Instead, parents now seek an option that better uses online tools to engage students more equitably, which requires minimal adult supervision, and that offers curriculum for the entire school year. “We’re still in contact with and helping students troubleshoot, and making sure they are making progress in their classes.”Īdministrators are also under pressure from parents to provide better virtual learning than what students saw last spring when schools had to improvise after the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly forced buildings to shut down, leaving teachers scrambling to create online lessons and many students struggling to connect without access to devices or reliable internet. “That’s not going to be us,” said Vigo County Schools spokesperson Bill Riley, ahead of the district launching its virtual school. In what became one of the nation’s largest virtual charter school scandals, they claimed to educate non-existent students then closed the schools last summer, stranding students and families. In Indiana, administrators first face a perception battle about virtual learning, tainted when the for-profit operators of Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy defrauded the state of millions of dollars in public funds. Others are designing their own online curriculum, tasking teachers with translating their usual lessons to a digital format. Some have contracted with for-profit companies like Edmentum, which provide curriculum and teachers. “We’ve got one shot to get this right,” Brown said, “If we make the wrong decision and one or both of our son’s contracts this disease, scientifically, it’s not settled what the long-term effects on their health could be.”Īs districts plowed forward with reopening plans, administrators across the state saw a surge in interest in virtual education, fueled in large part by parents like Brown, who feel it’s unsafe to send their children back into classrooms.Īs a result, districts large and small will launch comprehensive, K-12 virtual options this fall to offer everything from second-grade reading to Algebra II.
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