NJ's First Virtual Charter School a Screen Test for Online Learning
Despite questions over funding, enrollments pour in for K-10 virtual classrooms
New Jersey’s first comprehensive charter school to hold all of its classes online is beginning to enroll students from across the state for next fall, even as questions persist to how exactly the new breed of schools will operate and be funded.
The New Jersey Virtual Academy Charter School (NJVACS), operating under contract with the for-profit online education company, K12 Inc., has begun advertising its New Jersey program through traditional press releases, email blasts and informational events.
After just a week of accepting names, it had enrolled more than 300 students, said school officials, who did not rule out that demand could outnumber seats and a lottery may be needed. The school seeks to enroll 850 for its first year, kindergarten through 10th grade.
Based out of Newark and led by a board with close ties to one of that city’s best known charter schools, NJVACS will provide instruction almost entirely online, with students working with teachers who are potentially hundreds of miles away.
Students will be from throughout the state, with a half-dozen “learning centers” yet to be located as hubs for extra services such as counseling.
Along with a second virtual charter set to open in the fall, it will mark New Jersey’s first big step into full-time online schooling, part of a wave that has become more commonplace in other states.
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