DEL.ICIO.USGeorgia’s online academy popular, but is it effective?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, December 29, 2008
When Janet Webber’s three youngest children head to school, they don’t meet up with the yellow buses rolling through their Cumming subdivision.
Bob Andres/bandres@ajc.com
Madi Webber, 7, works on a project on ecosystems. She and two siblings are enrolled in the Georgia Virtual Academy. In addition to Internet learning, they also have textbooks and workbooks.
Instead Roni, the seventh-grader, spreads books across the kitchen table and logs onto the computer. Webber leads her other two children — a first- and third-grader — upstairs, to a sunny room with two desks, a laptop computer and bookcases filled with textbooks.
The three kids spend the next five hours or so completing lessons designed by the Georgia Virtual Academy. The online charter school started in 2007 and has quietly become one of the largest public schools in the state. It teaches about 4,400 elementary and middle school students from 163 of the state’s 180 school districts.
Internet-based schools have popped up across the country in the past few years because of improved technology and changing education laws. As of January, there were 173 virtual charter schools teaching about 92,000 students in 18 states, according to the North American Council for Online Learning.
Nationally, little research has been done on the effectiveness of such online schools. They’re just too new.
But Roni, 12, has no doubts about her school.
“I do everything else on the computer, so why not go to school that way?” she said.
For the Webber children, the computer is their classroom.
They download assignments. They occasionally talk with teachers over the phone and through e-mail, but they do most of the work on their own or with help from Mom. They complete assignments on the computer, but they also read textbooks, write in workbooks and conduct experiments. Like other public school students, they take state exams, such as the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests.
Unlike other public school students, Webber’s children don’t compete with 25 or more classmates simultaneously for their teacher’s attention, their mother said. She’s also not wondering if their teachers move through lessons too slowly or too quickly.
Charter schools are supported with taxes, but are exempt from many traditional public school rules. In exchange for this freedom, they are supposed to develop innovative programs and improve student achievement.
The Georgia Virtual Academy receives about $3,100 per student in state money but no local money. That puts the academy’s per-pupil funding between one-third and one-half the amount some metro school systems receive.
The school finished last year with a deficit of about $600,000, and principal Matt Arkin expects the school will finish in the red again this year. K12 Inc., a curriculum company behind the school, provided additional money to cover the deficit, he said.
The statewide school got going after Georgia amended its charter school law in 2005 to clear the way for online programs. Several education companies applied to start online charter schools, but their applications were denied by local school boards, said Andrew Broy, who oversees charter schools for the Georgia Department of Education.
Then K12, the nation’s largest online curriculum provider, paired with an existing state-approved charter school, the Odyssey School, a small brick-and-mortar school in Newnan. The State Board of Education approved an amended version of the Odyssey School’s application in 2007 to include the Internet-based program.
The online school took off. Organizers expected up to 1,000 students that first year, but more than 2,400 enrolled. About 45 percent of the first year’s students were previously home schooled, Arkin said. This year about 39 percent of the kids have home school backgrounds.
The online students can attend school from their homes, but they’re not counted among the state’s nearly 40,000 home schoolers. Instead, the virtual academy pupils are considered public school students because tax dollars pay for their education. Home school families, on the other hand, spend their own money to buy teaching materials, hire instructors and other educational needs.
There’s another important difference: Home school parents pick what their children learn, while students in the virtual program must follow the academy’s curriculum.
Before the school year started, parents of the virtual academy students received boxes of textbooks, work sheets, microscopes and other items. Parents got scripted lessons and teacher guides so they can help their kids. The school provided free laptops and Internet access to any family that expressed financial need, Arkin said.
The academy and other online schools face their own challenges. Georgia’s school can’t afford art, music or foreign language classes. In other states, opponents of the online schools say they take resources from traditional schools and put too much faith in kids’ abilities to learn from computers.
Also, Broy said, Georgia school leaders are worried about Georgia Virtual Academy students’ test scores. About 74 percent of the online school’s eighth-graders failed last year’s CRCT math test, compared to about 38 percent for the state.
“We have substantial concerns about how students are doing, particularly in math,” Broy said. “Our principal concern is student achievement, and this school must be prepared to answer a lot of questions.”
The school’s charter contract is up for renewal in the spring.
In an attempt to improve test scores, Georgia Virtual Academy created CRCT-prep programs students can take online, Arkin said. Some parents, especially those who previously home schooled, didn’t understand the tests were mandatory and important, he said.
“We are a different model than what you would find in a brick-and-mortar school, but we are effective,” Arkin said. “Our children learn and they get the support they need.”
Webber says she wants her children to get more from school than instruction in math, English, science and social studies, so she’s paid for her kids to take pottery and gymnastics lessons elsewhere.
The school started clubs for students to join online, and teachers have organized monthly field trips, but that doesn’t replace daily social interactions. So Roni hopes to go to her neighborhood public high school when she reaches ninth grade, in part so she can spend more time with others her age.
