Virtual schools, real concerns
At first glance, the Magnor family look like typical home schoolers. The five younger kids in the family head to the basement or the computer by the kitchen once breakfast is over. Patrick struggles through an earth science lesson as Annie reads "A Wrinkle in Time" and Bridget and Eileen play with numbers, all under the watchful eye of their mother, Mary. (John, a toddler, just finds ways to be mischievous.)
Technically, however, the four children are enrolled in the Northern Ozaukee School District. They're taught by certified teachers and the district gets state funds to support their education.
The Magnors are part of one of the fastest-growing trends in education: virtual schooling. For years an option in higher education, distance learning is quickly spreading to the K-12 arena.
Some 40,000 to 50,000 students in 37 states are enrolled in virtual schools, according to the US Department of Education. That's a pretty broad category, though. The term can refer to anything from the occasional specialized class taken online by a traditional high school student to all-day charter schools like the one in which the Magnors are enrolled.
Advocates of virtual learning say it opens new horizons, particularly for students in rural communities where choices are limited, or for those with special needs due to illness or serious involvement with athletics.
But critics worry about the lack of face-to-face interaction. Even more contentious, particularly with all-day virtual schools, is the difficulty of providing good oversight, and the question of giving state money to an outside district or charter school.
"Not a lot of people will argue that offering AP classes to students in the backcountry is a bad thing," says Daniel Allen, a researcher at Arizona State University. "Where people are starting to raise eyebrows is with [for-profit] schools." Also, argue critics, these schools siphon funds from traditional public schools.
These are, of course, the same concerns that have dogged all charter schools since their inception. The nature of online learning just throws such issues into sharper relief.
In Wisconsin, for instance, the open-enrollment policy means that any student can apply to any district in the state. Normally, logistics would keep someone in, say, Madison, from attending school in Appleton. But schools like the Wisconsin Virtual Academy (WIVA), which the Magnors attend, can enroll students from anywhere in the state.
Each student they attract brings $5,400 in state money to the district running the virtual school. Competition for those funds led to a marketing blitz earlier this year, as the state's three largest virtual schools competed for students.
Home-schoolers, in particular, were targeted. "We had families receiving up to three and four and five mailings or e-mails," says Larry Kaseman, director of the Wisconsin Parents Association, which represents home-schoolers. He worries that home-schoolers - many of whom value independence and control of learning - won't realize what they give up by enrolling in such schools.
Still, plenty of families are thrilled with the option. WIVA had 400 students this year, and some 900 have applied for next year. For the Magnors, going with WIVA was a no-brainer, says Ms. Magnor.
The private school her children attended two years ago demanded too much help with fundraising. Last year, she tried homeschooling, but often felt lost and in need of guidance. The idea that she could enroll her kids at WIVA, get two computers, dozens of boxes of educational materials and books, and have an experienced teacher oversee everything - albeit from a distance - seemed too good to be true.
"I feel like I'm a partner with my teacher," she says, as Bridget plays number bingo on a computer. "We work as a team, and she helps me figure out the learning style for each kid. This gives me structure. I wanted someone to tell me what to do."
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