Virtual Schooling in the News

Only the Google news alert for virtual school and cyber school this week.

Chicago Plans Virtual School
KSDK - St. Louis, MO, USA

Students used to the "three Rs" of learning might soon have to add "reboot" to reading, writing and 'rithmetic. The Chicago Board of Education Wednesday approved the creation of the Chicago Virtual Charter School, believed to be the state's first online public school. The district still faces hurdles with its proposal, including required approval by the Illinois State Board of Education and strong opposition from the Chicago Teachers Union.

Education system to include virtual schools
Leavenworth Times - Leavenworth, KS, USA

In the near future, students may be able to receive a Leavenworth public schools education without ever leaving their homes. When the Leavenworth Board of Education met earlier this week, Superintendent Clay Guthmiller said he intended to search for someone to help with the startup of an Internet-based virtual school. District officials are hoping to have the virtual school in place for the next school year.

3 schools make `promise' to aid English learners
San Gabriel Valley Tribune - West Covina, CA, USA

Three Baldwin Park schools have been chosen to participate in a pilot project to boost achievement for students who don't speak English, county education officials said Tuesday.Heath Elementary, Holland Middle and Baldwin Park High were chosen for the PROMISE Initiative, a three-year study that also includes a dozen schools from Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties. Ramon Zavala, senior director of Student Achievement for Baldwin Park Unified School District, said the district applied for the program and was the only one chosen to represent Los Angeles County. In the program, the various schools and districts will work to create a "virtual school district" to share ideas, teaching practices, research, and experts with each other on how to develop better programs for English learners, Zavala said.

City approves state's first virtual public school
Chicago Sun-Times - United States

Students accustomed to the traditional "three Rs" of learning might soon have to add "reboot" to reading, writing and 'rithmetic. The Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday approved the creation of the Chicago Virtual Charter School, believed to be the state's first online public school. The district, which wants the school to open next fall, still faces hurdles with its proposal, including approval by the Illinois State Board of Education. Plus, the Chicago Teachers Union strongly opposes the school. [See all stories on this topic]

Chicago plans state's first virtual public school
WQAD - Moline, IL, USA

Chicago Public Schools hopes to open the state's first virtual public school.About 600 elementary school students would take online courses from home if the Chicago Virtual Academy is approved. C-P-S officials said yesterday they will be able to verify that the students would receive 300 minutes of instruction a day. That's the threshold needed for the state to reimburse the school.

School: Peanut allergy is not a disability
Science Daily (press release) - USA

Nashville officials and the Tennessee attorney general say a boy's peanut allergy does not entitle him to long-term home schooling at district expense.Officials at Metro Nashville Schools say such allergies do not qualify as a disability, and said they had taken all steps possible to make Stratton Elementary School as safe as possible for 9-year-old Brentson Duke.

Digital classroom growing phenomenon
Redwater Tribune - Morinville, Alberta, Canada

Even though Ren Giesbrecht is the director of technology for Greater St. Albert Catholic Regional Division, he is still an old dog learning new tricks. Wanting to go to a movie, but not knowing what was playing, he asked his granddaughter to go down to the corner store to buy a newspaper. “She instead went to the conputer and online had all the movie listings all laid out for me. I work in this field and I never thought of that.” said Giesbrecht, a former Morinville school principal whowas in this commmunity for 26 years.The number of students taking courses online has increased from 100 to 1,000 since St. Gabrial Cyber School started up 11 years ago.

Board OKs activity fee for cyber students
The Evening Sun - Hanover, PA, USA

Cyber-school students can step away from the computer and join after-school activities in the Gettysburg Area School District - if they can afford it. The school board tentatively agreed Tuesday to charge cyber-school children in the district $100 for one activity and $50 for each additional activity. They will also have to pay a deposit for athletic equipment or musical instruments. But if their cyber school provides extracurricular activities, the students can't join Gettysburg's, board members said.

Four Barrington students arrested; charges include cyber-stalking ...
Bristol Phoenix - Bristol, RI, USA

Several students from Barrington High School were arrested by police last week for charges ranging from cyber-stalking to larceny to possession of marijuana. On Wednesday, Jan. 18, police charged a 17 year old Barrington boy with larceny. The charge stems from an incident with a missing wallet, first reported missing from the high school on Jan. 1. The wallet was later found outside the small gym at the high school, but a credit card had been used for several purchases. Police were able to track the purchases, and watched surveillance video tapes from the places the purchases were made. From the video tapes they spotted a partial license plate and description of the vehicle which was believed to be driven by the student who used the credit card. Officers checked the plate to get more information about who owned it. [See all stories on this topic]

North Opinion / Viewpoint: When going gets tough, tough advertise
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh, PA, USA

It might have caught your attention recently. It certainly caught mine. Sandwiched between the early evening ads aimed at boomers for prostate shrinkers and sleep aids was a commercial on WTAE-TV for the McKeesport Area School District. Huh? It featured pleasant scenes of a school campus: smiling, bright-eyed children reading, working on computers, learning shop skills; teachers and even parents looking absolutely thrilled to be a part of it all; soft music; and a voice-over telling me McKeesport Area schools are "The best choice." It sort of looked like one of those recruiting promos Notre Dame and other big-name schools run during halftime of nationally televised gridiron contests.

Tags: virtual school, cyber school, high school, education