Still, Webber believes that for now, online classrooms are the right place for her children.
“There are some things we had to give up, but for me it was worth it to have more say in how my kids are learning,” Webber said. “Is this for everyone? No. But it works for us.”
Georgia Virtual Academy students
About 4,400 students attend the Georgia Virtual Academy, a statewide online charter school for elementary and middle school students. The students come from 163 of the state’s 180 districts, including most of the systems in the metro area:
| District | Number of student | |
| Atlanta | 45 | |
| Cherokee | 140 | |
| Clayton | 217 | |
| Cobb | 269 | |
| Decatur | 5 | |
| DeKalb | 374 | |
| Fayette | 49 | |
| Fulton | 257 | |
| Gwinnett | 517 | |
| Henry | 172 | |
| Marietta | 12 | |
| Source: Georgia
Virtual Academy | ||
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Comments
By Georgia Education Advocate
Mar 8, 2009 10:18 AM | Link to this
Virtual education is an option that will work for some, not all children, regardless of disabilities or not.
I do have a problem with the divide GVA is causing between parents and citizens in the very communities they are all a part of.
Some children with disabilities and those without disabilities need the stimulation of a classroom to reach their full potential. Others do not. Some need a combination of both.
To take money from one group to give to another and not give equally to meet the needs of each is not right.
I know many parents and children in GVA, who need the program, but I am not in agreement with taking the Gifted Program from our brick and mortar buildings to fund GVA or any other virtual education program.
Here we go again - sacrificing some for others. The truth is we can do all of this already without causing such a divide and damage in our communities. Now people in neighborhoods resenting each other because one has a child served by GVA and the other can not get the same services in the classroom.
We need to use our tax dollars efficiently and be more effective, not create a divide and fight amongst parents and children in their own neighborhoods.
IE2 is paving the way for GVA and parents don't realize they are losing their rights and the rights of all parents in the process. We can have it all without dividing the people.
It's a shame people can't see the forest for the trees and are so desperate they are willing to do anything to resolve the current issue they are willing to give up their rights and the rights of others in the process.
Everyone out for themselves instead of looking at the unintended consequences. The lives and children and future of ALL in Georgia.
By Tami
Feb 2, 2009 12:00 AM | Link to this
Did anyone have trouble when withdrawing their child from school to attend GVA? I am withdrawing my daughter from a Gwinnett school to start GVA this on 2/11. The school stated we needed to first have a meeting. The meeting is tomorrow. I was just wondering if this was common.
By hcantrall
Jan 2, 2009 12:25 PM | Link to this
You have to love people who are ignorant on a subject that have to put in their 2 cents anyway. GVA is a wonderful option for any kid. You don't have to spend 8 hours a day with 30-40 of your peers for 13 years to be socialized. That's ridiculous. But by all means, for all of the moms and dads out there who wanted children and careers, traditional B&M public schools are the perfect babysitters for you. They won't get a great education because the teachers have too many students and they don't give a crap if your kid learns anything. They just need to know how to regurgitate information on a test. If it helps you sleep at night though, by all means keep believing that virtual academies aren't a better option. I pulled my son from traditional public school because his high IQ was wasted there, I feel confident that with someone who has a vested interest in his education coaching him and GVA / K12 curriculum, he is and will continue to excel.
By Amy
Jan 2, 2009 9:46 AM | Link to this
I forgot to add that the socialization issue is a complete fraud. My high schooler who previously used k12 is at ease in high school and has no problems in sports or social life. He texts and goes to movies just like any other kid. :-)
The truth is that GVA has a ridiculous amount of socialization issues. You couldn't possibly participate in them all! Almost every single day there is some group getting together in a home, a field trip, Eluminate online sessions for group study, etc. I have to limit our outside activities because we want to accomplish out lessons without getting behind! And, there is plenty of time for socializing in the neighborhood and in sports beyond the school day.
A well known CEO who is on the board at Hillsdale College recently told my husband that the best students there are... homeschooled. They grow up and become well adjusted, high achieving adults. Check around the country and you will see virtual academies and homeschoolers excelling. Look beyond the stereotypes and be aware that the world is changing, and virtual academies are here to stay!
By Amy
Jan 2, 2009 9:37 AM | Link to this
It's important, as others mentioned, to note that last year was the first year for GVA and, as such, may have drawn from kids who were already struggling in the traditional school setting.
I have seen k12 curriculum work, and in fact it is NOT new. I was involved in the first year of the Colorado Virtual Academy in 2002. I not only used the curriculum there for several years, but continued buying it here in Georgia before the virtual academy idea was chartered here. I have seen this same child reach 99% on all sections of the Iowa test. He is currently in a brick and mortar school and receives very high marks and comments from his teachers who are astounded at his depth of knowledge, particularly in history and language areas.
