Cyber Charter Schools

Details

      Cyber education is computer-based learning via the Internet.   Business and industry were the first users of online learning, especially for corporate training.   It is predicted that corporations will spend $11.4 billion for online training by 2003.   Postsecondary institutions were the next group to offer online classes on campus and at remote locations.   By 2003, this market is expected to spend $7 billion.

The most recent dramatic growth in cyber education is in grades K-12.  

      An online class is different from a cyber school.   Online classes are offered to students in a traditional school environment.   Cyber Schools are actual education centers that deliver education via the Internet to students who are usually in their homes.   Cyber schools are opening in many states across the country.   As technology improves and becomes cheaper, cyber schools more readily available.   Some are created by public school districts, while others are run by non-profit organizations or for-profit businesses.

      Students and parents are attracted to virtual schools because of academic, social, and personal reasons.   Successful cyber school students are independent, self-directed learners with good home support.  Online learning meets the needs of:

• students who seek a wider, more varied curriculum
• special needs students
• students who do not thrive in the traditional structured model
• pregnant teens and young mothers who need to balance school, motherhood, and employment
• gifted students who are better served by advanced courses
• expelled students who are at-risk of dropping out
• students who feel unsafe or bullied in school
• home-bound and home-schooled children
• incarcerated students

       Cyber schools must create a system that:

•  maintains high quality online programs

•  offers curricula that meets state and local standards

•  assesses students

•  finds teachers who can transition to virtual education

•  identifies appropriate students and keeping them engaged

•  develops an adequate management and support system

•  provides all necessary technical support quickly

•  funds, including actual costs and funding sources

•  maintains a relationship with the student’s home school district

      Virtual schools have come under fire.   Traditional public school administrators often resent that state and federal public education dollars are diverted to cyber schools.    The education establishment also defends “brick and mortar” public schools against competitive ideas, especially those that transcend four walls.   Controversy also focuses on cyber schools that are run by for-profit companies.   State and local officials continue to seek solutions for such problems.

      Despite growing problems, virtual schools continue to evolve and attract students from across town, the state, and the country.    Virtual school students span socioeconomic and geographic boundaries in their desire to receive an appropriate education.   The cyber school alternative is proving to be a viable education choice for certain students.

*   Statistics from “The Brave New World of Virtual Schooling in the U.S.”   The State Education Standard   National Association of State Boards of Education  Summer 2002