The document discusses the growth and benefits of virtual schools. It notes that over 1 million K-12 students in the US took online courses in 2007-2008, representing a 47% increase over the previous few years. Virtual schools provide increased access to educational opportunities for students at a lower cost for districts. However, they also face challenges such as high start-up costs and ensuring all students have access to necessary technology.

1. GROUP POLICY BRIEF AD LDSP 732, DR. IRBY PRESENTED BY: RHONDA BROWN MARK DELANEY BARRON JOHNSON JAMES MICHLIG PHILLIP RHYMES RUDY RUIZ

2. The Problem In the current economy, where funds are being cut across all programs, how does a school district continue to meet the educational needs of its students, parents, and community?

5. What is a Virtual School?

7. National Trends

8. National Trends

9. Enrollment Growth Over the course of just 13 years, the number of students taking advantage of online courses has gone up dramatically.

10. Enrollment Growth Wisconsin growth in virtual schooling has risen even more rapidly than the national trend.

11. Enrollment Growth The Wisconsin Tax Payer Alliance: A monthly review of Wisconsin government, taxes, and finance. Wisconsin Tax Payers Alliance . April 2008, Vol. 76, No.4 p. 1-8

12. Competing for Students This table illustrates the accessibility of virtual schools to students, revealing high numbers of non-resident students’ taking advantage of educational opportunities in certain districts, benefitting both the student, who obtains a quality education, and the district, which receives educational funds for that student.

13. Competing for Students In February 2004, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance defining virtual schools as a “legally acceptable way to create additional capacity for students wishing to transfer…If a virtual school is not operated by the district, the legislation allows the district to enter into a cooperative agreement with the school so that its students can enroll.” (Hassel, B. & Terrell, M., 2004, p. 4)

17. Academically, virtual schools perform about the same as traditional schools. Academic Performance The Wisconsin Tax Payer Alliance: A monthly review of Wisconsin government, taxes, and finance. Wisconsin Tax Payers Alliance . April 2008, Vol. 76, No.4 p. 1-8

22. Additional Transfer Data The Wisconsin Tax Payer Alliance: A monthly review of Wisconsin government, taxes, and finance. Wisconsin Tax Payers Alliance . April 2008, Vol. 76, No.4 p. 1-8

24. Works Consulted Anderson, T., & Elloumi, F. (2009). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca: Au Press. Austin, K. (2011). Benefits of Online Learning . Retrieved April 18, 2011, from KGC Enterprise: www.kgcenterprise.com Barbour, M. & Reeves, T. (2009) The reality of virtual schools: a review of the literature. Computers & Education . Vol 52, p.402-416. Bavelier, D. Green, C. & Dye, M. (2010) Children, wired: for better or worse. Neuron , 9 , pp.692-701. Benefits of Distance Education . (2009, June 2). Retrieved April 22, 2011, from Haiku Learning: http://www.haikulearning.com/blog/2009/06/benefits-of-distance-education/ Cavanaugh, C., Barbour, M., & Clark,T. (2009) Research and Practice in K-12 Online Learning: A Review of Open Access Literature. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10 (1) p.1-22.

25. Works Consulted Clark, T. (2001, October). Virtual Schools Trends and Issues: A Study of Virtual Schools in the United States. Retrieved April 22, 2011, from Distance Learning Resource Network: http:// www.wested.org/online_pubs/virtualschools Clark, T. a. (2005). Virtual Schools and eLearning: Planning for Success. Retrieved April 22, 2011, from The Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resourcelibrary/proceedings/03_71.pdf Hassel, B. & Terrell, M. How Can Virtual Schools Be a Vibrant Part of Meeting the Choice Provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act? U.S. Department of Education Secretary’s No Child Left Behind Leadership Summit, pp.1-13. Hill, P. & Johnston, M. (2010). In the future, diverse approaches to schooling. Phi Delta Kappan , 92 (3), pp. 43-47.

26. Works Consulted Kremer, N. (2011, February). How I became a convert to online learning. Educational Leadership , pp. 63-67. Lips, D. (2010). How online learning is revolutionizing K-12 education and benefiting students. Backgrounder, 2356 . Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2010). Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development Policy and Program Studies Service. Merchant, G. (2010). 3D virtual worlds as environments for literacy learning. Educational Research , 52 (2) pp.135-150. Park, Y. (2011). A pedagogical framework for mobile learning: Categorizing educational applications of mobile technologies into four types. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 12 (2).

27. Works Consulted Petrakou, A. (2010) Interacting through avatars: virtual worlds as a context for online education. Computers & Education, 54 (2010) pp. 1020-1027. Phan, K. (preparer) (2008) Legislative Brief from the Legislative Bureau. Legislative Bureau , Legislative Brief 08-6. Public Impact. (2010). Ohio urban school performance for 2009-10. Thomas B. Fordham Institute . Reid, K., Aqui, Y. & Putney, L. (2009) Evaluation of an evolving virtual high school. Educational Media International . 46 (4), pp.281-295. The Wisconsin Tax Payer Alliance: A monthly review of Wisconsin government, taxes, and finance. Wisconsin Tax Payers Alliance . April 2008, 76 (4), pp. 1-8.