Boom in Online Schooling Fuels Broad Debate

Freedom appeals to parents; critics worry over regulations, costs

By Robin Frost, Newser User

Posted Feb 1, 2008 6:32 PM CST

(Newser) – With half a million children taking classes online, debate over virtual schooling is intensifying, the New York Times reports. The proliferation of web-based public schools has sparked concerns about public financing and the appropriateness of the model for young children. In Wisconsin, meanwhile, supporters won a fight last week to keep 12 virtual schools open despite strong opposition.

Full-time online charter schools are taxpayer-funded and subject to federal testing requirements. Teachers, unions and school boards say the schools divert state payments from the online students' home districts. Parents like the system because it allows students to move at their own pace. “There’s no reason for Isabel to practice counting if she can already add," said one mother.

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[Videos (1)]

Marcy Thompson, 12, works on a math lesson in her bedroom at her home in Cross Plains, Wis. Thompson is one of 800 students in the Wisconsin Virtual Academy, a charter school based in Milwaukee. Virtual... (Associated Press)

Hundreds of students and their parents rally on the steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Jan. 16, 2008, in support of a bill that would keep virtual schools open. (AP Photo/Ryan Foley). (Associated Press)

Kelsey-Anne Hizer, left, 13, works on her English assignment online while her grandmother, Sue-Anne Reeg, 61, watches in their home in Ocala, Fla. After struggling in normal schools, Hizer has shown a... (Associated Press)

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Wis. Coalition of Virtual School Families' Rally 1/16/08 (WCVSF (YouTube))

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Boom in Online Schooling Fuels Broad Debate