Re: Missouri Virtual Public School

[Kelley <dancinglight@bendbroadband.com>]

I, too, feel ambivalent about this.

I think "virtual schools" will be part of the future, and I'd like them 
to be as student-friendly and productive as possible.  I'd like them to 
be created and staffed by public educators.

I don't think all students can be successful in such a structure, just 
as I don't think many kids are successful in the factory model that 
public schools offer them. 

I am also concerned about the private and corporate influences. 

I'm concerned about how the social side of public education is 
accomplished from a screen.  How do students learn how to interact in a 
larger, more diverse world if their world stays homogeneous?

Then again, I don't think we're doing all that great a job with the 
social end, frankly.  I think it is a reflection of the factory model 
itself that schools still tend, especially in middle and high school, to 
be less than safe and friendly for all.

I  wonder where this will lead us, and if we can shape the direction the 
path takes now, early in the process.

Kelley

Peter Campbell wrote:

> A bill to create the Missouri Virtual Public School (HB 1275) is being 
> considered in the MO state legislature. This bill potentially opens 
> the door to giving NCLB new teeth by giving parents an option to 
> transfer out of their districts.
>
> As an educational technology advocate, I'm very excited about the 
> possibility of enhancing kids' educations via technology, especially 
> in rural areas that have limited access to more advanced subject 
> matter. However, as a public school advocate, I'm troubled by the 
> potential role these virtual schools may play in undermining public 
> education.
>
> Year 2 AYP sanctions under NCLB allow students to transfer from a 
> school that is on the "needs improvement" list to another school 
> within the district that is not on the list. However, since NCLB only 
> allows transfer within the district, where are students going to go if 
> all the schools in the district are on the list? Furthermore, where 
> can students go if there is only one elementary or middle school in 
> the district?
>
> So under HB 1275, can students "transfer" to the Missouri Virtual 
> Public School if their schools are placed on the "needs improvement" 
> list? If virtual schools are used as options in the NCLB/AYP school 
> transfer process, many students will benefit, but many more will be 
> left behind. The research on distance education programs shows pretty 
> clearly that certain types of students benefit from this environment, 
> i.e, those that are more focused and self-directed with good time 
> management skills. While a good percentage of the population of public 
> school students fit this profile, a large number don't.
>
> Of even greater concern is the extent to which private, for-profit 
> entities will be involved in offering these services via the Internet 
> with little to no accountability provisions built in. Is the Missouri 
> Virtual Public school going to operate as a charter school? If so, how 
> will it be managed? Missouri's experience and the rest of the 
> country's experience with charters has been mixed at best. One of the 
> more troubling aspects of charter schools is their lack of 
> accountability. While this is troubling enough in brick and mortar 
> institutions where students have face-to-face accountability, it is 
> even more troubling when no such tangible aspect of accountability 
> exists.
>
> ---
>
> Peter Campbell