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Advocates for online charter schools bill testify that legislation would provide more education choices
January 25, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment
Advocates for a bill that would lift the cap on online charter schools testified today in Lansing that the legislation would go a long way toward providing more choices for children’s education.
“Parents demand choices. They’re looking for choices. They’re certainly looking for virtual choices,” said Dan Quisenberry, president of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, a state charter advocacy group.
Quisenberry spoke this morning before the House Education Committee, which is considering a Senate bill that would lift the cap on the number of online charter schools that can open in Michigan and the number of students who can enroll. The Senate bill is part of a broad package of bills designed to give parents more choices for their children’s education.
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Michigan Education Association leaders say virtual charter schools are designed for profits, not students
January 21, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment
LANSING – Teachers union leaders lashed out at plans to eliminate the cap on virtual charter schools, telling state House Education Committee members that the schools are interested only in profits.
The so-called “cyber school” bill was part of a school choice package before the committee, following last month’s vote to gradually eliminate the cap on charter schools authorized by state universities.
Education Committee Chairman Thomas McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, said he’s not ready to call for a vote on the package of six bills aimed at offering parents and students more educational choices.
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Can States and School Districts Cut Costs Through Digital Learning?
January 18, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment
Digital learning represents wide-open terrain for K-12 education reform. Several states — Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Michigan and Minnesota — require students to take an online course to receive a high school degree. Twenty-seven states have established statewide full-time virtual schools since the first opened in 1997 in Florida, according to a report by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, an indication of virtual education’s growing appeal.
As with all innovations, though, there is always a question of cost for providing such new technologies, especially when states are providing less per-pupil funding.
A study released last week by the Education Center of Excellence at the Parthenon Group (commissioned by the conservative education think tank, the Fordham Institute) suggested that the costs of digital learning could be significantly less than more traditional modes. The authors cautioned that its findings must be interpreted with some caveats: costs vary across digital education platforms and different entities pursue online learning for different reasons (cost-savings versus enhanced offerings, for example).
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