The for-profit e-learning company K12 Inc. grew 40 percent last year, generating $385 million in revenue by providing virtual courses to 70,000 students across the country. Connections Academy, another such provider, generated about $120 million in revenue serving up online courses to some 20,000 students. And last month, the education technology company PLATO Learning announced that it is now offering online Advanced Placement courses, marking the first time the company will do so as part of its courseware for school districts.

Experts say for-profit providers of online courses—long seen as an option for home-schoolers and a potential rival to public schools—are breaking into the public education mainstream as more schools mix face-to-face classes and online courses to expand their curricular offerings. With demand for that “blended” approach expected to grow, other players in the online-coursetaking marketplace, such as Apex Learning, Aventa Learning, Compass Learning, and Kaplan Virtual Education, are also seeking business in public schools.

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Kaplan Academy of Oregon

Molalla Online High School is scheduled to open this fall, offering students within Molalla River School District another way to earn their diploma.

MRSD will host an informational meeting for parents and students interested in the online school on Monday, June 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the district office on Sweigle Avenue in Molalla.

MRSD human resources and English Language Learners director Dr. Tony Valley and MHS assistant principal and athletic director Steve Boynton have been working this year to develop the new school.

Aventa Learning was awarded the bid to provide the school’s program and curriculum, but it will have Molalla instructors, Valley said.

“Their curriculum matches the Oregon standards that we follow put out by the Department of Education,” Valley said. “That was a big selling point in selecting that company.”

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