The Jan. 18 surge from rain-swollen Thomas Creek swept into the headquarters of the online charter school, which likely will take a month or more to be repaired, said Todd Miller, ORCA’s executive director.

In the meantime, ORCA is camped out in a classroom at Centennial, 38875 N.W. First Ave., trying to juggle work spaces for nearly a dozen people. Many of the school’s materials were put into storage, but the files for the 2,500-plus students the school serves statewide had to be on hand for immediate access.

For the rest of the article, go to Online school cleans up after flood

Mid-valley charter and alternative high schools did not fare as well. Just 15 of the 88 students at the alternative Albany Options School received a regular diploma last year, for a four-year cohort rate of 17 percent. That’s up from 11 percent last year. Twenty-three students were recorded as dropouts. Another 29 received GEDs and 21 chose to continue their education at the options school.

At Oregon Connections Academy, the statewide online charter school headquartered in Scio, 99 of 292 students received a regular diploma last year, for a rate of just under 34 percent.  Another 28 received GEDs, 44 chose to continue enrollment and 121 dropped out.

For the rest of the article, go to Mid-valley grad rates beat state average

“I have always enjoyed giving tours of the bakery and explaining how the process works,” Schlatter said. “I hope the students will gain an understanding of how much time and work goes into a loaf of bread. I try to explain there is a science to baking bread and different methods can create their own unique flavors and textures. If all goes well, the kids will have fun while learning.”

Three years ago Schlatter decided to school his children at home, enrolling them in Oregon Connections Academy, and he said it has been a perfect fit for his family.

For the rest of the article, go to Oregon Connections Academy offers its students a sweet trip

This program is separate from the ongoing conventional high school in Naselle. The virtual school has its own set of teachers, secretaries and principal. In essence, it is a new form of alternative high school for a wide variety of students who choose not to attend a brick-and-mortar school. Funded by the state at a rate of 80 percent of the support provided to students who physically attend classes, these virtual schools will educate more than 5,000 Washington state children in the current year.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtual school captures students

“It’s a great start,” said Dilley Principal Naomi Montelongo. “I don’t know that it feels like any different school year.”

It is different for about a little less than a third of the school’s roughly 270 students and their parents. Gales Creek was abruptly closed last year — the announcement came after the last day of school — and 30 or so students are now being home-schooled through the Oregon Connections Academy.

For the rest of the article, go to Business as usual as Dilley Elementary School welcomes former Gales Creek students

Robert is in his first year at Oregon Connections Academy, an online-charter school that currently enrolls about 3,000 students across the state.

Online charter schools are a fast growing alternative to traditional school, and ORCA expects to see about 100 students from Tigard-Tualatin and Sherwood districts enroll in the school this year.

In many ways, Robert said, ORCA isn’t different than a neighborhood school.

For the rest of the article, go to Virtually speaking: Hundreds of local students choose growing online charter school

These virtual schools, just like brick-and-mortar schools, often contract with for-profit companies for services such as curriculum and technology.

They follow all state standards, and employ dozens of Oregon teachers licensed by the state.

As with all other charter schools in Oregon, online schools receive less than the full amount of state funding earmarked for each student, a percentage is retained by the sponsoring school district.

For the rest of the article, go to Letter: Legislator responds to Rep. Barnhart’s column

And then there are venerable private schools such as the Oregon Episcopal School, as well as fast-growing virtual schools.

For the rest of the article, go to Website helps parents compare the options to find the best place for their kids to learn

Today, Our Oregon and education advocate groups began calling on Gov. Kitzhaber to veto House Bill 2301, which would expand online charter schools without providing any real accountability.

In the weeks since the bill was narrowly passed by the Legislature, key information has come to light showing just what a bad bill HB 2301 is for Oregon students.

— According to the Oregonian , Oregon Connections Academy, the largest online charter school in the state, has a graduation rate of 30 percent. It’s irresponsible education policy to allow this school to expand until it can improve its graduation rate — one of the lowest in the entire state.

— HB 2301 will pull as much as $150 million to $200 million away from neighborhood schools every budget cycle.

For the rest of the article, go to Release by Our Oregon urging HB 2301 veto

Todd Miller has a busy summer planned.

Miller, 34, of Gates is the new executive director at Oregon Connections Academy, an online charter school based in Scio. The position combines the day to day oversight of a principal with the power and reporting duties of a superintendent.

Established in 2005, ORCA operates through a charter with the Scio School District. Current enrollment stands at a little more than 2,500 students statewide in kindergarten through 12th grade.