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Broward School Board adopts plan to keep class sizes down

February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Another strategy being widely used is expanding virtual school programs that enable students to take core classes like science and math online in a school computer lab. The push for online classes is expected to free up seats in traditional classrooms.

Runcie recently traveled to Tallahassee with other board members to speak to lawmakers and state Department of Education officials, asking them to consider reducing Broward’s fine even more than the $16 million. Runcie said he expects a “favorable” outcome.

“The governor’s budget calls for a billion in education … there’s an acknowledgement that education is a priority,” Runcie said. “It doesn’t make sense to take away dollars from the second-largest school district in the state.”

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Free Driver’s Education for Students

February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Now, Polk County students can enroll in both the online driver’s education course and behind-the-wheel training for free. Students can complete the course in six to eight weeks or can talk with their virtual school instructor about an accelerated three-week pace plan. Registration is available at: melearningfuels.com or
call 1-866-454-0714.
— Merissa Green, Education reporter

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Parents share tips on finding the school that fits

January 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

No more is picking a school a matter of public versus private. The choices are vast — charter, magnet, religious, independent, home school, virtual school and various combinations.

How can parents decide?

First, remember that all children are different and what works for one family may not work for yours, said Heather Lambie, a mother of two at the private Canterbury School of Florida.

“You know your child best,” she said, “so you know what their comfort level is, academically and socially.”

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Treasure Coast school districts looking to launch web-based regional school

January 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A virtual school run jointly by Treasure Coast school districts would allow students from Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties to take classes online regardless of where they live. The Okeechobee County School District also is participating in the venture.

In late July, school board members and superintendents from the four school districts first discussed exploring the creation of a regional virtual school, which officials say could save taxpayer money and provide students with more options for Web-based instruction. Nationally, virtual education has been touted as a cost-effective model because many students take online classes at home.

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Free Online Homeschooling For High School

December 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Where do I start to look into high school home schooling Online. Do Public Schools offer Home Schooling for free Online colleges. Parents seeking an alternative to public education haveoften selected homeschooling. Even Branford High School has started a virtual school offering online classes to a small group of junior and senior students, first-come, first serve.

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Virtual schools are in session

December 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Thirty states plus the District of Columbia have full-time online schools. And while those schools only educate about 200,000 students nationwide, that number is growing by about 25 percent each year. Florida opened one of the first online schools in 1997 and the Florida Virtual School is now the nation’s largest. California alone has 16 virtual schools.

In 2006, Michigan became the first state to make completion of at least one online class a high school graduation requirement. Since then, Alabama and Florida have followed. Reasons for attending a virtual school include physical disabilities or medical conditions, bullying problems at school, living in remote areas, or having caretaker or financial responsibilities at home.

Virtual schools also serve students whose careers in the arts or athletics make traditional school attendance impossible.

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Virtual School

November 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are a growing number of students in the U.S.  who’s “going to school” now means logging into computers anywhere they are located.

 

Virtual schools are now entrusted with the education of children as young as kindergarten as an estimated 1.5 million students participate in online education today. Florida, as well as many other states, has started to follow along with this trend.

Starting with the 2011-2012 school year, ninth graders will need to take an online class to be able to graduate. This new law comes after years of planning. In 1997, the state created Florida Virtual School as an Internet-based public high school. Now it is a state-wide school district, and offers classes from K-12. The Digital Learning Now Law was created to prepare children for a technology-based future, freeing them from classrooms.

Not everyone thinks this new law is such a great idea, but the Legislature did approve it.

“Many students who start off ninth grade already struggle enough trying to adjust to a new school and harder classes. Now they have to worry about getting home and taking another class, said Maria Movilla, a concerned mother. “I mean, they go to school for a reason.”

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Endeavor Academy’s sweeping changes show signs of success

November 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

William Mattingly dreams of heading to college by way of Springstead High.

That dream was deferred when Mattingly got into a fight with another student last year at Powell Middle School. Now 16, he’s playing catch-up at Endeavor.

Like the rest of his Endeavor peers, Mattingly took an online diagnostic test that was then used to create a customized learning plan on software called Compass. The system includes video and animated tutorials with audio to keep students engaged. During a unit on the Founding Fathers, for example, characters in powdered wigs and tailcoats flash across the screen.

There are clear advantages to the Endeavor model, Mattingly said.

“The teachers help more,” he said. “And you’re more focused on your work.”

Mattingly also recognizes the need for another key trait. Take his favorite subject, math, for example.

“To do it on the computer, you have to have self-discipline,” he said.

Encouraging students who don’t have that discipline is one of the primary roles of the teachers, said Rushton, a 35-year-old veteran teacher who started his career in inner-city Miami and worked at STAR last year.

“Kids who are motivated, they zip right through,” Rushton said. “If you’ve got tail draggers, we have to push them a little bit.”

Hard work pays off, though. Endeavor is on an eight-period day, one more than regular schools, so high school students can earn eight credits during the day and more if they enroll in virtual school and work at home.

“If they’re behind and are committed to catching up, they can,” Dill said.

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A Duval school paper, virtually

November 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A new Internet publication is giving some Duval County Public Schools students a voice and making their virtual school feel a little less virtual.
The Virtual Voice, the official newspaper for Duval Virtual Instruction Academy’s high school, launched in mid-October.
The publication is student-run and gives the students, who only know each other as voices online, a chance to meet and work together, said Tom O’Bryan, an English and creative writing teacher in the virtual academy’s high school.
“None of these kids knew anybody else that they were in these classes with. There needed to be some level of socialization and kids getting to know each other,” said O’Bryan, who lives in Brevard County.
Kalilah Jamall, 18, the paper’s editor-in-chief, said the project has helped bring about a dozen students closer together.

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States, Districts Move to Require Virtual Classes

October 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The company is also offering the families enrolled a “netbook-style laptop” for $150, access to free digital-literacy training, and free Internet-security software. However, the program would only aid students who qualify and who are in the Comcast service area.

In Florida, which is kicking off its own statewide requirement for an online-learning credit with this year’s freshman class, there’s no shortage of online options, says Mary Jane Tappen, the deputy chancellor for K-12 curriculum, instruction, and student services for the Florida Department of Education. The state boasts the nation’s largest online school, the Florida Virtual School, which served 122,000 students during the 2010-11 school year, and individual districts in the state often offer their own virtual courses as well.

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