Public online schools surge in popularity

This month, 16-year-old Jessica Littlefield of Colorado Springs will start getting up early again to join hundreds of area students headed to Coronado High School.

But her younger sister, Katelyn, will get to sleep a bit later and won’t have to worry about dressed up for class. Instead, she’ll head to the dining room, fire up her computer and start her school day with Connections Academy.

Katelyn, 13, is among a fast-growing number of students who are bagging traditional classrooms in favor of online schools for all or part of their education.

More than a million U.S. students — about 2 percent — were enrolled in online K-12 classes in 2007-08, according to a report by the Sloan Consortium, a nonprofit group committed to quality online education. That’s up from about 50,000 enrollments in 2000 and 700,000 in 2006. Experts in online education expect the steep climb to continue.

Some 12,000 Colorado students — about 1.5 percent of all of Colorado’s K-12 students -— were enrolled in state-certified online programs during the last school year, including full-time students and those taking supplemental courses, according to a Colorado Department of Education report issued in February. (Those enrolled in private online academies or other programs were not included in the numbers.)

Online programs are being fueled by improvements in technology and Internet speed that allow for such offerings as live online classes and Internet discussions. But the big draw is the flexibility that such programs offer students — not only with daily schedules but also with course offerings, said Pamela Ice, director of online learning for CDE.

Online education works for teen moms who are juggling child care, work and school, as well as for academic superstars who want to move at a quicker pace than their peers. It lets student athletes keep up with school work amid hectic training schedules, and those from small, rural districts take classes not offered at their school.

“There’s as many reasons why as there are families who choose it,” Ice said.

At a presentation for Insight School of Colorado in May, executive director Denise Perrault said online students can leave behind rigid, monotonous routines, 8-to-3 schedules, inflexible teaching styles and the lack of 1-on-1 support that come with traditional classrooms.

As demand for online education has increased, the number of online schools has likewise burgeoned. Ice cautions parents and students to thoroughly research programs and find one that best fits the student’s needs and learning style.

For example, Insight — part of a national network — offers honors and Advanced Placement courses, up to 12 free college credits and 24/7 tutoring services, Perrault said.

And if student-teacher ratio is an issue, parents will find a range of 1-to-4 to 1-to-172 among 23 online programs, according to the February report.

CDE has certified 19 programs as multi-district, meaning they can offer online classes to students throughout Colorado, and a handful of others as single-district programs. They are chartered through various districts or the state Charter School Institute, so they are public schools and the education is free. Many online schools also provide computers for their students and stipends for Internet connections.

Ice said the first 14 multi-district programs certified two years ago will come up this year for certification renewal, and they’ll be scrutinized to ensure they’re working to increase student achievement. As a group, students in online programs scored below the state average on standardized tests, according to the February report. But Ice noted that some programs, such as HOPE Online, target academically at-risk students who often score lower on standardized tests, and scores were unavailable from many new schools.

Ice said the state is closely watching test scores, and she expects them to improve as the new programs mature.

“That’s part of our charge – to work with the programs and help them raise student achievement,” she said.

Some are adding more live lessons online, which was one of the offerings that attracted the Littlefields to Connections Academy.

“They’re actually very fun,” Katelyn said. “They’re lively and very positive. They give you a microphone to use, or you can just type in the chat box.”

Comments are moderated by the teacher, who can release them to all students signed into the session, or not. The lessons also are recorded so students can review them later.

The school, like many online programs, also offers field trips where students from throughout the state get together. And Katelyn is involved in the Peakharmonic Youth Orchestra and karate, so she’s not isolated at home, said her mom, Teresa Littlefield.

Katelyn started to have difficulty in elementary school when she was required to do regular classroom work that she missed when she was pulled out for gifted and talented segments, Littlefield said. It was boring to her so she didn’t do it, and that created problems.

She was homeschooled for fifth and sixth grade and part of seventh grade before enrolling at Connections for second semester last year.

“Online takes the best of homeschooling and the best of public schooling and puts it together,” Littlefield said. The school ensures its students stay on track and are quick to call if a student misses a live lesson or an assignment deadline.

Big sister Jessica, 16, sees the value of the online option for some students, but said it wouldn’t work for her. She’s a junior at Coronado, where she’s co-editor of the school paper and has been involved in numerous other activities.

“There’s no way I could get through high school online,” she said. “I need the competition and the social stimulation. I need the classroom.”

That’s the beauty of the options offered under Colorado’s school choice laws, Littlefield said.

“It’s finding the right fit for the individual child,” she said. “Both are happy where they’re at.”

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BY THE NUMBERS

• In January 2007 there were 173  virtual charter schools serving 92,235 students in 18 states.

• 34 states have state-led online programs that offer supplemental classes to all districts, Colorado does not, although the nonprofit Colorado Online Learning serves this role for multiple districts. To learn more about its programs, go to www.col.k12.co.us.

• 87 percent of those ages 12-17 — about 21 million — use the Internet.

• 86 percent of teens and 80 percent of parents believe the Internet helps teens do better in school.

• Data suggests that by 2019 about half of all high school courses will be delivered online.

SOURCE: International Association for K-12 Online Learning, www.inacol.org.