A 2009 survey of families opting to leave the district found that more than 60 percent mentioned “environmental issues” related to safety, drugs, alcohol and bullying in the schools. About 42 percent said the resident school was closer to home, work or daycare and 18 percent made reference to the district’s limited curricular offerings. About 15 percent said their children transferred to a virtual school.

Nerad said the district has made changes to respond to those concerns, such as improved school security, more talented-and-gifted programming, and the expansion of dual language immersion classrooms.

For the rest of the article, go to More time for open enrollment

The School Board voted Wednesday night to approve a name change, a marketing plan and curriculum modifications, with all changes deemed necessary as the district takes over control of the virtual school from its current partner, KC Distance Learning.

Starting next year, the new name of the virtual school will be Wisconsin Academy of Virtual Education (WAVE), causing one board member to humorously point out that the name follows in the long tradition of education to have a strong acronym.

Most of the discussion by the board about the changes was about the marketing plan for the virtual school, with some board members balking at the $460,000 estimated price tag.

For the rest of the article, go to Waukesha School District’s Virtual School Getting Makeover, New Name

For the rest of the article, go to School board election: Waukee incumbents face 3 challengers

“The first objective is always to offer quality instruction and course offerings that are meaningful and relevant to the students and their needs for the future job market,” she said. “Secondly, we are beginning to offer virtual classes to some of our students as well as utilizing alternative options like HSED programming and possibly expanding to an in-house GEDO program.”

For the rest of the article, go to Report: More students graduating from high school in Wisconsin

We’re with them – but only if a funding formula that penalizes Milwaukee taxpayers is fixed. And only if, especially in the case of voucher schools, tough accountability standards remain in place.

We’re also open to extending the voucher program beyond Milwaukee, but this is a program for the poor. It should remain that way. Calls to raise income guidelines or even eliminate them should be batted down.

For the rest of the article, go to Lift the cap but without penalizing Milwaukee

The state’s 15 virtual schools offer classes from kindergarten through high school over the Internet, allowing students to attend from home. They have been growing in popularity in Wisconsin and nationwide as an alternative for students who may not otherwise perform as well in a traditional school.

But the future of Wisconsin’s virtual schools was put in jeopardy when a state appeals court ruled in 2007 that the largest one, Wisconsin Virtual School, was operating in violation of open enrollment, charter school and teacher licensing laws.

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From EdWeek.org

I take great pride in being involved in my child’s education. I proofread my daughter’s book reports, help her study for tests and read aloud with her from books. But, I do it in the middle of the day. My daughter is a student with the Wisconsin Connections Academy (WCA) — a statewide, virtual public school.

She has textbooks and state-certified teachers just like every other fifth-grader in Wisconsin. The only difference is the building where she learns. Instead of a brick-and-mortar school, my daughter attends public school in the comfort of her own home. I can be directly involved in her lessons, and she can learn at her own pace. Her teachers are extremely devoted to her learning, and they communicate daily by phone or e-mail.

Our computer acts as a link between the school and my daughter, but she doesn’t spend every waking minute online.

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From WisconsinRapidsTribune.com