So, of course, we continue to use k12 here in GA as part of the GVA for our younger two children, and would do so regardless of whether it is part of a charter school, and regardless of where we live. My kids passed the CRCT and recent Scantron testing with flying colors. Oh, and did I mention that one of those kids was born deaf? Yet he continues to excel and get the one on one attention which he deserves via GVA.
I think it was extremely simplistic of the author to fail to discuss the reasons that GVA's 8th graders would have performed poorly on the CRCT. In the first year of existence, it is clear that many people would have been on their "last resort" or at the "end of their rope" with a previously unsuccessful 8th grader. Only GVA and attention from K THROUGH 8th can ensure good math grades. I have no doubt that the CRCT scores will rise every single year that we have this great alternative for kids in Georgia.
By mystery poster
Jan 1, 2009 3:47 PM | Link to this
Bob
We're not laughing WITH you, we're laughing AT you.
By Cass
Dec 31, 2008 10:10 PM | Link to this
I think the virtual school works. You don't have to be concerned about classroom overcrowding. The teacher is always accessible by phone and/or internet. Your child can go at their own pace. They will not be able to move forward until they have mastered the unit. The parent is given teaching tools, so they too can understand the units.
By Donna
Dec 31, 2008 10:07 AM | Link to this
Bold: I understand the concerns of people who see the numbers of kids that failed the C.R.C.T., but please understand some of these kids came from the brick and mortar schools. They were pulled from that because they were falling behind, and as sad as it may be they were just getting passed along. Education is just like building a house. You have to first have a fondation. Some of these kids DO NOT. So they're not on grade level YET! G.V.A. has showed us that they have to learn the basics before moving on. Math is a subject you build on if you haven't learned the basics and you just keep moving them along it's like building your house upon the sand.I think it's not fair to say that a certain percent of G.V.A. kids failed the C.R.C.T. Do you know what those kids scores were the year before? Although it looked like there were fewer kids that failed in the brick and motar schools how many of their grades dropped? How do you know that there's no improvement with the G.V.A. kids? Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will our kids education be! Give our kids the chance to be with this school for long enough to see the improvement. My child told one of his friends the other day that he was smart! He is 14 years old and I have never heard those words come out of HIS mouth! WOW!In conclusion I would like to thank G.V.A. for helping my child build a strong fondation. You are the answer to alot of prayers!
By Hmm
Dec 30, 2008 11:41 PM | Link to this
Middle schools don't teach appropriate social skills. I daresay they actually hinder more than help in that regard. They aren't like the middle schools we grew up with. And, your ability to function in the real world isn't dependent on 3 years of anything, especially middle school. Most socialization occurs well before middle. As the kids get older, the real world is a better social educator with jobs, families, extracurriculars, etc.
And, you can't possibly know kids that have come out of GVA with long term damage... the school's only been operating for 1.5 years. I'm assuming you're referring to other VA schools though.
Different schools offer different stuff for different kids. It's important to find the appropriate environment for your kid, instead of the one-size-fits-most mentality of public schools. Every kid deserves the benefits of an education that is best matched to their particular strengths and weaknesses. In a nutshell that is what homeschooling and virtual schooling offer. Public schools can't offer that individualization.
It's not teaching them it's OK to quit, that's ridiculous. We're not quitting schools, we're choosing a better environment! If there's a better alternative available, why on earth wouldn't any parent want to switch their kid? In real-life, the same thing happens. If you're stuck in a bad job, you find a new position or new employer. If your family doctor stinks, you find a better one. Who wants to teach their kids that misery is the only way? I definitely want my kid to enjoy his adult life, including his chosen career.
We lived in Bellevue, WA for most of his elementary school years. We both loved the options Bellevue offered and the way teachers really tried to customize each student's education. Moving to GA was a real eye opener and no, my son didn't "fit". Bellevue didn't use textbooks in elementary and there was very little homework. GA had tons of textbooks and lots of mind-numbing busywork. Bellevue offered open choice schools and Magnet options. Some of the magnets were lottery based, but almost all the schools had reasons to attract students. And, all students at all levels had options, that's the most important piece. Doesn't exist in GA. Belleuve is frequently commended with various recognitions and awards. They clearly recognize that each student is unique and deserves the best option available to meet their needs. It works for them. :)
By Socialization
Dec 30, 2008 11:02 PM | Link to this
I think that something like GVA is a great thing for needy children or children that can not phyically go to school, but for those that pull your kids out of Middle School because they are being bullied or their feelings get hurt...get a clue...that is typical middle school. But if it were not for those three years, kids would not grow up and learn the social skills that they need. When you make excuses for them and give in and let them "quit" that environment you are telling your kid that there is always a way out.
GVA may be great for some but I know some kids who have done it and turned out Socially incapable of have friends their age because they were around adults all the time. Is this really what we are aiming for? Speaking of honor classes being difficult and having a lot of homework at night??? Put your kid in a private school and it will be double that much work. My son went to WA and we moved and he was sent to a public school in Texas and graduated two years early because he was ahead. That is what you need to do, not GVA
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