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Sep1
The viewpoint of a virtual teacher
Filed under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Online High Schools; Tagged as: oregon connections academy, virtual schoolNo CommentsIt’s that time of year when parents and students are rushing around, getting ready to head back to school. Worrying about schedules and school supplies can be stressful. But at Oregon Connections Academy, there’s less anxiety because instead of students going to the classroom, the classroom comes to the students.
ORCA is Oregon’s biggest virtual school. It’s a public charter school, with no tuition, serving nearly 2,600 students across the state. My school year starts when I log onto my computer, the same as it does for my students. After 15 years of teaching in more traditional brick-and-mortar schools, I decided to try online learning. This is my sixth year with ORCA, so I made a choice that works for me.
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Aug23
Online schools offer flexibility
Filed under: BestOnlineHighSchools.com, Online High Schools; Tagged as: oregon connections academy, Virtual charter schoolsNo CommentsAt a recent information session in Bandon at The Barn, Oregon Connections Academy teacher Laura Howard explained how the process works. Virtual charter schools operate under similar state guidelines as traditional brick-and-mortar schools. Student to teacher ratios mirror those in public school classrooms around the state. Students enrollment is free and includes instructional materials. Students are also held accountable for assignments, testing and attendance.
The most obvious difference between the traditional 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday school routine is flexibility in time and space. But Howard says eliminating daily classroom interruptions makes her work with students more productive and rewarding.
“(Connections) is the best job I’ve ever had as a teacher,” said Howard. “Whenever I talk to a student, I’m focused only on that student.”
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Jul29No Comments
More than 2 million children in kindergarten through 12th grade are learning online, and their ranks are growing by almost 20 percent each year, according to research by Ambient Insight. Currently, 45 states have significant supplemental online learning programs, or full-time programs, in which students take most or all of their courses online.
“One reason families are turning to full-time virtual schools is that parents are seeking a more personalized education for their children, where students’ studies are tailored to their abilities and interests, and they can work at their own pace,” says Dr. Steven Guttentag, executive vice president and chief education officer for Connections Academy, a leading virtual school provider that offers both public and private virtual school programs. “Of course most importantly, they work. Students are achieving at high levels and matriculating into some of our nation’s best universities.”
For the rest of the article, go to Virtual schools ‘clicking’ for many students this school year
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Feb26
Statewide online schools should survive but not grow in 2010-11
Filed under: News, Online High Schools; Tagged as: online public schools, oregon connections academy, oregon k12No CommentsThe [Oregon] House Education committee voted 8-2 today to allow Oregon’s two biggest online public schools to remain open at their current size next school year, but to prohibit them from growing despite parent pleas to let them expand.
The architects of House Bill 3660 defend it as a fragile compromise that accomplishes important goals for both fans and detractors of statewide online schools. They acknowledge it also leaves important issues unaddressed, including whether the parent or the school district should have the right to decide whether a student can enroll in a statewide virtual school and whether online schools should receive the same per-student funding as brick-and-mortar schools.
Those questions will be left to the Oregon Board of Education and the 2012 Legislature.
Online schools educate students using lessons delivered via computer to students’ homes. Students get free computers, textbooks and materials to use, and teachers contact them regularly via phone and e-mail.
Oregon Connections Academy, started by the tiny Scio School District and a for-profit corporation in 2005, educates about 2,400 students in kindergarten through grade 12. Oregon Virtual Academy, opened in fall 2008, educates about 450 students in kindergarten through grade eight under the sponsorship of the North Bend school district and the management of K12 Inc.
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From The Oregonian by Betsy Hammond
