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Online schools pop up in Iowa

February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

K12 is a publicly traded company whose founders include former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett. It plans to offer online courses for grades K-6 initially. It is headquartered in the Clayton Ridge Community School District near Guttenberg.

Its competitor, Connections Academy, is also seeking students for its K-12 virtual public school. A division of the Pearson curriculum and assessment company, Connections Academy is offered through the CAM Community School District in the small southwestern Iowa town of Anita.

Kim Brodersen, mother of four, attended a meeting hosted by Connections Academy in Davenport. Her children range from high school to the third grade, and she spends most of her evenings overseeing homework.

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Two districts open Iowa to online schools

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Under the hot lights of a Davenport hotel’s small meeting room, where several rows of seats remain empty and a cookie tray goes unnoticed, Laura Rice is ready to give her big pitch about virtual school.

Only three people are sitting in the audience when she begins. Then, perhaps her most viable customer of the evening session walks in.

Glancing at several tables covered in school textbooks and materials, Kim Brodersen explains that with four children, ranging in school-age from high school to third grade, she spends most of her evenings overseeing homework.

For the rest of the article, go to Two districts open Iowa to online schools

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Virtual schools need to be part of Iowa’s options

February 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As a parent who had three children enrolled in a virtual school in a neighboring state, I am strongly considering enrolling another child in one of Iowa’s new virtual schools this fall. I am very disappointed in the Register’s treatment of this new and exciting educational option for Iowan children (Opinion section, Feb. 12).

Andie Dominick’s piece, “It Sounds Appealing at First …” uses the term “creepy” to describe an informational meeting hosted by one of the companies partnering with an Iowa school district to make this educational option a reality. I was at a similar meeting the next day. I would describe my experience as refreshing and inspiring.

Dominick resorts to the worn-out and unproven argument that being exclusively schooled in the home cheats students out of socialization. Nationwide, millions of homeschooling families have endured this criticism for years. Home-schooled kids are some of the most well-adjusted and socially adept young people I know. Besides, based on my experience, I know that virtual schools go out of their way to create opportunities for their students to physically interact with each other and their teachers. Group field trips and other get-togethers are common.

In several of these articles, much is made of the fact that the local host districts will only keep a small percentage of the money that is allocated by the state to educate each student and that the overwhelming majority of the money will go to the out-of-state, for-profit companies who partner with the districts. Keep in mind that actual teachers will have jobs because of these schools. Furthermore, education is costly and these companies cannot teach children for peanuts.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual schools need to be part of Iowa’s options

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Online schools’ legality eyed

February 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The state attorney general’s office will issue an opinion on the legality of online schools set to open this fall under the auspices of two Iowa school districts, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The formal ruling was requested late last week by state lawmakers concerned about the Internet-based schools, which are sponsored by school districts but operated by private companies.

The state Department of Education has OK’d the Internet-only schools, which are actively marketing their classes across the state and would receive thousands of state dollars for each student they enroll.

For the rest of the article, go to Online schools’ legality eyed

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Online school coming to IA grade school students

February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s the very first school of its kind in Iowa…an online public grade school. The Iowa Virtual Academy is for children in grades K through sixth, any student in Iowa can start taking classes this fall. Academy staffers say this is a great opportunity for parents who’ve considered homeschooling their kids.

“Students who need to move a little bit faster and they get board in a traditional school setting, but with this they can move onto the next lesson if they’re ready. And on the other side, they have students who might take them a little longer, and they have that opportunity to work a little bit longer,” explained Rachel Hagan, an Iowa Development Manager for the program.

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Virtual Academy plans local meeting

February 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Iowa Virtual Academy, a new tuition-free online program of the Clayton Ridge Community School District that offers individualized online education for Iowa students in grades K-6, will hold an information session in Dubuque at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 17, at the Holiday Inn Dubuque/Galena.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual Academy plans local meeting

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Full-Time Virtual School Comes to Iowa

February 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Computers are vital to a new type of school in Iowa: a full-time virtual school.

When you think of a school classroom, you most likely envision a teacher surrounded by kids, chalkboards, textbooks.

“School is school. It’s boring, not interesting,” said sophomore Connor Bacon. He and his mom are interested in transforming the normal classroom into a virtual one with a student at a computer in their own home.

“I think I’ll be able to stay more focused and get things done and succeed,” Bacon said about this new idea.

Iowa Connections Academy is opening its virtual doors to students across the state with its full-time online K-12 public school. It’s a program offered statewide by the CAM Community School District in southwest Iowa. It’s taught by Iowa-licensed teachers and students must meet all the same state requirements.

For the rest of the article, go to Full-Time Virtual School Comes to Iowa

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K-12 online schools gear up in Iowa

February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Officials launching Iowa’s first two full-time online public schools for kindergarten through 12th-grade students say they face the same challenge: Families are unsure of how online education works.

To help answer questions, officials with the Connections Academy and K12, two national companies partnered with districts to start the new schools, are in the middle of a series of meetings with families in the Des Moines area.

Officials from both companies are showing curriculums to parents and explaining how online education systems work.

“There’s a lot about full-time virtual school that is still kind of mysterious to people,” Allison Bazin, a spokeswoman for Connections Academy, said.

For the rest of the article, go to K-12 online schools gear up in Iowa

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A New Online Option for Students in Iowa

February 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Trading the classroom for the computer. A virtual school is being offered to students here in Iowa, but local schools have some questions about it.

With the click of a mouse, your child could be enrolled as a student at the Iowa Connections Academy, The first kindergarten through 12th grade virtual school in the state of Iowa.

“Students will work from home with Iowa licensed teachers using a very robust, very rigorous curriculum that includes both online and offline materials,” said Susan Stanger, from ICA.

ICA is a fully accredited, free online school that currently operates in 23 other states. There are over 600 courses offered to students through this program.

“We have a really advanced technology that allows it to be more interactive, more adaptive and to provide students, especially in a rural states, like Iowa, more course selections,” said Stagner.

For the rest of the article, go to A New Online Option for Students in Iowa

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Clayton Ridge to Roll Out Virtual School

January 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Nelson said, “younger kids also have materials sent to their homes that will include print materials but also hands on activities. ”

Any students is eligable to enroll in virtual school.

But administrators expect less than one percent of the students to take part.

Nelson said, “It might be the autistic kid or special needs child who needs to focus and not have all the noise or distractions going on in the classroom.”

Nelson says, the program could also be attractive to parents who have the time and resources to spend at home with their student.

For the rest of the article, go to Clayton Ridge to Roll Out Virtual School

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