Online Schools A Success!

More children are reaping the benefits from online schools. Online schools offer great alternatives for children looking for classes, needing to learn at their own pace, and open so many doors to the great world of education. When education reform is really needed, this is a step forward for the children!

In last week's St. Louis Post:
Online schools statewide and around the country are growing. One analysis suggests that by the year 2019, about 50 percent of all high school courses will be delivered online.

There are at least four other virtual schools in Missouri and at least five in Illinois. All but a handful of states have online programs, and more than half of public secondary schools offer online courses to students, according to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning.

The schools attract a wide clientele, including students with social and learning disorders, home-school students, or those who simply want to take specialized or advanced classes not offered by their own schools.

Some cater to athletes needing the freedom to train and travel. One school in St. Louis even enrolls students busy with modeling careers.

The movement may be gaining momentum partly because initial skepticism has faded, particularly as online classes have become common at the college level.

Duncan to NEA: Reform Now

Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, recently spoke to the National Education Association, NEA. Duncan expressed federal stimulus money will be handed out to states more open to reform; charter schools and merit pay are the main focuses. According to Education Week:

Speaking before 6,500 officials and local delegates of the NEA, who are meeting here for the union’s annual Representative Assembly, Mr. Duncan underscored compensation, evaluation, and tenure reform as crucial to improving the quality of the education workforce.

“I believe that teacher unions are at a crossroads. These policies were created over the past century to protect the rights of teachers, but they have produced an industrial, factory model of education that treats all teachers like interchangeable widgets,” Mr. Duncan said. “When inflexible seniority and rigid tenure rules that we designed put adults ahead of children, then we are not only putting kids at risk, we’re putting the entire education system at risk. We’re inviting the attack of parents and the public, and that is not good for any of us.”

Basically saying the status quo is only hurting our children and the entire education system. It is past time for change but it is never too late. Slowly but surely, states are open to reform. Lets get the ball rolling!

Indiana Passes Major School Choice Bill

Earlier this week, the state of Indiana passed a scholarship tax credit program that would grant children to use these funds to attend better suited schools, private or public. Individuals or corporations donate funds and then receive a tax credit on their donation.
Choice programs such as these allow thousands of children to gain access to better schools. Wealthy families can typically afford private schools, but lower income families cannot. Why should the children be forced to attend schools that are not providing them the education they deserve? If, as a society, we expect all children to be properly educated, why can't we give them all the same chance?
A good strong education is one of the most important tools for being successful later in life. Applauds to Indiana for passing this! Many states, including Missouri, have come close but the strong offensive groups have won. Slowly but surely, states are understanding that children and their families deserve this choice. Now...I wait until Missouri gets there.