schools’ new virtual elementary school stem from a variety of areas. Here are just a few:
• Computers will replace teachers and/or reduce their role in education, eliminating many teacher positions.
• The one-on-one attention that students may receive in a physical classroom setting will be lost.
• Virtual students in the Chicago schools will not receive enough social interaction, stunting their socialization skills.
Proponents believe the Chicago schools new virtual institution may give some children a chance to succeed, where traditional schools already have failed. The state board’s Chairman Jesse Ruiz noted that he received many compelling letters from parents, pleading for an alternative approach for their Chicago schools children.
Another issue that faced the state board is the current Illinois law on charter schools, which states they must be “non-home based”. It was for this reason that State Superintendent Dunn had recommended the new Chicago schools’ application be denied. This added more fuel to the Teachers Union’s argument against approving the school.
State board members and proponents argued that the charter school laws were enacted in the 1990s, before lawmakers could have anticipated the growth of technology that makes a virtual school possible. Chicago schools General Counsel Patrick Rocks told the board that the restrictions on home-based charter schools were from concerns that home schools would attempt to reposition themselves as charter schools in order to secure public funding.
Charter schools are part of the Chicago schools system and are given more flexibility in staffing, curriculum and other areas — similar in theory to home schools. They receive public funding per student, causing the lawmakers concern over a possible redefinition of home schools. Rocks presented board members with letters from several of the lawmakers who enacted the law that stated their intent was not to block Internet-based schooling.
After the vote, Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart vowed to take “swift and appropriate” action to stop or block the opening of the school. Rocks noted that it was very unlikely that the Union could mount any viable legal challenge.
The Chicago schools’ new virtual institution opens September 13, 2006. Already about 300 families have applied for their children to attend, and the school can accept another 300 students, according to Sharon Hayes, head of the school.
Once enrolled, the Chicago schools families receive desktop computers, workbooks and other student materials. The Chicago schools students are required to meet weekly at a downtown Chicago learning center, located within DePaul University. The students interact regularly with teachers through emails, conferences and workshops, as well as interacting with teachers and other students at the learning center.
Chicago Virtual Charter School already scheduled to serve a wide variety of elementary Chicago schools children. They include gifted and special education students, as well as children who previously attended public, private and home schools. Their web site is at: www.chicagovcs.org.
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Oregon Connections Academy (OrCA) – About our innovative virtual public school
Learn about Oregon Connections Academy from parents, teachers, and the school’s principal. Oregon Connections Academy is a virtual public school that combines state-certified teachers, a nationally-accredited curriculum, unique technology tools, an extensive selection of electives and clubs, and community experiences to create an individualized alternative to the bricks-and-mortar public school classroom. Learning from home, Connections Academy students work closely with their parents, or other Learning Coaches and state-certified teachers, using detailed daily lesson plans personalized to meet individual student needs.
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Virtual High Schools – Is This The Right Option For You?
If you’re looking for information about virtual high schools, then you will want to read this article. In it, I will answer the question — what is a virtual high school? In addition, I will give you information to determine if a virtual high school is the right option for you or not.
A virtual high school is a way to take high school classes online, to earn an actual high school diploma. Virtual high schools are quickly rising in popularity, replacing the GED option, as the number one way to go back and earn your high school education. As an added bonus, the diploma you earn from a virtual high school is equal to the diploma you earn from an actual high school, not equivalent. They combine the benefits of distance learning with the interactivity of an actual classroom. In the past, distance learning was done by taking correspondence classes, usually completed by the mail. The problem with this was there was a lot of postage involved, and you could not interact with other classmates.
With these, you can get your assignments instantaneously on the Internet, and complete them and post them in the appropriate sections on your virtual high school’s website. In addition, you have the ability to give and receive feedback from other classmates, which is a great resource being provided by many different virtual high schools out there. These schools offer the opportunity to take as many or as few classes as a schedule permits. If your situation requires earning your diploma right away, then you can take a lot of classes, and complete them quickly, in order to get your diploma. At the same time, if you have a family, as well as a full-time job, then you can go at a slower pace to earn your high school diploma.
As long as you are self-motivated, and are able to work on your assignments in isolation from your computer, then virtual high schools will be beneficial for you. However, if you require a rigid classroom environment, or the actual presence of an instructor, then you might consider getting a GED as an alternative option.
In conclusion, I have given you a basic definition of what a virtual high school is. I’ve also offer some benefits associated with virtual high schools, and who it is best suited for. Use this information to determine if a virtual high school is right for you.
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